The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1896-07-30

but she made no answer and continued 70
hide herself She was almost frightened IN,
10 death. she said, THAT'S the ofiicer Q,
the Law come 70 throw me OUT o. my homS
NET lar IN the street and said: my poor
woman. where were you the other night I
came round to your house to pay your rent.
Whv didn't YOU let me In? We're you =.
horns7a why" shereplied, twas that your
.sYes. that was ME. ] came to pay your
rent" why" she said. 'ff had had any
IDEA I, was YOU would have let you in.
Of nv home.' o soul, that loud knocking
Al the gate to-day is not the sheriff come 10
nut YOU 10 jail: Il Is the best friend you ever
HAD come to be your security. You snlVer
with terf0f because you think 1t is wrath. IL
is mercy. Why, then, tremble before the
King OF heaven and earth calls You 10 ms
palace' Stop trembling and stan rent
away. ooh" you say, II can't start
have been so famed by sin and 80 iamed "
evil habit / can't start. am lame IN oo.n
feet" NV friend, we come out with our
prayers and sympathies to help you up 10
the palace. II you want to get 10 the
palace, you may get there. Start now. me
Holy Spirit will help you. All you have 70
do is just to throw yourself on your az a
the feet of the King. ss afephibosheth DID.
Mephibosheth's caninial comparison seems
extrayagant TO the world, but when q man
has seen himself as he really is ana seen
how he has been treating the Lord, there
is no term vehement enough to express MS
self condemnation. The dead Jog OF
Mephihosheth's comparison fails to describe
The mans rttsr loathing OF himself.
Wenbibosheth's posturffg does not seem too
PROSTATE. When a soul is conTicted nrst
he prays upright. Then the muscles OF MS
neck relax, aud he il able to bow his neao.
After awhile. by an almost superhuman ell
fort, he kneels down to pray. After aWniie,
when ne has seen God and seen himseiI, ne
throws Himself Fat On his face at the feee 81
the King. lust like Msphibosheth. The fact
ia n we eould zee ourselves as God sees us,
we would perish at the spectacle lou
would have no time to overhaul other peo-
pie. Your cry would be. "God be mercilui
to me- sinner
And again. Mephibosheth in my text
stands for the disabled human soul saved
fot the cake Of another Mephibosheth would
never have got iftc the palace on his own
account. WHY did David farsack the realm
TO find that poor man and then bestow upon
him a great fortune and command farmer
OF the name Of Ziba to culture the estate ana
give TO this invalid Mephibosheth half the
proceeds every year? Why did King David
make such mighty stir about poor fellow
who would never be of any use to the throne
Of Israeli it was for Jonathan's sake. 1t
was what Robert Burns calls for 'auld lang
svne." David could not forget what Jona-
than had done for him in other days. Three
times this chapter has it that all this
kindness on the part OF David TO Mepnlo-
osheth was for his father Jonathan's sake.
The daughter of Peter Martyr, through the
vice of her husband, came down to penury,
and the senate of Zurich took care OF her Tor
her fsther's sake. Sometimes person has
applied to YOU for help and you have refused
him. but when you found he was the son or
brother of some one who had been your bene-
factor in former days, and by glance you
saw the resemblance of your old friend in
the face of the applicant, you relented, and
you said. "Oh, L will do this Tor your iather
sake" You know by your experience what
nv text means. Now, my friends, it is on
thet principle that you and are to get into
the Kings palace.
Before dining we mist be introduced. II
YOU are invited to a company Of persons
where there are distinguished peopIs pres
ent you are introduced This is the Sena-
tor" "This is the Governor" "This is the
President" Before we sit down at the Kings
table in heaven | think we will want 10 be
introduced. Oh, what time that will be,
when YOU and /, by the grace of God. get into
| heaven, and are introduced to the mighty
spirits there, aud some one will say: ''Thls is
Joshua. :" "Ttiis If padi. y" This is Moses
| This is John Knox. This is John Mil
ton. '11lS Is MdfIlu LututI- LIE 10
George Whitefeld." Oh, shall we have any
strength left after such round Of celes-
| tial introduction Yea. we shall be
potentates ourselves Then we shall sit down
at the King S table with the sons and daugh-
| tiers of God, and one will whisper across the
table to US and say behold what manner of
love the Father hath bestowed upon us that
we should be called the sons of Godr' And
some one at the table will say: "How long
will it last2 All other banquets at which I
sat ended. How long will this last?" and
Paul will answer Forever" and Joshua
will say, forever and John Knox will say
Forever" and George Whitefleld will say,
Forever
And the wine at that banquet will be old
wine. 1t will be very old wine. 1t will be
| the oldest wine of heaven. 1t will be the
wine that was trodden out from the red
clusters on the day when Jesus trod the wine
| press alone. Wine already more than eight
| cen centuries old. And no one will deride
US as to what We were in this world. No
one VII bring up our imperfections here,
our sins hero: All our earthly imperiec-
tons completely, covered up and hid
den. Mephibosheth's feet under the
table. Kingly fare. Kingly testure. King
| ly companionship. We shall reign for
ever and ever. | think that banquet will
mean more TO those who had it hard IN
this world than to those who had it
easy That banquet in David's palace
meant mote ~ Mephibosheth than to any
one else, because he lad been poor and Grip
pied and 1espised and rejected, And that
man who in this world is blind will better
appreciate the light of heaven than We who
in this world had good eyesight. And that
| man who in this world was deaf will better
| atptsejats the music Of heaven than we who
in this world had good hearing. And those
will have a higher appreciation Of the easy
locomotion OF that land who iii this world
were Mephibosheths.
20 my soul, what magnificent gospel, II
takes a man so low down and raises him SO
highl What o gospel! Come now, who
wants to be banqueted and implaced? As
when Wilberforce was trying to get the
''ematciraticn bill' through the British
parliament and al the British isles were
anxious to hear of the passage OF that
emancipation bill, when vessel wss CON-
ing into port and the captain Of the vessel
knew that the people were so anxious to
get the tidings, he stepped out on the Prov
OF the ship and shouted to the people long
before he got up to the dock, "Freel" and
they cried it, and they shouted it, and they
sang 1t all through, the land. Free, freel'
So to-day would ike to sound the news of
your present and your eternal emancipation
until the angels of God lowering in the air.
and watcihnsu on the battements, and bell
men in the town cry it, shout it, sing it, ring