Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1896-07-18

III A4t8@t Wuf1< as tH03HH t4f9 Were
merely the finishing stroke pf tho prayer.
They are the most important part Of the
prayer. When in earnestness you 90 be-
fore God and say, For Christ's sake, Z
u rolls III, as it were, upon Gods mind
all the memories Of Bethlehem and
Gennesaret and Golgotha. When you say
before God, For Christ's sake, = you
hold before God q mind every groan, ev-
cry tear, every crimson drop of his ouly
begotten Son. If 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. = If 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's sake. No soul is ever
comforted but for Christ's sake. The
world will never be redeemed but for
Christ's sake. Our name, however IL
lustrious it may be among men, before
God stands only for inconsistency and
sin, but there is name, potent name,
blessed name, glorious name, an
everlasting name, that we may put up
on 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 and put
ON our rags and gave us his sword and
took our broken reed, so that now,
whether we are well or sick, whether
we are living or dying, if we speak that
name it moves heaven to the center,
and God says: ''Let the poor soul come
In Garry him up into the throneroom
of the palace. Though he may have
been in exile, though sin may have Grip
pied him on this side, and sorrow may
have crippled him ON the other side,
and he is lame in both his feet, bring
him up into the palace, for / want to
show him everlasting kindness. for
Jonathan's sake. ("
Again, Mephibosheth in my text
stands for the disabled human soul lifted
to the Kings table. 1t was more diff
cult in those times even than it is now
for common men TO get into royal din
ing room. The subjects might have
come around the rail of the palace, and
might have seen the lights kindled, and
might have heard the clash of the 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 i'll the
world it was for poor Mephiboshethl
Well, though you and I may be woefully
famed with sin, for our divine Jona-
than's sake I hope we will all get in to
dine with the King.
Before dining we must be introduced
II you are invited to company Of per-
sons where there are distinguished peo-
pie present, you are introduced: "This
is the Senator "This is the Gov
ernor'' This is the President. " Be-
fore we sit down at the Kings table in
heaven think we will want to be in
troduced. Oh, what time that will be,
when you and l, by the grace of God.
get into heaven and are introduced to
the mighty spirits there, and some one
will say: '"This is Joshua. '.This is
Paul. - ''This is Moses. . This is John
Knox - ''This is John Milton. y '"This
is Martin Luther. " "This is George
Whitefield" 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 Kings table with the sons
and daughters 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 Godl" And some
one at the table will say: How long
will it last? All other banquets at which
/ sat ended. How long will this last?"
and Paul will answer, "Foreverl' and
Joshua will say, "Foreverl' and John
Knox will say, Forever" and George
Whitefeld will say, 'Forever''
A Splendid Gospel.
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 Is 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. All our earthly imperfections
completely covered up and hidden.
Mephibosheth's feet under the table.
Kingly fare. Kingly vesture. Kingly
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 more to Mephibosheth than to
any one else, because he had been poor
and crippled and despised 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 appreci-
ate the music of heaven than we who in
this world had good hearing. And
those viii have higher appreciation of
the easy locomotion of that land who in
this world were Mephibosheths.
o my soul, what a magnificent Cos
peli II takes man SO low down and
raises him SO hight What a gospel
Come now, who wants to be banqueted
and impalaced? AS when Wilberforce
was trying to get the emancipation
bill" through the British parliament
and all the British isles were anxious
to hear of the passage of that "emanci-
patton bill, " when vessel was coming
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 peo-
pie long before he got up to the dock,
'Freel' and they cried it. and they
shouted it, and they sang it all through
the land, Free, freeI" So today /
would like to sound the news of your
present and your eternal emancipation
until the angels of God lowering in the
air, and watchmen ON the battlements,
ard bellmen in the town cry it, shout
1t, sing it, ring it, Free, freel" |
come out now as the messenger of the
palace to invite Mephibosheth to come
up. l am here today to tell you that
God has wealth of kindness to bestow
upon you for his Sons sake. The doors
OF the palace are open to receive you.
The cupbearers have already put the
chalices on the table, and the great,