The age-herald., 1900-11-05
LOVING KINDNESS OF
 GOD THE FATHER
And the GodIy Lesson Given
 to All
SINS ARE FORGIVEN THEE
Mans Need and Gods Suflciency to Satisfy It"-God Forget Sins-Wis- dom and Eloquence from
 Rev. John G. Murray

Rev. John G. Murray's subject at the Church of the Advent yesterday forenoon was Mans Need and Gods Sufficieney to Satisfy It." The text was from the Il. Psalm, verses 10 to 13 inclusive.
 This is the prayer of David king among men and sinner before God, said Mir. Mur- ray. At one time or other Gin the case of some, If not most of us, this very hour) it constitutes the necessary petition of every individual here. When uttered by David it was charged to the full with the very burden of his life's experience. In the height and depth of it's meaning, it has never, before nor since, been uttered by any man except in momentous cries and under extreme pressure.
 Furthermore. this prayer is not only the expression of a soul stricken with a sense of deepest want and need, but it is also suggestive of most fundamental evangeI- ical truth of the religion of Jesus Christ. That truth is the all-suffieiency of God to supply mans greatest need. Let a simple, brief consideration of the nature of this common experience of man and the inn portance of this truth of God to man, con stitute the lesson for this family y-commun- ion mornings consideration.
 This experience of the soul is that through which we pass when, under the influence of the convicting power of the Holy Spirit of God, the shadow of some act contrary to right and manhood serves as a dark background, against which Is clearly revealed the contrasting light of the life spent in seeking knowledge of truth and in endeavor to walk in the way of wisdom. It is an experience, too, the true expression of which emphatically de- clares that for something more than mere forgiveness of sin past is the craving of our souls. We would that God might not only blot out the sin already committed, but that, by the working of His mighty power and in the exercise of His boundless love, He would also so change our very be- ing and make steadfast the spirit within us, that our desire in the future might ever be toward righteousness and purity instead of, as in the past, toward dissipation and sin
 Whatever may be the attitude of some persons when-the end of a worthless, dis solute life drawing near-they realize that Gods judgment condemns them and His consequent wrath is upon them. With honest, earnest men in the flush and heart of life, it is not so much fear of what is to come as it is dissatisfaction and regret regarding what has already transpired, that brings them to their knees and impels them, with bowed head and repentant heart to do homage at the feet of their crucified Lord. The prayer of David is not the supplication of cowardice seeking to avert future well-merited penalty for past sin. It is the petition of courage, freely acknowledging past transgression and emphatically affirming that, by the help of God, the future shall be different from the past, that finds expression in the words, Have mercy upon me, God, ac cording to Thy loving kindness: according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressons. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and clense me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Purge me with hyssop, and shall be clean: wash me- and I shall be winter than snow. ** Create in me a clean heart God: and renew right spirit within me- Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spir- it from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit Then will I teach transgres- sors Thy ways; and sinners shall be con verted unto Thee
 It Is only abnorma man who Is not mor- tifed in reflection upon past failure and its consequent degradation, and who does not yearn for that power in his life which will enable him so to live as to escape such modification In the future. Allured, tempted and conquered of the devil, man is made the slave of passion and the agent of the degradation of others. But under full conviction of sin, he never escapes be- coming ptifully conscious of his own dls- grace, unworthiness and hideousness. In this connection normal man never fails to feel the impulse of a better life within. And then if he be a man of courage, and not a coward-if he give expression to the promptings of the manhood of his soul under the influence of that impulse, in the dust before his Father, he not only ac- knowledges his present corruption, but also pleads for that new creation which will In all fullness accomplish his perfect restoration to a state, not only of freedom and forgiveness, but also of such desire and determination as will lead to works of
 
 temperance, gentleness and long suffering, purity and truth, in the name of God, for the future righteous esta ablishment of self and the accomplishment of the eternal sal- vation of others
 And this prayer God answers; and this power God confers. It is the prayer of mans need it is the answer of Gods suf- ficency to supply that need. Nor can this sufficiency elsewhere be found. either in the heights above or the depths below. It is only the Omnipotent God who, In the exercise of His conquerlng and subduing power controlled by the intercession of His crucified, arisen and ascended Son, can so disperse the darkness of the despair of the past with the light of the hope of the future as to inspire the ordinary mortal to successful renewed endeavor to permanent ly establish self and unselfshly assist others.
 of al,