Connecticut western news., 1902-03-13


 able. But they have had enough di- vine philosophy to cast off the annoy unces, and they have kept themselves In the sunlight of Gods favor and have realized that these oppositions and hin drances are part of a mighty disci- pline by which they are to be prepared for usefulness and hea zen. The secret of it all Is they have, by the help of the Eternal God, learned how to forget.
 Canceling Your Debts.
 Another practical thought: When our faults are repented of let them go out of mind. If God forgets them, we have right 10 forget them. Having once repented of our infelicities and misde- meanors, there Is no need of our re penting of them again. Suppose I owe you large sum of money, and you are persuaded l am incapacitated to pay and you give me acquittal from that obligation. You say: 'I cancel that debt. All Is right now. Start again." And the next day I come in and say: You know about that big debt l owe you. I have come in to get you to let me off. feel so bad about 1t cannot rest. Do let me off," You reply with little impatience: "I did let you of. Don't bother yourself and bother ne with any more or that discussion" TEe following day I come in and say: "A dear sif about that debt-I can neT r get over the fact that owe you tn t money. It Is something that weighs D my mind like q millstone. Do forgi; e
 Lsn .1n lose your patience and say: tYou a e q nuisance. What do you mean by th 8 reiteration of that affair? am almo It sorry forgave you that debt. Do V u doubt my veracity or do you not unde.'- stand the plain language in which told you that debt was canceledf We'll, my friends, there are many Christians guilty of worse folly than that. While it is right that they re- pent of new sins and of recent sins, what Is the use of bothering yourself and insulting God by asking him to forgive sins that long ago were for given? God has forgotten them. Why do you not tforget them? No; you drag the load on with you, and 365 times year, if you pray every day, you ask God to recall occurrences which he has not only forgiven, but forgotten.
 Quit this folly. I do not ask you less to realize the turpitude of sin, but ask you to higher faith in the promise of God and the full deliverance of his mercy. He does not give a receipt for part payment or so much received on account, but receipt in full, God hay ing for Christ's sake decreed your sins and your iniquities will remember no more" AS fal as possible let the dis agreeables of life drop. We have enough things n the present, and there will be enough in the future, to dis turb us without running special train into the great Goneby to fetch us as special freight things left behind. Years ago, when there was . great railroad stl ike I remember seeing all along the route from Omaha to Chi cago and from, Chicago to New York hundreds q, Id thousands of freight cars switched on the sidetracks, those cars loaded with all kinds of perishable ma terial, decaying and wasting. After the strike was over did the railroad companies bring all that perished ma terial town to the markets? No; they threw it off where it was destroyed and loaded up with something else. Let the long train of your thoughts throw oif the worse than useless freight of n corrupt and destroyed past and load up with gratitude and faith and holy determination. We do not please God by the cultivation of the miserable. He would rather see us happy than to see us depressed. You would rather see your children laugh than to see them cry, and your Heavenly Father has no fondnesa for mysteries.
 Allow Others to Forget.
 Not only forget your pardoned trans gressions, but allow others to forget them. The chief stock on hand of some people is to recount in prayer meetings and pulpits what big scou1- drels they once were. They not only will not forget their forgiven deficits, but they seem to be determined that the church and the world shall not for get them. If you want to declare that you have been the chief of sinners and extol the grace that could save such . wretch as you were, do so, but do not go into particulars. Do not tell how many times you got drunk or to what bad places you went or how many free rides you had in the prison van before you were converted. Lump 1t, brother; give 1t to us in bulk. If you have any scarp got in honerable warfare. show them, but if you have scars got in igno- ble warfare do not display them. know you will quote tie Bible reference to the horrible pit from which you were dlgged. Yes, be thankful for that res. | cue, but do not make displays of the mud of that horrible pit or splash fl over other people. Sometimes I have felt In Christian meetings discounted and unfit for Christian service be- I cause I had done none of taose things which seemed to be, in the estimation of many, necessary for Christian use | fitness, for I never swore a word or ever got drunk or went to eompromis- ing places or was guilty of assault and battery or ever uttered a slanderous word or ever did any one a hurt, al- l though I knew my heart was sinful enough, and I said to myself, There iB no use of my trying to do any good, l for I never went through those de prayed experiences" But afterward I saw consolation In the thought that no one gained any ordination by the lay Ing on of the hands of dissoluteness and infamy. | And though an ordinary moral life, ending in Christian life, may not be as dramatic story to tell about, let us be grateful to God rather than worry about it if we have never plunged into outward abominations. It may be ap. propriate in meeting of reformed drunkards or reformed debauchees to | quote for those not reformed how des- perate and nasty you once were, but dc not drive scavenger's cart into assem- blages of people the most of whom have always been decent and respecta | ble. But I have been sometimes ir