Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-03-05

| ade and the confiagration, and tho multi
plication, and the multitude Of your sor-
rows and troubles, 1 think, must mako tho
wings Of Gods lowering angels SILVER to
tho tip.
Debt Payer.
But the last part Of my text opens q
door wido enough to lot us all out and to
let all heaven in. Sound 1t on tho organ
with all the stops out. Thrum it on tho
harps with all the strings atune. With all
tho melody possible let the heavens sound
It to the earth and let the earth toll 1t TO
the heavens "The Lord hath laid on him
the iniqulty of us ALL" l am glad that
tho prophet did not stop to explain whom
he meant by him" Him of the manager
| him of the bloody sweat, him OF tho rosur-
rcotion throne, him of tho crucifixion
agony. "On him the Lord hath laid the
iniquity of us all" "Oh," soys some
man, "thnt Isn't generous, that isn't
fair; let every man carry his own burden
and pay his own debts" That sounds
reasonable II l have an obligation, and
1 have tho means TO meot 1t, anl l como TO
you and ask you TO sdttlc that obligation,
you rightly say, "Pay your own debts"
! il you and are walking down the street.
both hale hearty ard well, and ask you to
carry mo, you say rightly, "Walk on your
own feet" But suppose you and | were
| in q regiment, and | was wounded in tho
| baltic and fell unconscious at your feet
with gunshot fractures and dislocatons,
what would you dor You would call to
your comrades. saying: "Come and help!
This man Is helpless. Bring tho ambu-
lance. let us take him TO the hospital"
And would DO dead lift in your arms,
and you would lift me from the ground
where ! had fallen and put mo In tho am
| bulanco and toEO me to tho hospital aud
| have all kindness shown mo. Would there
be anything bcmcaning in my accepting
that kindnessp oh, no. You would DO
mean not to do il. That Is what Christ
does. If we could pay our debts, thcn IL
would DO better to go up and pay them,
saying, Here, Lord, here is my obliga-
tion hero are tho means with which
mean TO sottlo that obligation. Now give
me receipt. Cross it all out" Tho
debt Is paid.
But the fact ia, we have fnllon in tho
baltic; we have gone down undor the hot
fire OF our transgrcssons; we hayo been
wounded by the sabers of sin; we arc help
less we are undone Christ comes Tho
loud clang heard in the sky on that Christ
mas night was only tho bell, tho resound-
| ing bell of the ambulance Clear tho way
for the son of God. He comes down a.
| bind up tho wounds and to scatter Tho
darkness and to save the lost. Clear tho
way for tho Son of God Christ comes down
TO u.s. and wo are dend lift He does not
lift us with the tips Of his fingers. lie
| does not lift us with one arm. He comes
| down upon his knee, and then with q
dead lift he raises us to honor and glory
and immortality. Tho Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity Of us oil" Why
then, will n man carry his sins? You can
not carry successfully the smallest sin you
ever committed. You might az well put
the Apennines on ono shoulder and the
Alps on the Other. How much less can
you carry all tho sins of your lifetime?
Christ comes and looks down in your face
and says: II have come through all tho
decorations of these days and through all
the tempests of these nights / have come
to bear your burdens and to pardon your
sins and to pay your debts. Put them on
my shoulder, put them on my heart"
ION him the Lord hath laid the iniquity
of us all" Sin has almost pestorcd tho
life out Of some of you. At times it has
made you cross and unreasonable and it
has spoiled the brightness of your days
and the peace Of your nights There rro
men who have boon riddled Of sin. The
world gives them no solaco. Gossamery
and volatile the world, while eternity, as
| they look forward to 1t, Is black as mid
night. They writho under tho stings of
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 occupy Is tho posi-
ton occupied by scores, hundreds and
thousands of men who never found any
hope.
A Letter.
If this meeting should be thrown open,
and tho people who are here could give
their testimony, what thrilling experiences
we should hear on all sidesl There Is a
man who would say: II had brilliant sur
roundings, had tho best education that
ono of the best collegiate institutions of
this country could give and l observed all
the moralities Of life, and was self right
eous and l thought l was all right before
| God rs am all right before man, but tho
| Holy Spirit came to me one day and said
You are sinner. The Holy Spirit per-
suadod me of tho fact Whiie j had es-
capped tho sins against the law of tho land
l had really committed the worst sin
man ever commits-the driving back of
the Son of God from my heart Affections
and saw that my hands were red with
the blood of tho Son of God, and l began
| to pray, and peace came TO my heart and
know by experience that what you say IL
| true" "On him the Lord hath laid the
iniquity Of us ALL" Yonder Is u man who
would say; 81 was tho worst drunkard in
the city; went from bad to worse; | do
stroyed myself; destroyed my home; my
children covered when 1 entered the
house; whom they put up their lips to be
kissed, l struck them; whom my vito pro-
tested against the maltreatment, kicked
her into'the street. l know all tho bruises
and oil the terrors Of a drunkard's woe. !
went on farther and farther from God,
until one day got u letter, saying:
"MY DEAR HUsBAND--I have tried every way
done every thing and prayed earnestly and fer.
vently for your reformation, but it seems OF
no avail. Since our little Henry died, with the
exception Of those fow happy weeks when you
remained sober, ny lifo had been one Of sor-
row. Many OF the nights have sat by tho
window with my face bathed in tears, watch
mg for your coming, am broken hearted, /
am sick. Mother and father have been here
frequently and begged me to come home, but
my lovo for you end my hope for brighter days
havo always made me refuse them. That hope
seems now beyond realization, and have re-
turned to them. 1t is hard, and battlcd long
before doing IL. May God bless and preserve
You and take from you that accursod appetite,
and hasten the day when wo shall be again liy-
ing happily together This win be my daily
prayer, knowing that he has said, Come unto
mo, all ye that labor and are heavy Laden, and
/ will give you rest From your loving wife,