The Washington herald., 1918-02-03
King and Beggar Have
An Equal Chance to Win
Their Way to Heaven
EVENING SERMON
"The Poor Mans Cry"

to do wrong, oh. but they serve a
master, the devil, who drives them
with whip lashes, my friends, like
scorpions and there are times that /
feel my heart torn with sorrow; peo-
pie that don't want to do wrong, but
they are driven by the power Of the
devil.
So 1t Is with the man who drinks;
he takes a little more and more and
until at last 1t holds him in bands
stronger than steel and more terrible.
Now. We all know that's true. Some
people are aware of that from sad
and bitter experience.
This poor man cried, and the
Lord heard him, and saved him out
Of all his troubles"
The man Of my text was probably
trying to get out Of his trouble in his
own way and there will always be
trouble where there In sin. II 10 the
devils business to make trouble. You
don't need to consume my energy or
time listening to me to know II Is
true. We all know IL Il true, and
most everybody from experience. too.
Read the Psalms.
The child soon learns If 1t disobeys
the parents there will be trouble, and
II you hide your sins you will have
trouble. The Bible says, He that
covereth his sins shall not prosper,
but who-so confesseth and forsaketh
them shall have mercy"
This poor man cried" II you want
to know what Christian experience IS.
read the Psalms. They are full OF
1t and they are authentic. You can't
always tell by hearing a fellow talk
in meeting just what Christian expe-
rience is. The reason Is that nobody
has ever lived so they could clearly
express what they fell In their hearts,
that is, to be fully understood. Spiritu-
al things at best are mighty poorly
expressed in words.
There are some things you know
that you can't find words to express.
l love my wife and children, but il
you'd ask me to frame 1t in the words
of the English language. 10,000. 900 more
words wouldn't contain the words
that I'd like to express what I mean
in my innards. 1 can't do it, so there
are some things you can't even tell
in words
This poor man cried" and the
Lord heard him. So He will make
Heaven keep still to hear you when
you cry and ask for help in this old
world. He was seeking God with a
breaking heart. and such a man was
never disappointed, never! And he
wanted God more than riches. He
wanted God more than fame. He
wanted God more than honor. and
the soul cried for immediate, defin-
lite help. and the Lord was there to
help him.
Standing up for prayers. lifting
your hands. going down on your
knees won't do any good unless
your heart is on its knees asking
God to forgive your sins.
IF thou seek the Lord thy God,
thou shalt find Him, il thou seek
Him with all thy heart and with all
thy SOUL
David said. He brought me up
also out of a horrible pit. out of
the miry clay, and set my feet up
on a rock. and established my go
ings."
There is only one way to be lift
ed out of sin and that's by he hand
that was nailed to the Cross. Jesus.
Human hands would help you If
they could.
Human hands would help you
il they could. II your mother could,
lot of you fellows that are here
tonight sinners would not be here
sinners, you'd be here Christians.
Friends Can't Help.
A friend can't help you or your
wife can't. If her prayers could
have helped you, you'd have been
saved, and / believe one reason why
many a man who is a sinner gets
along in this old world Is because
his wife or mothers prayers are like
a lightning rod above his head and
keeps the wrath of God warded of.
And what God does for one, He
stands pledged to do for all, for He
is no respecter of persons. Who
soever will may come"
Take the girl, out merchandising
her womanhood, selling for gain.
Oh, there was a time when she liv-
ed in a fat. There was a time
when somebody, perhaps, bought
her clothes. grew tired, cast her
on. and threw her to one side.
Now she is creeping away by her
self; she didn't start there-no, no!
A fellow that's in the peniten-
tiiary didn't jump there at once, he
started out and kept going deeper
and deeper and deeper, and finally
the poor. blear-eyed. hopeless. help
ness drunkard was lying in a stale
beer joint. 1t took him a good
many years to get there. He didn't
get there quickly, he kept getting
deeper and deeper in sin and max
ing it more improbable that he
would ever be saved, and the devil
frightened his grip on his throat ev-
cry time he said. NO" to an invita-
tion to be a Christian.
You just tie another knot in the
moose that's about your neck and
il you decide to hold on to that sin
and indulge in it twenty-four hours
more, God Almighty may let you
keep 1t forever. He may say, We'll
my patience is exhausted with you.
My spirit won't always strive, and
IL you have made up your mind
you'd rather do that than to be de-
cent all right"
Chance for Repentance.
Whenever the cry goes up to the
throne of God for help, that help
comes down to the beggar Just the
same as the king on the throne or
the President in the White House.
No man Is so humble. so sinful or
so Ignorant that God Almighty will
not ht ar his cry. just as well as he
will the most gifted being on earth.
And God will hear the cry no mat
ter from whose lips 1t goes up. That
Is the reason God wants to help US.
Now some fellow said. 'T will tell
you Bill ia be q Christian, ia be
the irsc fellow to go down there
and takd you by the hand, but I am
afraid / can't live up to it"
Oh, Listen! II you can trust God to
take you'd out. you can trust God to
keep yod out. II God Almighty is