Milford chronicle., 1907-01-18
CalmaQe
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt TalmaGe, DID.

A-SN Isl DutuCuS duu dIulCLOus
may be transformed into blessing.
through divine mercy and power tc
those who ask in faith. The text is
John tx, 3, That the works of God
should be made manifest in him."
There is something very consolatory
to me in the fact that the character
sketches of the Old and the New Tesla
ments do not deal entirely with the
EnochS and the Joshuas and the Jo-
sephs. These men. to be frank, are
too good for me to feel fellowship with
them. ! read and reread the records
Of their lives and l do not find one flaw
in them. But when l find God Offering
his mercy and pardon to a Jacob and a
David and a Peter and a doubling
Thomas I say to myself, "Ah, if God
can cleanse such men of their sins.
know he can and will cleanse me of
my sins if only throw myself upon
his mercy and his love" Now, our
Lords disciples had the same doubts
and the same failings in their nature
as we have. Though they lived very
close to Jesus in a physical sense, they
were just as far from him in a spir-
itual sense as some of us are The
same problems and difficulties which
are worrying us were worrying them.
The same questions which are being
discussed by us were being discussed
by them. And here today we find one
of the greatest of all modern questions
being brought by them to Christ for
settlement.
Jesus was one day going out of the |
temple accompanied by his friends |
There by one of the gates stood a |
young man blind from his birth. He |
was a beggar. He had that mute ap-
peal of sightless eyeballs so pathetic
to look at He stood there as hundreds
of blind mendicants now stand in the
east, begging for money with the
words: "Backsheesh! Backsheesh. For
the love of God, give me backsheeshw l
think that the disciples as they were
walking along had their heads togeth-
er, talking earnestly upon some great
gospel theme. They wanted Christ to
explain for them some of the knotty
questions Of theology which we all
want him to do. Among these prob
lens was probably that Of suffering.
Was it true. as so many Jews be-
lieved, that afiliction was sent as pun
ishment for sin? We know from the
book Of Job that such an idea was
prevalent, but was it true? There were
some facts that contradicted the the
Dry. Some men were undoubtedly
good, yet were great sufferers. This
difficulty was so obvious that another
theory had sprung up. There were
some who said perhaps the sufferer
s god, and his suffering may be the
'esult Of the sin of his ancestors" As
hey talked they noticed the conspicu- !
JUS beggar at the temple gate, and !
hey made his case the subject of a =,
question to their Master. Why was =
his man blind? Was his blindness a :
punishment for his own sin or for =
ONE sin committed by his parents? -
hat is a question which has long been
mystery, and perhaps you and .
ave discussed it a hundred times. +
What did Jesus say? Why. he said =
Neither hath this man sinned nor his 2
arents, but that the works of God q
lould be made manifest in him" II
The Explanation. Of
Have you grasped the full signid- b
lnce Of this answer? If you do you II
ave the key to some of the mysteries p
f your own life. God has sent to you /
iat lung trouble, or that dullness of tC
caring, or that dimness of eyesight, n,
, that family trouble, or that financial IL
stress, not on account of your sins ii
on account of your parents sins. but IL
lat Gods mercy and power might be til
ade manifest to all the world in your to
IL. Do you believe that? Well, if be
1t, I want to plead with you to be- Ga
we n'0 Therefore let us try and find us
It hoy the works of God can be made m,
anifeBt in your present physical, men ed
ane spiritual troubles, as they were pc
ade manifest in the miraculous cure no
theI young man of the east who was fe
m blind and who had his eyesight to
ven Ito him when he Obeyed the com &c
lndk of the Lord Jesus Christ. pr
WHEN the blind mans eyes were I'M
ened Christ performed a miracle ey
HIGH no power on earth had ever pc
en- able to do. He was not an oculist mi
10 was cutting away a cataract Str
lich. as a dark curtain, had been MI
opped over the eyeball of an old SCI
IN. He was not a charlatan who ma
IS making q salve out of the mud to tn'
;uaga the Inflammation Of the Oph- OD
llmic nerves. But he was a miracle gu
rker who could give hearing to u
If and dumb man who had been So'
u - 80, - 49, -, e., 80 Bill
Se,-,.---7 +1 be
~ Testibules of the ear. In other
rds, Christ was giving to this young
n of the east his eyesight when Ior
re was no visual organ there, when sta