Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1896-07-22
NO. 80

to death. She said, "That's the officer OF
the law come to throw me out of my home I"
A few days after a Christian philanthropist
met her In the street and said: "My poor
woman. where were You the other night2
came cam round to your house to pay your rent.
/ Why didn't you let me in? We're you at
homer" '.why," she replied, "was that you?'
! "Yes. that was me. I came to paw YOUR
rent" "Why," she said. ''if had had any
idea 1t was vod would have let you in.
thought 1t WAS an offlcsr come to cast me out
| OF my home" o soul, that loud knocking
at the gate TODAY is not the sheriff come to
| put you In Jail; 1t is the best friend You ever
had come to be Your security. You shivar
| with terror because You think it is wrath. 1t
Is mercy. Why, then, trembie before the
King OF heaven and earth calls yon to His
palace9 Stop trembling and start right
away. "Ob," you say, II can't start
have been so lamed by sin and so lamed by
evil habit can't start. l am lame in both
feet My friend. come out with our
prayers aud sympathies to help you up to
the palace. II you want TO get to the
| palace, you may get there Stnrt now. The
Holy Spirit will help you. All you have to
/ DO Is Just to throw yourself on your face at
the feet of the King. as Mephibosheth did
Mephibosheth's caninial comparison seems
extravaSant to the world. but when n man
has seen himself as he really Is and seen
howl he has been treating the Lord, there
is no term vehement enough to express his
sell conformation. The dead Cog of
Mephibosheth's comparison fails TO describe
the mans utter loithing of himself
Mephibosheth's pos uring does not seem too
PROSTATE. When soul is convicted first
he prays upright. Then the muscles of his
neck relax. and he is able to bow his head
After awhile. 10y an almost superhuman Of
Tort. he kneeis down to pray. After awhile
when ne has seen God and seen himself he
throws himself fiat on his face at the feet Of
the King. just Ike Mephibosheth. The fact
is, II We could see ourselves as God sees us,
We would perish ut the spectacle. You
would have no time to overhaul other peo-
pie. Your cry would be. "God be merciful
to me, sinner"
And again, Mephbosheth in nv text
stands for the disabled human soul saved
TOR the sake OF another. Mephibosheth would
never have got into the palace on his own
account. Why did David ransack the realm
% md that poor man and then be5tow upon
nim great fortune and command farmer
oi the name OF Ziba to culture the estate and
give to this invalid Mephibosheth half the
proceeds every year? Why did King David
make such Il mighty stir about a poor fellow
who would never be- of any use to the throne
II Israel? 1t was for Jonathan's sake Ii
vas what Robert Burns calls for ''aud lang
'yne." David could not forget what Jona-
han had done for him in other days Three
lines this chapter has it that all this
iindness on the part of David to Mephib-
osheth was for his father Jonathans sake.
The daughter of Peter Martyr, through the
vice Of her husband, came down to penury.
md the senate of Zurich took care Of her for
1er fathers sake. Sometimes person ha.
applied to you for help and you have refused
nm, but when you found he was the son or
brother OF some one who ha been your bene-
actor in former days, and by n glance you
'aw the resemblance of your old friend In
he face Of the applicant, you relented, and
iou said. "Oh, l will do this for your fathers
ak". You know by your experience what
ny text means. Now, my friends, 1t is on
hat principle that you and are to get into
he Kings palace.
'ou are invited to a company OF persons
where there are distinguished people pres
snt you are introduced: "This is the Sena-
or." This is the Governor" "This is the
President" Before we sit down at the Kings
able In heaven l think we will want to be
Introduced. Oh, what time that will be,
when you and L, by the grace of God. get into
heaven, and are introduced to tho mighty
spirits there, and some one will say: "This is
I9shua This is Pau" This is Moses"
This ia John Knox" This is John Mil
on" This is Martin Luther" "This is
George Whiteield." Oh. shall we have any
strength left after such a round of celes-
iai introduction! Yea. we shall be-
ootentates ourselves. Then we shall sit down
IT the Kings table with the sons and daugh-
able TO us and say, ''Behod what manner of
I've the Father hath bestowed upon us that
We should be called the sons of Godr' Aud
some one mt the table will say: 'How long
will 1t last? All other banquets at which l
sat ended. How long will this last?' and
Paul will answer, "Foreveri" ard Joshua
will say, Forever" AMI John Knox will say
'Forever!' and George Whiteficld will say,
Forever
And the wine at that banquet will be old
vine. 1t will be very old wine. 1t will be
he Oldest wine of heaven. 1t will be the
vine that WAS trodden out from the red
busters on the day when Jesus trod the wine
press alone. Wine already more than eight
zen centuries old. And no one will deride
US as to what we were in this world. No
one will bring up our imperfections here,
our sins here. ALI our earthly imperfec-
lions completely covered up and hid
den. Mephibosheths feet under the
table. Kingly fare. Kingly vesture King
iy companionship. We shall reign for
ever and ever. 1 think that banquet will
mean more to those who had it hard in
this world than to those who had 1t
easy. That banquet in David's palace
meant more TO Mephibosheth than to any
one else, because he had been poor and Grip
Piled and 1espised and rejected. And that
man who in this world is blind will better
the light of heaven than We who
in this world hal good eyesight. And that
appreciate the music of heaven than we who
in this world had good hearing. And those
will have higher appreciation of the easy
locomotion of that land who in this world
were Mephibosheths
my soul, what IA magnificent gospel! 1t
lakes man so low down and raises him SO
high! What gospel! Come now, who
wants to be banqueted and impldced? As
when WiIberforce WAS trying to get the
emancipation bilr' through the British
Lar lament and all the British isles we're
anxious to hear of the passage of that
emancipation bill ~ when n yessel was COM
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, "Free!' and
they cried 1t, and they shouted it, and they
sang 1t all through the land, Free, freer'
So to-day l would like to sound the news Of
your present and your eternal emancipation
until the angels of God towering In the air,
and watchmen on the battiements, and bell
men In the town cry it, shout 1t, sing 1t, ring
it, Free, free!' i come out now as the
ser of the palace to invite Mephibosh-
eth to come up. am here to-day to tell you
that God has a wealth OF kindness to bes,ow
upon you for His Sons sake. The doors OF
the palace are open TO receive you. The
supbearers have already put the chalices on
the table, and the great, loving, tender SYM
pathetic heart of God bends over ou this
moment, saying, SIS there any that is yet
left of the house of Saul, that may show
him kindness for Jonathan's sake!''
Abandoning Tobacco Culture.