The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-03-25

InRt Is what Chr1St does II Wo coulu pay
our debts. then It would be better to 80 uE
and pay them, saying: Here. LORD, mere 9tk i
| my obligation Here are the means with
which mean to settle that obligation. Now
give me a receipt. Cross 1t all OUT" The
| debt is paid.
| But the fact is we have fallen in the battle
We have gone down under the hot fire OF oul
transcressions, we have been wounded BY
the ssbers Of sin, we are helpless, we are un.
done. Christ comes. The loud clang heard
| In the sky on that Christmas night was only
the bell the resounding bell of the ambu.
lance Clear the way for the Son Of God
He comes down to bind up the wounds, and
| to scatter the darkness, and to save the lost.
Clear the way for the Son Of God! Chris.
comes down to US, and we are a dead lift.
He does not lift US with the tips Of His fin
gers. He does not lift us with one arm. He
comes down upon His knee, and then with a
dead lift He raises US to honor and glory and
immortality. "The Lord bath laid on Him
the iniquity OF us ALL" Why, then, will q
man carry his sins? You cannot carry sue
cessfuly the smallest sin you ever COM
mitted. You might as we'll put the Apen-
mines on one shoulderand tho Alps on the
other. How muca less can You carry all the
sins OF your lifetime? Christ comes ana
looks down in your face aud says: Il naVe
come through all the lacerat1ons OF these
DAYS, and through all the tempests. OF these
n,chts I hsye come to bear your burdens,
and to PARTON your sins, and to pay your
debts. Put them on My shoulder, put them
on NV heart" son Him the Lord hath iatd
the iniouity of us ALL" Sin has almost pest
cred the life out Of some OF you. At times
ii has made YOU cross and unreasonable. and
it has spoiled tho brightness Of your days
and the peace Of your nights. There ara
rren who have been riddled Of sin. The
world gives them no solace. Goss1mery and
volatile the world, while eternity, as they
look forward to it, Is black as midnight.
They writhe under the stings Of q conscience
which proposes to give no rest here and no
rest hereafter, and yet they do not repent,
they do not pray, they do not weep. They
do not realize that Just the position they oc'
cupy Is the position occupied by scores.
hunifeds and thousands of men who never
found any hope.
If this meeting should be thrown open and
the people who are here could give their
testimony, what thrilling experiences we
should hear on all sides! There is q man
who would say: 81 had brilliant surround
ings; I had the best education that one OF
the best collegiate institutions OF this coun-
try could give and observed all the morali-
ties OF life, and WAS self-righteous, and
thought I was all right before God rs am
all right before man, but the Holy Spirit
came to me one day and said, You are
sinner the Holy Spirit persuaded me OF the
fact. While I had escaped the sins against
the law Of the land. I had really committed
the worst sin man ever commits, the
driving back OF the Son o. God from my
hearts affections, and saw that my hands
were red with the blood Of the Son OF God,
and began to pray, and peace came to my
heart ant know by experience thst what
you say Is true" ION Him the Lord hath
laid the iniquity Of US ALL" Yonder is
man who would say. ~ was the worst
drunkard in the city; I went from bad to
worse; I destroyed myself; destroyed my
home; my children covered when entered
the house; when they put up their lip to be
kissed, struck them; when my wife pro-
tested against the maltreatment, kicked
her into the street. know all the bruises
and all the terrors Of drunkard's woe.
went on farther and farther from God until
one day got & letter, saying:
INV Dear Husband-I have tried every
way, done everything and prayed earnestly
anu fervently fol- your reformation, but
1t seems Of no avail. Since our little
Henry died, with the exception OF those few
happy weeks when you remained sober, my
life mad been one Of sorrow. Many OF the
nights have sat by the window, with my
face bathed in tears, watching for your
coming. am broken hearted, I am sick.
Mother and father have been here frequently
and begged me to come home, but my love
for you aud my hope for brighter days have
always made me refuse them. That hope
seems now beyond realization, and have re-
turned to them. It Is hard. and I battled
long before doing It. May God bless and
preserve you, and take from you that ao.
cursed appetite, and hasten the day when we
snail be again living happily together. This
will be my daily prayer, showing that He
has said, Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and will give you
rest From your loving wife, MARY.
"And so Wandered on and wandered on"
Methodist meeting house, and said to N.Y.
self, 'Tll 20 in and see what they are doing
and got to the door, aud they were slnglngi
"All may come, whoever will
This man receives poor sinners still.
"And dropped right there where was,
and said, God have mercyn and He had
mercy on me. My homeis restored, my wife
sings all day long during work. my children
come out q iong way to greet me home, and
my household Is little heaven. will tell
you what did all this for me. 1t was the
truth that you this day proclaim, "On Him
the Lord hath laid the iniquity Of us ALL"
Yonder is woman who would say, II wan
the storm that pc IS on q lost soul. My feet
were blistered on the hot rocks. went on
and on, thinking that no one cared for my
soul, when one night Jesus met me and He
said. Poor thing, go home! Your father Is
waiting for you, your mother is waiting for
you. Go home, poor thing!' And, sir,
was too week to pray, and I was too weak to
repent, but I just cried out sobbed out
nv sins and my sorrows on the shoulders OF
Him Of whom it ts sail, the Lord hath laid
on Him the iniuuity of US ali.'"
Some one comes here to-day and stand
aside. He comps up three steps. he comes
to this place. must stand aside. Taking
that place He spreads abroad HIS hands, and
they were nailed. You see His feet; they
we're bruised. He pulls aside thu robe and
shows you His wounded heart. say, "Ar
Thou weary" Eyes" He says. "weary with
the worlds woe" say, "Whence comest
Thou?" He says, ~ came from Calvary"
I say, "Who comes with Thee?" He says.
"No one; have trodden the winepress
alone" I say, why comest Thou hers?"
the sins and sorrows OF the people,"
Aud He kneels. He says. "Put on MY
shoulders all the sorrow and all
the SINS" And, conscious OF my own sins
first, I take them aud put them on the shoul-
ders OF the Son of God. Isay. "Cansr Thou
bear any more, O Cnrist?" He says. "Yes,
more" And gather upt tho sins Of all those
VINO serve at these altars. the officers Of
tho church OF Jesus Christi gather
up all their sins and I put them
on Christ's shoulders. and I say. "Canst
Thou bear any more?" He says. eyes. more"
Then gather up all the sins Of hundred
people In this house and put them on the
shoulders OF Christ, and say. "Oanst Thou
bear more?" He says, "Yea, more" And
gather up all the sins of this assembly and