Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-05-24

lnaL we take 1t Tor granted. however,
Bishop Westcott has said that it Is
an amazing thing that a holy God
forgives sin; he Is not surprised to
hear that the wrath of such a God
burns to the lowest hell against sin.
ners, but that he has found way to
be just as yet to justify the ungodly
is the very mystery of the Gospel.
And when God forgives he does it
fully and freely; he blots out our sins,
remembers them no more, casts them
behind his back, buries them in the
sea.
Martin Luther's Experience.
There are many, even among pro-
Tossing Christians who do not enjoy
true sense of the forgiving love Of
God. For them, the experience Of
Martin Luther may be helpful. While
still a monk he would exclaim, 20
my sin! o my sin !" AS he lay one
day on couch in despair an old monk
repeated softly the words of the
creed, Il believe in the forgiveness of
SINS" and added, "We are not merely
to believe that there is forgiveness for
| David and Peter; the command of
God is that we believe that there is
| forgiveness for our own SINS" And
Luther was led to exclaim with joy, 81
believe in the forgiveness of sins, of
my Sins''
This prayer for forgiveness is to be
uttered daily by the child of God. All
are included in "us." Some have
thought they no longer needed to pray
this prayer, because of their attain
ments in grace. We suspect they are
lacking in that deep view of sin which
the Scriptures give us. eff we say we
have no sin we deceive ourselves and
the truth is not in US" q John :8).
Necessity of Forgiving Others.
The petition contains clause over
which some have stumbled, "as we
forgive" or ''have forgiven" Or. W. 1t
Is pointed out that this is legal ground,
that no reference is made to the
atonement and that the prayer was
given before the cross and hence
should not be offered by Christians.
We believe this objection rests on a
misrepresentation. Men have never
been forgiven on the ground of having
forgiven others, but on account of the
shedding of Christ's blood and this
has been true from the days of Abel
"As" does not mean "on the ground
or Gin the measure" but "even as" OIL
'since." With reference to the
prayer having been given before the
cross so also was the Lords supper
but no one would argue that the sup
per is therefore obsolete.
, An Indians Forgiveness.
Dr. Egerton R. Young, an honore(
missionary among the Indians of tht
North, tells of once reading the Lords
prayer to a company of warriors
When he came to "Forgive US ou
) trespasses as we forgive them tina
; trespass against u.s." chief asked
"What does that mean?" Said Docto
, Young, ''That means you will have t.
. stop looking for scalps!'' "If that il
your religion" replied the indian
take it to the old women" and fo
years he refused to listen to tn
Gospel.
< But one night he heard Docto
! Young preach on the crucif1xion an
tell how Christ cried, Father forgiv
: them" His heart was melted but h
said nothing. The next day com
/ pany of Indians was seen approaching
and Doctor Young was advised to rid
r off so that he might not witness tn
tragedy which was likely to follow
/ For, he was told, in that company wa
| the murderer of the chiefs son; tn
: chief had just learned the fact and
J was expected he would tear the OF
fender limb from limb. Doctor Youn
refused to leave but was apprehensivt
AS the band approached the chief rod
n toward the murderer with tomahaw
v uplifted, exclaiming, "You killed m
v boy, you betrayed my trust, 70
4 robbed the tribe of its successor, yo
4 have broken my heart. You deserv
e to die and you know it. Well for 20
i that I heard the missionary at tn
Il campfire last night He told us W
6 must forgive if we want forgiveness
O so although you killed my boy an
i you deserve to die, am going to fol
r give you. I Danish you from my trib,
O but forgive you as hope to be fol
/, given
3. The chief wept like a ch d. q
r never went on the warpath agai br
was willing to sit among boys eigf
to ten years of age and study th
Bible. He became an earnest Chri
tian and a class leader.
= BE ye kind one to another, tende
q hearted, forgiving one another, eve
, as God for Christ's sake hath 70
G given you."-(Ephesians 4:32).
d