The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1901-02-28


is Divine being, although you admit
that He was very good man. You
do not believe that the Bible was in
spired of God, although you think there
are some very fine things in it. You
believe that the Scriptural description
Of Eden was only an allegory. There
are so things that believe that you
do not believe, and yet you are an ac-
commodating man. Everybody that
knows you says that of you. If l should
ask you to do kindness for me or If
anyone else should ask Of you kind
ness, you would do it. If, when you
are i'll, I should come to you with q
vial of medicine and say: "This kind
of medicine cured so people who were
just as badly off as you are; take it,"
and you replied: Il do not want to
take it; have no confidence in it,"
would say: Take it to oblige me,"and
you would say: "Well, if it will accom-
modate you will take it," Now, you
have found that this world is insuffi-
cient and you are sick of sin. I come
to you with Gospel medicine. 1t has
cured hundreds and thousands and mill
lions. Will you take it? "No," you
say, II have no confidence in it." Take
it. then. to oblige me. tell you of Ply
sician who has cured more blind eyes,
and bound up more broken hearts, and
healed more ghastly wounds than all
the doctors since the time of Escula-
plus. Be obliging and just make the
experiment. Ifyou are not acquainted
with the ordinary modes of prayer, say
in substance: 80 Lord Jesus, this is a
strange thing for me to do. I know
nothing about the formulas of reli-
gion. These Christian people have been
talking so long about what thou canst
do for me l am ready to do whatever
thou commandest me. If there be any
power in religion, as these people say,
let me have the advantage of it," Will
you not try that experiment?
Oh, men, skeptical and struck
through with unrest! I beg you to
come off that great Sahara desert of
doubt into the bright and luxuriant
land of Gospel hope and peace. You
do not want your children to come
up in that skepticism. If you do not
believe in anything else, you believe
in love-a fathers love, a mothers
love, wife's love, chiid's love. Then
let me tell you that God loves you
more than all these together. The
great heart of Christ aches to have
you come in, and He looks into your
eyes this moment, saying: "Other
sheep I have which are not of this
fold.''
Again, remark that the Heavenly
Shepherd is going to find a great
many of the sheep among those who
have been full of evil habit. They
were all cheated into sin. The spider
does not say to the fly: "Come into
the web where / kill insects" Oh,
no. The spider says: Dearest fly,
come and talk a morning walk with
me on this suspension bridge of gos-
samer glittering with diamonds of
dew" Do not be hard on those gone
astray. It makes me sad to see Chris
tian people give up prodigal as lost.
There are those who talk as though
the grace of God were chain Of 40
or so links and that when they had
run out there was nothing left to
touch bad case. If they were hunt
ing and got off the track of the deer,
they would look longer among the
brakes and bushes for the lost game
than they would look for that lost
soul.
There is only one class of persons
about whom 1 am disheartened, and
they are the Gospel hardened. They
have been faithful in attendance at
churches for 20, 80 and 40 years, yet
never have surrendered themselves to
God. AS Christ says: "Publicans and
harlots 60 into the kingdom of heav-
en- before them" They have resisted
all the importantly of divine mercy
and have gone through most power
full earthquakes of religious feeling,
and they are farther away from God
than ever. After awhile they will lie
down sick, and some day it will be
told that they are dead. no hope!
But I turn to outsiders with an ex-
pectation that thrills through me,
body and soul. "Other sheep I have.
which are not of this fold" You are
not Gospel hardened. You have not
heard many sermons during the last
few years. You feel the Holy Ghost
this moment in your heart. You do
not weep, but the tear is not far Off.
You sigh, and you have noticed that
there is always sigh in the wind be-
fore the rain falls. There are those
here who would give anything il they
could find relief in tears. They say:
"Oh, my wasted life! Oh, the bitter
past! Oh, the graves over which !
have stumbled! Whittier shall fy7
Alas, for the future! Everything In
SO dark, so very dark! God help me!
God pity met" Thank the Lord for
that last utterance. You have begun
to pray, and when man begins to
petition, God steps in and beats back
the hounds of temptation to their
kennel and round about the poor
wounded soul puts the covert of his
pardoning mercy. Hark! I hear
something fall. What was that? /.
is the bars of the fence around tho
a