Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1902-05-15

Dlue, lnQlGO ana VloieC Iheie nete' "o
been a rainbow in this world but these
have been seen in more or less prominence
In my message now, the prism is the cross,
and The light is God s truth. As it strikes
this long prism it breaks up into seven
colors. The seven together give us the
rainbow. ,
First, forgiveness. Psalm 80! blessed
is, he whose tran,sgression is torslven'
whose sin is covered"
What d wonderful thought it is! Oh,
what load of sin we had to carry! How
K did weigh us down.. How day and night
wretched man that am, who shall deliver
me?" Resolution never lifted it particle.
Reformation only seemed to make it heav-
Ter. Then He came, and stopped down, or
whispered to us just one sweet WORD,
forgiven" and when we realized it the
burden was taken off. To receive all OF
this we have but to yield to God, Trying
to make ourselves better only adds to the
cloud and deepens our despair. =,
The second color is cleansing. Psalm 81:
7-"Purge me with hyssop, and | shall be
clean: wash me, and shall be winter than
snow"
The little bunch of hyssop carries us
back to the Passover night, when, the
lamb was slain and it's blood collected. It
was not said that one should take d brush.
but bunch Of ,hyssop, and dip II in, the
blood and sprinkle the posts of the door.
The commonest thing that grew in the
had had but ' to o. step step to the door Of the cottage
and stoop down to pluck bunch Of hys-
sop. The commonest. thing in all this
world is faith We have faith in each,
other whether we express 1t in this word
or not; and the faith that one has in his
mother, in his father, in wife or husband,
if turned toward Jesus Christ would save
his soul. 1t is one thing to be forgiven, but
the color deepens; and the truth sweetens
blood of Jesus Christ we may be made
clean. '"rhe blood of Jesus Christ His
Son cleanseth lis from all sin"
The third color is Justification. Ro-
mans 4: 25-"Who was delivered for our
offences, and was raised again for our JUS
tification.'
One might be perfectly sure of his for.
giveness.. and know that it meant sins
taken off, and might be confident Of his
old life OF failure which is ever to him like
IA shackle when he would run to God. jus!
tification is sweeter by far than, anything
we have vet learned. When Christ rose
for our justification He stood before God
as n kind of receipt las John Robertson
has said), and when God looks upon that
receipt He knows the bill is paid.
Jesus paid it all. All to Him l owe.
Sin had left bitter stain, He washed it
white as snow.
But justification is even better to me
than this, for when ore is justified before
God he actually stands as if he never had
sinned.
The fourth color is-sins covered by the
Micah lO--"Ha will tnrn He
will have compassion upon us; lie Will SUB.
due our iniQuities; and Thou wilt cast all
their sins into the depths of the sea-"
1t is very comforting to know that there
are some depths in the ocean so deep that
they can never be sounded. Our sins must
have gone as deep.
There is also another thought OF COM
fort; if body is cast into the ocean where
the waters are not very deep, when the
the storm, as if with giant hands, takes the
dead body and casts it upon the shore.
But there are depths in the sea SO great
that no storm that has ever yet swept across
the face of the deep has stirred the waters.
Thanks be unto God our sins may be sunk
so deep in the sea that they will never be
cast up against us again. The color deep
ems and the truth grows sweeter still.
The fifth color is-sins removed: Psalm
no. AS ldl as tllc tdob 10 AiNh' '''>
west, so far hath He removed our trans
gressions from us.
1t has been proved that the distance
from east to west could never be meas
ured. This is certainly inspiring. Bat
there is something better for me than tins
in the fifth color, for when | am told that
my sins are as far from me as the east IL
from the west | know that the east and
the west can never be brought togetheri
nor can the saved sinner and his pardoned
sins ever meet again.
The sixth color is Isaiah A; 22-"l have
blottcd out, as a thick cloud, thy transgres.
sons, and, as cloud, thy sins; return UNI
to Me, for have redeemed thee"
A man cannot blot out his own sins.
Some have tried il with their tears, and
have lost their reason. Some have at
tempted it by works of mercy. and have
given up in despair. But God can easily
do it. For sins to be blotted out may
mean the same as for mans account to be
blotted out | may have a bill charged
against me on the books, but If on the op..
posite side is credited sufficient sum OF
money to meet the indebtedness, it Is
blotted out But the expression must mean
more than this. 1t means that when ones
sins are blotted out by God they are as II
they never had been.
The seventh color seems the climax OF
all. Ezekiel 33: l6-"None of his sins that
he hath committed shall be mentioned un.
to him; he hath done that which is lawful
and right; he shall surely live"
We have an idea that although our sins
have been forgiven and we may have been
justified, when the great day Of judgment
comes we may be obliged to meet them all
again. But this Is not true. Once and
for all hath He put away sin by the sac
rifce of Himself, and the sins of our lives
shall not again be mentioned to us.
WOODS COVENANT.
The bow was Gods covenant then. Now
Gods covenant is His Word, and upon
this Word we may depend. Notice the
number of times God uses the expression,
IL will" in Exodus @: 6-S:
Wherefore, say unto the children OF
Israel | am the Lord, and will bring you
out from under the burdens Of the Egypt
ians, and l will rid you out of their bond.
age, and will redeem you with stretched
out arm, and with great Judgments; and |
will take you to Me for people, and will
am the Lord your God which bringeth
you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians. And | will bring you in unto
the land, concerning the which did swear
to give it to Abraham, to Isaac and to
Jacob; and | will give you it for an hertz
age; am the Lord"
He ever waits to fill the covenant which
He has made with Christ concerning us.
II we would-have the joy Of salvation, we
need but two things; first, we must be-
lieve God; whatever our feelings may be,
we must believe; second, believing God,
we must act as il we believed Him. The
one gives us life. The other gives us joy in
life's possession.