The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-18

back from this water of life by the stone of an abdurate heart. which lies over the mouth of the well. You have no more feeling upon this subject than if God had yet to do you the first kind ness or you had to do God the first wrongs Seated on His lap all these years, His everlasting arms sheltering you. where is your gratitude? Where is your morning and evening prayer! Where are your consecrated lives? say to you, as Daniel said to Belshaz- gar, "The God in whose hand thy breath is and all they way thou hast not glorlfied." If you treated anybody as badly as you have treated God, you would have made 500 apologies-yea, apology. Three times a day you have been seated at Gods table. Spring, Esurnmer. asitumn and winter He hns appropriately appareled you. Your health from Him. your companion from Him. your children from Him. your home from Him. all the bright surroundings of your life from Him. Oh. man, what dost thou with that hard heart? Canst thou not feel one throb of gratitud toward the God that made you and the Christ who came to re0eem you, ana blie NlUiy 1hoct Who has all these years been importuning you? If you could sit down five min utes under the tree of a Savior's mar tyrdom and feel His lifeblood trickling on your forehead and cheek and hands. methinks you would get some apprecia- ton of what you owe to a cricified Jesus.
 Heart of stone. relent, relent.
 hxyI SllhdliAd. See His body. mangled. rent
 Covered with a gore of blood. Sinful soul what hast thou done! Crucified the Eternal Son?
 Jacob with a good deal of tug and push took the stone from the well mout hso that the ftocks might be wa tered, and l would that this day my | word, blessed of God, might remove the hindrances of your getting up to the gospel well. Yea. l take 1t for gramed that the work is done. and now, like oriental shepherds. l proceed to water the sheep. Come, all ye thirsty! You have an undefined long ing in your soul. You tried money ma king; that did not satisfy you. You tried office under government; that did not satisfy you; you tried pictures and sculptures, but works of art did not satisfy you. You are as much discon- tented with this life as he celebrated French author who felt that he could not any longer endure the misfortunes of the world and who said: At 4 o'clock this afternoon 1 shall put an | end to my own existence. Meanwhile must toll on up to that time for the susteAance of my family" And he
 wrote on his book until the clock struck A. when he folded up his manuscript and by his own hand concluded his
 earthly life.
 There are men who are perfectly dis contented. Unhappy in the past, un- happy today, to be unhappy forever un-
 less you come to this gospel well. This
 satisfies the soul with asshigh. deep. all
 absorbing and eternal satisfaction. IL
 comes and 1t offers the most unfortu
 nate man so much of this world as is
 best for him and throws all heaven in-
 to the bargain. The wealth of Croesus
 and of all the Rothschilds Is only a
 poor. miserabl shilling compared with the eternal fortunes that Christ offers
 you today. In the far east there was king who used once a year to get on
 scales, while on the othr side the
 scales were placed gold and silver and
 gems. Indeed enough were placed there ! to balance the king. Then at the close
 of the weighing all those treasures
 were thrown among the populace. But | Christ today steps on one side of the scales. and on the other side are all the treasures of the universe. and He says: All are yours-all height, all depth. all length. all breadth. all eter- I nity:- all are yours" We do not appre- ciate the promises of the gospel.
 When an aged clergyman was dying,
 a. man very eminent in the church, a young theological student stood by his side. and the aged man looked up and
 said to him: Cant you give me some
 comfort in my dying hours?" NO,
 said the young man. T can't talk to
 you on this subject. You Naow all about it and have known 1t so long. E"Well." said the dying man. just re- cite to me some promises. The young man thought a moment. and he came to this promise: The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin," and the old man clapped his hands and in his dying momen, said: That's just the
 promise I have been waiting for, The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin" Oh, the warmth, the gran deur. the magnifcence of the prom ises!
 Come also to this gospel well, all ye troubled. do not suppose you have es- caped. Compare your view of this life
 at 15 years of age with what your view
 is of it at 40 or 60 or 70. What a grea, contrast of opinion! Were you right
 then. or are you right now? Two cup: | placed in your hands. the one swee
 cup. the other a sour cup. A cup of Joy
 and a cup of grief. Which has beer
 the nearest to being full, and out O.