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.3? «up ‘I YOUR BURDEN W'ILL FALL OFF your shoulder.’ He sent that poor man round the wrong way when he sent him to the wicket gate, and much good he got by it, for he was likely to have been choked in the slouth of despond before long. I tell you, I looked at once to the cross,’ and away went my burden'.” ‘What said this young man, “did you never go through the slough oi despond '2” “Ah,” said she, many a. time. more than I care to tell. But at the first I heard the Our young friend was greatly surprised to hear her say that, and thought she must be under grievous error. and there- fore begged her to explain. “No,” said she, “when I was under concern of soul I heard a true Gospel minister, who bade me look to the cross of Christ, and there I lost my load of sin. I did not hear one of those milk and water preacher’s like Bunyan’s Evangelist." “How,” said our young friend, “ do you make that out ?” “Why. that Evangelist; when he met the man with the burden on his back, said to him, ‘Do you see that wicket gate ?’ ‘N o,‘ said he. ‘I don’t,’ ‘Do you see that light?’ ‘I think I do. Why, man” said she, “he should not have Spoken about wicket gates or lights, but he should have said, ‘Do you see Jesus Christ hanging on the cross? Look to him and a light and to the gate, and they went. that way according to his bidding. I have told you sometimes the story of a young man in Edinburgh who was very anxious to speak to others a’bout their souls. so he addressed himself one morning to an old Musselburg fishwife, and he began by say- ing to her, “Here you are with your burden." ” Ay.” said she. He asked her, “Did you ever feel A SPIRITUAL BURDEN ?” “Yes,” she said resting a bit, “ I felt the spiritual burden years ago, before you were hem, and I got rid of it, too; but I did not go the same way to work that Bunyan’s pilgrim did." 1. To make our discourse usefui to many I will begin by remarking, in the first place, that is an undoubted fact that many persons are much troubled in COMI‘S G T0 CHRIST. it is a. fact that must be admitted. that all do not come quite so readily as these blind men came. There are incidents on record in biographesâ€"there are many known to us. and perhaps our own cases are among themâ€"in which coming to Christ was a matter of struggle, of efl'ort, of disappointment by which we were forc- ed to come. You must have read John Bunyan’s description of how the pilgrims came to the wicket gate. They were pointed, you remember, by Evangelist to There are cases of conversion which are just as simple as this case of the opening of the eyes of the blind, and we are not to doubt the reality of the work of grace in them because of the remark- able absence of singular incidents and striking details. We do not suppose that a conversion is less genuine work of the Holy Ghost because it is simple. patient to wash at the pool of Siloam, and so forth. But here the cure is extremely simple: the men are blind, they cry to Jesus. they come near, they confess their faith, and they receive their sight straight- way. You see there was, in their case, these simple elementsâ€"a. sense of blind- ness, a desire for sight; then prayer, then coming to Christ, then an open aVOWel of faith, and then the cure. The whole matter lies in a. nutshell. There are no details, no points of care and nicety which might suggest anxiety; the whole business is simplicity itself, and upon that one point I "want to dwell at this time. I would not rest till I am wearv, I would not cease tlll sinks the sun ; Until the work that God brings near me Has all been done. Each work neglected is bereavement, A loss to some one great or small : Each noble triumgh of achievement Is good for all. Matthew 9: 27-30. I am not abuut to expound this incident 1101' to draw illustrations from it. but only to direct your attention to one single point in it, and that is, its extreme sim- plicity. The are other cases of blind men, and we have various incidents con- nected with them, such as in one instance the making of clay, and the sending of the “ And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of Dacid, have mercy upon 'us. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Beliei'e ye that I am able to do this? They said [unto him, 'ea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were, opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.”â€" Matthew 9: 27 -.3O Whatever unforseen conditions Around our paths in life prevail, If we are faithful to our missions We cannot fail. The soul that never slights a duty, However irksome, strange, or hard, “'ill see at last the undimmed beauty 01" his reward. Oh, glorious thought, to feel in heaven That none by our neglect were harmed; That every task which God had given Was well performed. Oh. let us then, with firm decision, Do every tasu, hear every load ; And leave at last, with due submission, Our work with God. SERMON PREACHED FROM PASTOR SPURGEON’S PULPIT. THE SABBATH CHIMES, SUNDAY READING. THE PLAIN ROAD of which your must admit that you don’t know when they were planted; but if you get plenty of fruit from them, you are not very particular about the date of their striking root. Oh, if you are trusting the Saviour,â€"if he is all your salvation and all your desire, and if your life is affected by your faith, so that you bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, you need not worry about times and seasons. I will go yet further and assure you that manv of those who give the best: evidence that they are renewed by grace cannot tell you the day in which they were saved, and cannot attribute their converszon to any one sermon or any one text of Scripture, or to any one event in life. We dare not doubt their conver~ sion for their lives prove its truth. You may have many I would first remark, that it is very hard to see how despairing feelings can be essential to saIVation. Look for a minute. Can it be possible that unbelief can help a soul to faith? Is it not cer- tain that the anguish which many ex- perience before they come to Christ arises from the fact of their unbelief ’l They do not trust,â€"they say they cannot trust .; ‘and so they are like the troubled sea which cannot rest. Their mind is tossed to and fro, and vexed sorely through un- belief; is this a foundation for