The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1909-09-30
THE PULPIT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR.. G. A. JOHNSTON ROSS.
Theme: Gods Second Best.

teTldn OuuICn. LIT. hOSS, VINO was
until recently the minister at st. CO.
lomba's Church in Cambridge, Eng
land, a church largely attended by
university men, has accepted the pas
torate of the fashionable Presbyterian
Church at Bryn Mawr, near Philadel-
phia. DR.. Ross spoke on Gods Sec
ond Best" from the following text: /.
Samuel 20: For the Lord will not
forsake His people for His great
names sake because II hath pleased
the Lord to make you His people.
Moreover as for me, God forbid that
/ should sin against the Lord in ceas-
ing to pray for you; but | will teach
you the good and the right way. Only
fear the Lord and serve Hin in truth
with all your heart; for consider how
great things He hath done for you.
But If ye shall still do wickedly, ye
shall be consumed, both you and yous
King" He said:
II man has blundered and played
The fool in the management of his
life, missing his chances and throw
ing foulness about his spirit, how far
may that man, If anxious to do well,
look for the recovery of lost ground
and the renewalof opportunity? That
Is the question which [ purpose to
deal with tonight. or course the
unteachable fool must simply look
forward to certain ruin, but / am
thinking of man anxious to redeem
his life, and the question | want to
discuss is this: Is there for such a
man a second chance7 For all |
know such man may have come into
this church tonight; and how long
he may have been worried with this
question, and in how many churches
he may have tried to get light upon
1t, God alone knows. But II there is
q second chance for the man 1t is tre-
mendously importan. that the man
should know its nature and extent.
II a man has been depressed by fall
ure and is really ashamed of his fool
ishness he has almost right to be
made aware of the existence of the
process of divine repair, If such a
process really exists. And II is equal
ly important that he should under
stand the limitation of such a process
of divine repair for salvation, lest he
should be too tempted to count upon
divine indulgence, which does not, as
a matter of fact, exist, or else he
should be tempted to count upon the
proyidential reor6ering of his life,
which will not take place
What, precisely, does forgiveness
mean? What does it involve? If it
means that when one is sorry for sin,
God is glad to hear of it, that is a
very creditable representation of God.
But surely 1t means more than that.
Does 1t mean that God not only ap-
proves the mans penitence, but as.
sists him? Does forgiveness involve
the recovery of lost ground? That is
what we want to know. Is 1t legiti-
mate for man to look forward, If hs
accepts Christ, to real restoration Ci
life, strength and hope? 1t is on the
rock of that question that the mes.
sage OF religion is most often split,
either by being mispreached or mis-
understood. Men see for themselves
that life becomes more and more
tangled; that habit grows in power;
that 1t is impossible to put the clock
back; that wrongdoing sticks and
clings and ones omissions and fail
ures tend to lose their negative power
and In time become stumbling blocks,
and we are in the ENHANCEMENT pro.
duced by sin, and then we hear the
message of salvation. Woe betide
the religion which then holds out
SuioC hcpNO " NiC luOusduus
of men are asking: What do YOU
preachers mean precisely by the for.
giveness of sin? Personally, | be.
lieye with I'll my heart and soul In
the forgiveness of sin. There is q
certain process, a principle, to which
/ want to call your attention, and
want to give that principle a certain
name, which name, | warn you, is not
absolutely accurate, but which IL
brief and approximates to accuracy,
1t Is not my thought; Ihave borrowed
1t. The name Is this: Gods second !
best" l believe, If we are to under,
stand the doctrine of forgiveness we
must hold this truth of Gods second !
best" | will try to illustrate this |
First OF all, the Bible shows that the I
Jewish people were designed to stand /.
before the nations of the world az
the people OF God, being obviously led |
and guided by the immediate spirit. |
ual control of the one true God. As
a scholar, now dead, put 1t, "Israelwas
TO be so passionately devoted to God |
and to be SO sensitive to the divine |
VIII that Israel was to need no human |
rule or government to compel them tc
do right. They were to live in the
immediate intercourse with God"
Israel had no king at the beginning.
They were under Gods care and they
were to stand before the world as an
object lesson.
That was Israel's first best. The
books of Judges and Samuel tell the
story of Israel's degeneration from
this first best. There came a time
when the people said it was absolute.
ly necessary that they should have a
king. Samuel was grleved at this de.
liberate renunciation of Gods first
best, and demonstrated. But the peo.
pie pressed him, and he prayed to
Jehovah, and when he had done so he
began to see that after all he must ac.
quiesce. Note the bearing Of this on
the meaning Of forgiveness. God is
represented as acquiesclng in the &C.
ton OF the people. and He says, Let
them have their king"
Samuel says. THE Lord will not
forsake His people for His great
names sake" God Is not going to be
fckle because you are.
Thus 1t is shown that God is con.
slstent with Himself. God has
planned certain plan. Smash 1t as |
yod please. You will not defeat God. |
But the kings passed away. Their |
existence was but n naranthaafs On |