The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1895-05-10

I them down in front of the old church
where he had been converted, and had
everything emptied into the street.
That is religion. Why the thousands
of dollars sent every year to the United
States treasury at Washington as
conscience money! Why, it simply
means there are postmasters, and there
are attorneys, and there are officials
who sometimes retain that which does
not belong to them; and these men are
converted, or-under powerful pressure
| of conscience, and make restitution.
If all the moneys out of which the
state and the United States treasures
have been defrauded should come back
to their rightful exchequers, there
would be money enough to pay all the
state debts and all the United States
debts by day after tomorrow.
Conversion amounts to nothing I'M
| less the heart is converted, and the
poclletbook is converted, and the cash
drawer is coverted, and the ledger is
converted, and the fire-proof safe is
converted, and the pigeon hole con-
tanning the correspondence is con-
verted. and his improvement is noticed
even by the canary bird that sings in
the parlor and the cat that licks the
platter after the meal, and the dog
that comes bounding from the kennel
| to greet him. A man half converted,
or quarter converted, or a thousandth
part converted, is not converted at all
What will be the great book in the
day of judgment? Conscience. Con-
science recalling misimproved OPP
portunities. Conscience recalling un-
forgiven sins. Conscience bringing up
all the past. Alas! for this governor
| Pontius PLATE. That night after the
court had adjourned and the Sanhed-
rists had gone home, and nothing was
heard outside the room but the step of
the sentinel, l see Pontius Plate arise
| from his tapestried and sleepless couch
and go to the larver and begin to wash
his hands, crying: ''0ut, out, crimson
| spot. Tellest thou to me, and to God,
and to the night, my crime? Is there
no alkali to remove these dreadful
stains? Is there no chemistry to dis
solve this carnage? Must to the day
of my death carry the blood of this
| innocent man on my heart and hand?
Out, thou crimson spotw The worst
thing a man can have is an evil con-
science, and the best thing a man can
have is what Paul calls a good con-
science.
But is there no such thing as moral
publication? If a man is a sinner once
must he always be a sinner, and an
unforgiven sinner? We have all had
conscience after us. Or do you tell me
that all the words of your life have
been just right, and all the thoughts
of your heart have been just right
and all the actions of your life just
right? Then you do not know your
self, and l take the responsibility Of
saying you are a pharisee, you are q
| hypocrite, you are a Pontius Plate
and do not know it. You commit the
very same sin that Plate committed
You have crucified the Lord of Glory
But if nine-tenths of this audience are
made up of thoughtful and earnest
people, then nine-tenths of this audi
ence are saying within themselves: us
there no such thing as moral purifica'
soul may wash and be clean?" Yes
yes, yes. Tell it in song, tell it in ser.
mon, tell it in prayer, tell it to the
hemispheres. That is what David
cried out for when he said: Wash me
thoroughly from my sin, and cleanse
me from my iniquities." And that is
what, in another place, he cried out
| for when he said: wash me and !
shall be winter than snow" Behold
the laver of the gospel, filed with liv-
ing fountains. Did you ever see the
picture of the laver in the ancient
| tabernacle or in the ancient temple;
The laver in the ancient taber-
nacle was made out of the
women's metallic looking glasses. II
was a great basin, standing on a beau,
tiful pedestal; but when the temple
was built, then the laver was an i'm
mense affair, called the brazen sea
and oh, how deep were the floods there
gathered! And there were ten LAYERS
beside-five at the right and five at the
left-and each laver had 300 gallons OF
water. And the outside of these LAYERS
was carved and chased with palm trees
so delicately cut you could almost see
the leaves tremble, and lions so true to
life that you could imagine you saw
the nostril throb, and the cherubim
with outspread wings. That magnifi'
cent laver of the old dispensation is a
feeble type of the more glorious laveI
of our dispensation-our sunlit dispen-
sation.
Here is the laver holding rivers of
salvation, having for its pedestal the
| Rock of Ages. carved with the figure
of the lion of Judah's tribe, and having
palm branches for victory and wings
suggestive of the souls flight toward
God in prayer, and the souls flight
heavenward when we die. Come, We
auditory, and wash away all your sins,
however aggravated, and all your sor.
rows, however agonizing. Come to this
fountain open for all sin and unclean'
ness, the furthest, the worst, You
need not carry your sins half a second.
Come and wash in this glorious gospel
laver.
A little child that had been blind, but
through skillful surgery brought to
sight, said; why, mother, why
didn't you tell me the earth and sky
are so beautiful? Why didn't you tell
me?" oh" replied the mother, my
child, did tell you often; 1 often told
you how beautiful they are, but you
were blind and you couldn't see." Oh,
of we could have our eyes opened to
see the glories in Jesus Christ, we
would feel that the half had never
been told US, and you would go to some
Christian man and say: why didn't
you tell me before of the glories in the
| ID Ior,,s Ch..;sto,, AID tkn4 f.;o. I