The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1903-08-21
Getting Back Into the Harness
Sermon by the Highway and Byway" Preacher.
David In the Fifty-First Psalm Points the Wa
Back to God and HIS Service
Copyright, 1903, by ]. NJ. Edson.)

sought with earnestness of purpose to
get back into the harness where he
could feel the comradeship and fellow
ship of his Lord and know that he was
working effectively for Him.
M Y CHRISTIAN friend, my brother
1N1 or sister in Christ, has sinful in
diligence of the inner life or the out
ward conduct, has sin of omission or
of commission, has neglect or indiffer-
ence, or willful desire, interrupted your
fellowship with your Lord, and taken
away your sense of joy in the saving
Lord and His blessed service? Has
there come a deadness in your Chris
tian life, which makes of the Christian
life and service a painful duty? Have
you gone on in blind desperation and
Encouragement? Have you somehow
thought to earn your way back to the
Lord? Have you by your feverish zeal
endeavored to wipe out past sins and
failures? Perhaps you have. We all
are so apt to do so. 1t is so hard to
get away down in the dust of humility
and confess sin and plead for forgive
ness and cleansing. The pride of the
heart keeps us from bending our knees
and opening our hearts to the search
light of Gods purity and the cleansing
of Christ's shed blood. We go on, and on,
but transgreSSOrs are not taught the
way of the Lord, and sinners are net
converted. What we need is what
David needed. The cry of the Psalm
ist must pour from our lips. We must
10 Of p
pentance SO that we may again be
yoked UP with Christ and with Him
perform joyful and efficient service.
Ii AVING gained the presence of the
ii Lord by confession and repent
ance, David pleads for six things as es-
sential to equipment for service. He
longs to get back into the harness of
his Lords service again. He wants to
teach transgreSsOrs the ways of the
Lord; he wants to lead sinners to sal
vatiOn. He knows he is not fitted to do
so, but he knows the Lord can equip
him. He asks first for clean heart.
Create for me clean heart, o Cod"
This, God only can do. Man can sweep
and garnish the old natural heart, but
it takes God to Great clean heart. You
remember Jesus parable of the man
who drove out the unclean spirit from
his heart and swept and garnished it,
and how later seven other spirits more
evil than the first came back in mis-
company and took possession of the
heart which the man had cleaned. 1t
is always SO when man undertakes the
task of his own heart cleaning. Fail
ure and disappointment must always
mark such attempt, for God is the only
one who can successfully perform the
task. David does not ask God to patch
up the old heart, but pleads for the
creation of a clean heart, as though
there was nothing which David could
provide which would make any kind
of presentable heart. What is needed
in his case is a creation, not a max
ing over.
During house-cleaning time last
spring wife and 1 spread out an old
rug which we thought contained abun-
dant good material for a smaller
made-over rug, but when we came to
examine carefully preparatory to the
making of the new rug we found that
the remnants of the old rug were so
utterly worthless that it was out of
the question to use it. David spread
his heart out before the Lord and
when he saw its filth and worthless
ness he gave up the thought of re-
construction and at once pleaded for
the creation of something new. Some
how or other these hearts of ours ap-
pear pretty good and able to supply
rio1 IF
construct clean heart, but when we
put it into Gods hands for remating
He begins to show us that what He
has declared regarding the human
heart-that it is "deceitful above all
things and desperately wicked"-is
true, and we turn hopelessly from our
selves and plead David's prayer:
Create for me a clean heart, o God"
n AvID's second request was for a
IL "Steadfast spirit" With David it
was a desire for renewal of that which
he had known in the days that were
behind. The steadfast spirit had kept
him faithfully watching over his f1oclls |
until called by God and anointed to be |
king. 1t had made him patient all |
through the years of persecution and |
trial at the hands of Saul 1t had |
made him brave in the hour of danger. |
1t had given him a generous, forgiv- |
ing spirit when Saul was within his |
power and when victory finally gave |
him the kingdom. II is a blessed thing |
10 be able TO plead for renewal of a |
steadfast spirit The past life speaks
much of hopefulness for the future.
But even If the Christian cannot plead !
.or renewal, though the past Chris
ian life has been all written over
with weakness and failure, still he
nay ask God to GIVE a steadfast
spirit And this" says F. B. Meyer.
God can give and will give to US by
His Holy Spirit. He can renew our
will from day to day, and infuse into
is His own unaltering, unalterakle
purpose. He can make possible obedi-
,nce to the apostolic Injunction. BE
70 steadfast, unmovable, ALWAYS
lbounding in the work OF the Lord
Hear what comfortable words the
ADostle Peter saith: The God of all
grace, VINO called you unto His eter-
lal glory in Christ. after that We have
suffered little while, shall Himself
'estore, stablish, and settle you
Then we shall move resolutely and
onward, Like Colum-