The Yale expositor., 1894-11-02
TABERNACLE PULPIT.
THE LOOKING GLASS AS A SER
MON SUBJECT.
III We Could Only See Reelection OF
Our Hearts the World Would Indeed be
Better--The Truths OF Jesus Chat
Are Forever Interesting.

mage, who has left India and is nov
on his homeward journey, has selected
as the subject of his sermon to-day
through the press: "rhe looking
Glass" his text being Exodus, 3s viii:
"And he made the lP.ver Of brass, and
the foot of it was of taaNs, of the
looking glasses OF the women as
sembling."
We often hear about the gospel in
John and the gospel in Luke, and the
gospel in Matthew; but there is just as
surely gospel of Moses, and a gospel
of jeremiah, and gospel of David. In
other words Christ is as certain to be
found in the Old testament as in the
New.
When the Israelites were marching
through the wilderness, they carried
their church with them. They called
IL the tabernacle. 1t was a pitched
tent; very costly, very beautiful. The
frame work was made of forty-eight
boards Of acacia wood set in sockets of
silver. The curtains I the place were
purple, and scarlet, and blue, and fine
linen, and were hung with n ost artistic
loops. The candlestick of the taber-
naclc had shaft, and branch, and bowl
of solid gold, and the figures of
cherubim that stood there had wings
of gold; and there were lamps of gold,
and shutters of gold; SO that scepticism
has sometimes asked: Where did all
that precious material come from? 1t
is not my place to furnish the precious
stones, it Is only to tell that they were
there.
wish now more especially to speak
Of the laver that was built in the midst
of that ancient tabernacle. 1t was a
great basin from which the priests
washed their hands and feet. The
water came down from the basin in
spouts and passed away after the
cleansing. This laver or basin was
made out of the looking glasses of the
women who had frequented the taber-
nacle, and who had made these their
contribution to the furniture. These
looking glasses were not made of glass,
but they were brazen. The brass was
of very superior quality, and polished
until il reflected easily the features of
those who looked into it. So that this
laver of looking glasses spoken of in
my text did double work; it not only
furnished the water in which the
priests washed themselves, but it also,
on its shining, polished surface, pointed
out the spots of pollution on the face
which needed ablution. Now, my
Christian friends, as everything in
that ancient tabernacle was suggestive
of religious truth, and for the most
part positively symbolical OF truth, /
shall take that laver of looking glasses
spoken of in the text as all suggestive
Of the gospel, which first shows us our
sins as in a mirror, and then washes
them away by divine ablution.
Oh happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away
Ihave to say that this is the only look
ing glass in which man can see him
that hatter the features, and make you
look better than you are. Then there
are other mirrors that distort your
features, and make you look worse
than you are; but want to tell you
that this looking glass of the gospel
shows a man just as he is. When the
priests entered the ancient tabernacle
one glance at the FURNISHED side of this
| LAYER showed them their need of
cleansing; SO this gospel shows the
soul its need Of divine washing. "An
have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God" That is one showing.
"An we Ike sheep, have gone astray."
That Is another showing. From
the crown of the head to the
sole of the foot there Is no
health in us" That is another
showing. The world calls these, de-
fects, imperfections, or eccentricities,
or erratic behavior, or wild oats" or
"high living;" but the gospel calls
them sin, transgression, filth-the
abominable thing that God hates. 1t
was just one glance at that mirror
that made Paul cry out, "Oh, wretched
man that am, who shaA deliver me
from the body of this death?" and that
made David cry out, purge me with
hyssop, and l shall be clean;" and that
made Martin Luther cry out, "Oh, my
sins, my sins!" l am not talking about
bad habits. You and / do not need
any Bible to tell us that bad haolts
are wrong, that blasphemy and evil
speaking are wrong. But | am talk
ing of sinful nature, the source of all
bad thoughts, as well as of all ba '
actions. The apostle Paul calls their
roll in the first chapter of Romans.
They are regiment of death encamp-
ing around every heart, holding it in a
tyranny from which nothing but the
grace of God can deliver it.
If you could catch glimpse Of your
natural heart before God, you would
Try out in amazement and alarm. The
very first thing this gospel does is to
cut down our pride and self-sutliciency.
If man does not feel his lost and
ruined condition before God, he does
hot want any gospel. j think the
reason that there are so few CONVEX
sions in this day Is because the ten
dency of the preaching is to make men
believe that they are pretty good any
how--quite clever, only wanting little
fixing up--a few touches of divine
j grace, and then You will be all right;