Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1896-07-24

have been so famed by sin and so lamed by
evil habit can't start. am lame IN ootn
feet" My friend, we come out with our
prayers and sympathies to nelp you up The he
palacs. you may get there. Start now. The
Holy Spirit will help you. All you have 10
do is lust TO throw yourself on your lace Ut
tue 'eet OF the King. as Mephibosheth did.
Mephibosheth's caninial comparison seems
nxtravagant to the world, but when man
has seen himself as he really Is and seen
how he has been treating the Lord, there
is nc term vehement enough TO express MS
self condemnation. The dead aog OF
Mephibosheth's comparison fails to describe
the mans utter loathing OF nlmseu.
Mcphibosheth's posiuring does not seem too
PROSTATE When soul is convicted, flrst
he Draws upright Then the muscles OF MS
neck relax, and he is able to bow his nead.
After awhile. by an almost superhuman ell
fort, he kneels down to pray. After awnlie,
when ne has seen God and seen nlmselI, ne
throws himself fiat on his face mt the 1eet OF
the King. lust like Mephibosheth. The fact
is II we could see ourselves as God sees us,
we would perish at the spectacle. You
would have no time to overhaul other peo-
pie. Your cry would be, "God be merciiul
to me, sinner"
And again, Mephlbosheth in my text
stands for the disabled human soul saved
for the sake OF another. Mephibosheth would
never have got into tho palace on his own
account. Why did David ransack the realm
| To find that poor mau and then bestow upon
him great fortune and command q farmer
| of the name of Ziba to culture the estate and
give to this invalid MeDhibosheih 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 Israe'? 1t was for Jonathanss sake. Ii
was what Robert Burns calls for "auld lang
syne" David could not forget what Jona-
than had done for him in other days. Inree
times this chapter has it that all this
kindness on the part of David to Mephib-
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 for
her fathers sake. Sometimes a 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 hal been your bene-
factor in former days, and by a glance you
saw the resemblance OF your old friend In
the face Of the applicant, you relented, and
you said. ooh, 1 will do this for your fathers
sake" You know by your experience what
my text means. Now, my friends, 1t Is on
that principle that you AMI are to get into
the Kings palace.
The most important part OF every prayer
Is the last three or four words OF 1t, "For
Christ's sake" Do not rattle of those words
as though they were. merely the finishing
stroke of the prayer They are the most
important part of the prayer. When in
earnestpess you go before God and say,
"For Christ's sake" it rolls in, as it were,
upon Gods mind all the memories OF
Bethlehem and Gennesaret and Golgotha.
When you say before God "For ChristS
sake" you hold before Gods mind every
groan, every tear, every crimson drop OF
His only begotten Son. II there is anything
in all the universe that will move God to an
act of royal benefaction, it Is to say,
"For Christ's sake" God is omnipo-
tent, but He is not strong enough to re-
sist that cry, "For Christ's sake" Ii a
little child should kneel behind Gods
throne and should say, "For Christ's sake,
the great Jehovah would turn around on
His throne to look at her and listen. No
prayer ever gets to heaven but for Christ
sake. No soul is ever comforted but Tor
Chrlsls sake. The world will never be re-
deemed but for Christ's sake. Our name,
however illustrious it may be among men,
before God stands only for inconsistency
and sin, but there is name, potent
name. blessed name, a glorious name. an
everlasting name, that we may put upon
our lips as sacrament and upon our
forehead as crown, and that Is the
name of Jesus, our divine Jonathan,
who stripped Himself of His robe AMI put
on our rags and gave us His sword and took
our broken reed, go that now, whether we
are we'll or sick, whether we are living or
diving, If we speak that name 1t moves
heaven to the center, and God says: "Let
the poor soul come in. Carry him up into
the throneroom of the palace. Though he
may have been in exile, though sin may have
crippled him on this side, and sorrow may
have cripp'ed him on the other side, and he
Is lame in both his feet bring him up into
the palace, for want to show him everiast-
ing kindness, fer Jonathans sake"
Again. Mephibosheth in my text stands
for he disabled human soul lifted to the
Kings table. 1t was more difficult In those
times oven than 1t is now for common men
TO ret into royal dining room. The sub
ects might have come around the rail OF the
nalace. and might have seen the lights kin
died. and might have heard the clash OF the
3 knives and the rattle OF the golden goblets.
but not get in. Stout men with stout feet
could not get in once in all their lives to one
banquet, yet poor Mephibosheth goes In,
lives there. and is every day at the table.
+ Oh, what getting up in the world 1t was
I for poor Mephiboshethl Well, though you
and I may be- woefuly famed with sin, for
a our divine Jonathan's sake l hope wo will
oil get in TO dine with the King.
Before dining we must be introduced. Ii
{ YOU are invited to q company OF persons
i where there are distinguished people pres
= ent, you arc introduced: This ts the Sena'
| tor" "This is the Governor" "This is the
! President" Before we sit down at the King
i fable i'm heaven I think we will want to be
: introduced. Oh, what q time that will be-
! when YOU and l, by the grace Of God. get into
heaven and are introduced TO the mighty
shirts there. and some one will say: "This Il
+, Joshua" .'This is Paul" This is Moses.
! seThis il John Knox" ''This is John Mil
ton" "This is Martin Luther" "This Il
y George Whiteneld" Oh, shall we have any
, strength left after such a round OF ceies
=, lial introductionf Yea, We shall b'
!, notentates ourselves Then we shall sit dow
a at the Kings table with the sons and daugn
:, ters of God, and ono will whisper across IN
= fable 10 MS and say, "Behold what manner
Al love the Father hath bestowed upon us tina
4 we should be called the sons of God!' An
4 some one ut the table will say: "How lon
+, will it last2 All other banquets at which
:, sat ended, How long will this lastI' an
!, Paul will answer, ''Foreyer! and Josnu
4 will say, Forever" and John Knox VIII say
-; "Forever!" and George Whiteield Will say
0 "Forever!"
n And the wine at that banquet will be oil
( wine. 1t will bs very old wine. Ii VIII D
n the Oldest wine of heaven. 1t Will DO IN
b wine that was trodden out from the re-
D clusters on the day when Jesus trod the WIN
q nress alone. Wine already more than elgn,
? cen centuries old. And no one Will aerlo
u us rs to what we were IN TINS worio. N
n one will bring up our lmperiecuohs ner
v our sins here. Ali our earthly imperfe'