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Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2551, 10 March 1877, Page 4

'> come! Come and welcome, for He will abundantly pardon! " Would God some souls would Hear the proclamation of this best of news, and fly to Christ for pardon this very day. Another inference from my subject is tliis : That there is a loud call to every one who has not repented to do. so; for who would be so base as to offend so good, so kind a Lord ? I think that ought to touch every man's heart. Here is one whom you have offended; you think he is very angry -, and you feel very angry too, and you oflend therefore again. STou count him an enemy, and you keep up the quarrel. You suppose that all this while he is preparing to deal a very heavy blow .at you, and avenge the injuries he has sustained. So you grow more angry still. You chew the end of malice and you get such bitterness out of it that you become worse and worse, unjjLjrou find one day that you have been xnTstaken all along. A friend meets'you and says, "-Why do you speak so ill of your neighbor P" "I hate him; abhor him." The other says, "What for; do you know that when he hears of all that you do he only says, 'I am very sorry : for him ; I never did him any hurt, and I never will. 1 Do you know that h.e has done you great service ? You were in debt and you would have been in prison, only he called and paid your debts for you. When you were-very ill he sent the physician to you; although you never knew that he sent him, it was so, and you were restored, Do you know that he has been buying.an estate .for you against the time of your trouble which is creeping upon you, and he has settled it in 'your name, and entailed it on you; and he means that you shall live in a mansion for ever ? " The man says, ;" I never thought that; I could not have believed it, and I do not believe it now." "Yet it is true," replies the other."Does he know of all I have done against him ? " " Oh, yes ! he has been behind the door often, and heard you call him all sorts of bad names." "What did he say then?" All he said was, "Poor soul! he will be sorry, for what he did one of this days when he knows me better." "Do you mean to say that is all he said ? " " Yes." "But did he not- grow red in the face and threaten a law suit, or 'anything of that kind ?•". "No ! he said , he should win you one of these days when you came to know him." ..Now, I am sure if you had thus treated any of your fellow creatures you would be ashamed of yourself, and want to hide • ' your face. Would you not? If you i then received an invitation from the person you had so badly treated, and he said, "You need not fear to come; I shall never say a word of upbraiding to you as long as you live.*" '".Well," you would say, "bad as my nature is I will go and make it up with him." So I pray God to plead with you ungodly ones and turn you to Himself. What hurt has God ever, done you? His laws-—is there anything wrong in them? Are they hard, harsh, severe? They are only meant for your good. They are but danger signals, telling us not to hurt ourselves. Would God we would not persist in going where we should not. God has prepared for some of you full, unqualified forgiveness, and He means to bring you to Himself. Oh, hold not out against Him. Come now and reason with God while He thus reasons with you. Let .' your conscience say, " Lord, Thou art full of mercy; I come to Thee. I would be reconciled to Thee through the death of Thy Son." . ' . ■ . ! Another inference is this : If there is anyone here the. text specially calls, it is the biggest: sinner here ; because there j cannot be abundant pardon where there is not abundant sin. If anyone feels thas he or she is an abundant sinner, you are the person this text is meant for. Where are you, dear soul? My.Master calls you. "He will abundantly pardon." Mary ! You who have been a Magdalene, you are the woman! John, there ! You j who have been a persecutor and an opposer of the Gospel, you are the man ! ' You j that have never cared for God or devil; you who feel your hearts so hard and stubborn that you think you can never be saved, you are the very people the text is x-, for 1 While my text invites each sinner it has a special, finger^, with which to beckon this morning to those who have abundant sin. "Gome hither, come hither, for the Lord will abundantly pardon." .'".'-. . '. •..

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