Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1894-11-01
TABERNACLE PULPIT.
THE LOOKING GLASS AS A SER
MON SUBJECT.
III wo Could Only Sec Reelection OF
Our Hearts the World Would Indeed be
Better-The Truths OF Jesus Christ
Are Forever Interesting.

mage. who has left India and Is now
on his homeward journey, has selected
as the subject of his sermon to-day
through the press: The Looking
Glass" his text being Exodus, 80 :viii:
And he made the laver of brass, and
the foot of it was of brass, 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 a gospel of Moses, and a gospel
of jeremiah. and a 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
it the tabernacle. 1t was a pitched
tent; very costly, very beautiful. The
frame work was made of forty-cight
boards of acacia wood set in sockets of
silver. The curtains of the place were
purple, and scarlet, and blue. and fine
linen. and were hung with II o It artistic
loops. The candlcStick of the tabcr-
nacle had shaft. and branch, and bowl
of solid gold, and the figures Of
chcrubim 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 tel 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 Il
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 lavcr or basin was
made out of the looking glasses of the
women who had frCquentcd the taber-
nacle, and who had made these their
contribution to the furniture. These
looking glasses were not made of glass.
but they were brazcn. The brass was
of very superior quality. and polished
until it reflected easily the features of
those who looked into it. SO that this
laver of looking glasses spoken Of i'll
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
vi Of fPIn hi 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 oul
sins as in a mirror, and then washes
them away by divine ablution.
Oh, happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away.
| have tosay that this is the only look
ing glass in which man can see him
self as he is There arc some mirrors
that flatter the features, and make you
look better than you are. Then there
are other mirrors that distort youl
features, and make You look worse
than you are; but | want to tell yor
that this looking glass of the gospe
shows a man just as he is When thu
priests entered the ancient tabernacle
one glance at the FURNISHED side of thi
laver showed them their need o
cleansing; so this gospel shows TIT
soul its need of divine washing. al
have sinned, and come short of tn,
glory of God" That is one showing
"All we. like sheep, have gone astray.
That is another showing. .'Fron
the crown of the head to tn
sole of the foot there is N
health in U.S.. That is anothe
showing. The world calls these. de
fects, imperfections, or eccentricities
or erratic behavior. or wild oats o
high living:" but the gospel call
them sin, transgression, flth--th
abomina bic thing that God hates. i
was just one glance at that miro
that made Paul cry out, ''Oh, wretche
man that l am, who shall deliver IN
from the body of this death?" and tina
made David cry out. Purge me wit
hyssCp, and / shall be clean and tina
made Martin Luther cry out, "Oh, IN
sins, my SINS" am not talking abOu
bad habits. You and l do not nee
any Bible to tell us that bad ha bit
are wrong, that blasphemy and ev
speaking are wrong. But | am tall
ing of a sinful nature, the source of a
bad thoughts. as well as of all ba
actions. The apostle Paul calls the
roll in the first chapter of Roman
They are regiment of death encaml
ing around every heart, holding it in
tyranny from which nothing but tt
grace of God can deliver it.
If you could catch glimpse of yol
natural heart before God, you wou
cry out in amazement and alarm. TT
very first thing this gospel does is
cut down our pride and self-sufficienc
If a man does not feel his lost al
ruined condition before God, he do
net want any gospel. L think Il
reason that there are so few conve
sions in this day is because the tie
dency of the preaching is to make nj
believe that they are pretty good an
how-quite clever, only wanting lit
fixing up-a few touches of divi
grace, and then you will be all rigl
instead of proclaiming the broad, de