Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-11-13

ucpr became nopslesSiy IN debt by
the law OF that time be would have
been expelled from the army on &C
count OF these debts One night lie sat
up in his tent making an account OF
these debts and wrote under them these
words: who VIII pay my debtsr'
Then in utter Encouragement the young
man fell sound asleep. with his head
on the table That night the emperor
was making his rounds OF the camp.
He saw the candle burning In the
young mans tent and stepped I'm.
There he saw the paper and the trou-
bled look upon the young officers face.
He read the memorandum. and then he
picked up the pen and wrote under the
question. 81. Nicholas. the emperor Of
all the Russias. will" Today. like the
Russian emperor. Christ. the divine
sufferer. will pay the price OF your sins
Christ the King will lift the heavy
burden OF our evil past; Christ's death
shall cancel our well deserved sentence
OF capital punishment oh. the Joy.
the peace. the rapture. the glorious tri-
umph OF feeling. that Jesus can lift the
heavy load Of sin or from every crush
ed heart! Brother. sister-man. wom-
an and ehi!d-if you have not yet re-
ceived this glorious rest which comes
from the forgiveness OF sins will you
not az the foot OF the cross kneel and
take 81 nowf
A Heavy Burden.
The Heavenly Father offers rest from
financial distress. The older grow
the more ] realize that the greatest
struggle on earth Is after daily bread
Most people are not lighting for the
luxuries, but for the bare necessaries.
IL man gets $50 or 500 ahead in the
bank then comes some dangerous sick.
ness In the family His daughter Is
threatened with blindness. and she has
TO go 10 the best oculist and have the
most expensive glasses. or his wife
breaks down. and she must go of for
rest. and extra servants are hired, and
the whole sum OF money is soon swept
away.
Said n young man of about thirty
Eve years OF age 70 me n short time
ago: Il have no sympathy for people
who financially do not get ahead II
they would systematic their business
and work regularly they would have
plenty OF money" YES" soliloquiz-
ed as looked at him. that Is all well
enough for you to say. You have q
mother who has supported you all your
life. You have never known what II
Is to pay dollar for rent. Only a few
clothes have ever come out of your
salary. What would you have done
IL you had four or five children and bad
to live upon your salary and perhaps
support q widowed mother or an or
phan sister. as many, aye. most men,
have 10 do?" Life for the most of US
is a ceaseless struggle for bare phys
zeal existence.
The financial burden is the heavy one
TO bear. Most of us are ready to grant
that That burden. too, Christ will
bear II you commit il 10 bis hands
Your anxiety, your distress. your fore
boding. be will relieve. and be will
give you rest. Now says some one
the preacher is talking simple nom
sense! IL do not get out and hustle
and work and worry and get the mon.
ey 10 feed and clothe and educate my
children God will never do Il FOR me-
! do not believe In expecting that God
will relieve me OF my financial distress
any more than I would expect the wa
ter 10 boil In the kettle if did not
have q fire in the stove or my cupboard
be full of food unless could order II
at the grocer's or the butchers. When
you begin 10 talk about God carrying
the burden Of financial distress then
you are simply talking about some
thing you know nothing about"
God Never Fails.
No. my brother. you are wrong. The
mlghtiest men Of God have always
rolled at Christ's feet the burden Of
financial distress, and God has never
failed them. By that do not mean
these men have been lazy or indolent
But l do mean that while they were
physicaiiy and mentally doing their
level best to earn the necessary amount
for their livelihood they Were at the
same time placing their financial obli.
cations before Christ and asking him
to furnish Ia his own way the neces.
sary means. Study the life OF Moody.
Who furnished him the money with
which to carry on his great work
God: emphatically God. When Mr..
Moody received his invitation TO go and
0bid evangelistic services In England
and Scotland he practically did not
have cent. He accepted the invita-.
ton. He engaged passage upon trans.
atlantic steamer. The time grew near.
er and nearer for him to sail. Some
one asked him where he was going "a
get the money with which to sail. 81
do not know" he answered, hut God
Will send IL In time. I am going upon
his mission" About two or three days
before be was TO SAN q gentleman
walked into his Office and said: "Mr.
Moody. hear you are going to Europe.
l thought You might want little mon.
ey. Here Is $500. IL you will take e."
THANK you." answered Moody. he
took 1t. He took not as from man, but
from God. That $500 paid Mr.. Moody's
passage over to England, 20 that he
could preach Jesus Christ In the home
OF Robert McCheyne and John Robert
son and Rowland Hill.
Study the history of George Muller
In some respects his Is the most inspir
Ing Christian history of the nineteenth
century. Who built for him his great
institutions Of mercy? Mann No; God
Mr.. Muller never directly asked one
cent or any man. He went ahead in
faith. IL he needed money he would
go to God and ask for II rs confidently
as child would GO ana ask money
from father or mother. God never
failed George Muller. He will never
fall us financially II we will only do
the work God has given us to do.
A Hint TO Church Membera.
And, my dear Christian friends. this
plea to roll the financial distress of
your life upon Christ brings I'D n very
pertinent lesson which ought to be
practiced by all our churches. Do you
know why the average Christian
church is having such hard work to
get along financially? At the end of
the year few rich men have to nut
their hands in their pockets and make
up the heavy deficit 1t is because
these churches in looking after the