holy trust 3 It would seem to me the oldest thing in .all the world that unbelief should be a preparation for faith. It seems to me to be far better for the soul to believe the work of God at once, and far more likely to be a genuine work when the soul con- vinced of sin accepted the Szviour. A SIMPLE PROCESS. Once again, many instances prove that all this doubting and fearing, and de- spairing, are not essential, because there are scores and hundreds of Christians who came at once to Christ, as these two ; blind men did, and to this day know little about those things. Taught from their youth the way of God, trained by godly parents, they came under the influence of the Holy Spirit very early in life, they heard that Jesus Christ could save them they knew that they wanted saving, and they just went to him, I was about to say, almost as naturally as they went at their . mother or their father when they were in [ need; they trusted the Saviour, and they found peace at once. Several of the honored leaders of this church came to the Lord in this simple manner. NOT AT ALL ESSENTI .\L to a real saving coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. I mention this because I have known Christian men distressed in heart because they fear that they came to Christ too easily. They have half imagined, as they looked back, that they could not have been converted at all, because their conversion was not attended with such agony and torment of mind as others speak of. preacher say, “Look to Christ,’ and I leaked to him. I have been through the slough of despond since that; but let me tell you, sir, it is much easier to go through that slough with your burden off than it; is with your burden on.” And so l In some instances the struggle of the heart in getting to Christ, I have no doubt, arises from a singularity of mental l conformation, and such cases ought to be ‘looked upon as exceptions. and by no means regarded as rules. Now take for instance, the case of John Bunyan, to which we have referred. If you read “Grace Abounding,” you will find that, for five years or more, he was the sub- ject of the most fearful despairâ€"tempted by Satan, tempted by his own self, always raising; difficulties against himself; and it was long, long, long before he could come to the cross and find peace. But then, dear friend, it is to the last degree im- probable that either you or I will ever turn out John Bunyans. We may become tinkers, but we shall never write a Pilgrim’s Progress. We might imitate him in his poverty, but we are not likely to emulate him in his genius: azman with such imaginaaion, full of Wondrous dreams is not born every day, and when he does come. his inheritance of brain is not all a gain in the direction of a restful life. Bunyan was one by himself; not the rule, hut the exception. Now, you, dear friend, may be an odd person. Very likely you are; and I can sympathize with you, for I am odd enough myself ; but do not lay down a law that everybody else must be odd tOo. If you and I did happen to go round by the back ways, do not let us think that everybody ought to follow our bad example. Now, if scme come to Christ, and they are not ignorant, but well instructed, and readily see the light, let us rejoice that it is so. It is of such that I am now about to speak somewhat more at length. II. It is admitted as an undoubted fact that many are much troubled in coming to Christ, but now, secondly, this is it is. Blessed are they whose eyes are only and altogether on the Crucified. The oller I grow the more sure I am of this that we must. have done with self in all forms and see Jesus only if we would be in peace. Was John Bunyan wrong? Certainly not; he was describing things as thev generally are. \Vas the old woman wrong? No, she was perfectly right: she was describing things as they ought to be, and as I wish they were. HINDRANCES. In many cases men are hindered by prejudice. People are brought up to the belief that salvation must be through ceremonies; and If they are driven out of that they still conclude that it must certainly be in some measure by their works. Numbers of people have learned a sort of half-andâ€"half Gospel, part law Qand part grace, and they are in a thick :fog about salvation. They know that ‘redemption has something to do with Christ, but it is much of a mixture with them; they do not quite see that it is all Christ or no Christ. “Believe and live,” is a foreign language to a soul which is persuaded that its own works are in a measure to win eternal life. Many also of another class, namely, TREES IN YOUR GARDEN THE'WATCHMAN, LINDSAY, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, I892. 1v GIVEN UP OPEN SIN because your strong, passions declined, or you shought you would like another way of sinning, and now you are only mak- ing a false profession, and living far frOm what you should do.” Your confidence must alwavs rest in him you came toâ€" that is. in Christâ€"whether you came to him flying. or running, or walking. If on get to Jesus you are all right, any- v -v. n u: lAl'lull “You have not changed your life”â€"for there are some that he Would not have the impudence to say that to, since the change is too manifest for him to deny it â€"he says, “You changed your actions, but your heart is still the same. You turned from a. bold, honest sinner to be a hvprocritical. canting professor. That is all you have done; you have Perhaps you may suppose that persons, who come thus gently, lose somethintr by way of evidence afterward. “Alumsaid one to me. “I could almost Wish some- times that I had been an open nfl‘ender that I might see the change in my chu': acter; but, having been always moral from my youth up. I am not always able to see any distinct; mark of a change,” Ah letmc tell you, friends, that this form of evxdence is of small use in times of dark- ness, for if the devil cannot say to a man, “YOU have "(if nl'mnnmrl \7nI1h "Pp." 13”-- THEY BE LIEVED, that he could open the eyes, and he did open their eyes, is there not as much of Christ in their story as there well Could be? The men themselves are nowhere, but the healing Master is in the fore- ground. More detail might. almost take away the peculiar prominence that he has is is all. NOT LOSERS. They do not lose something. certainly; but there is not much in it. They lose some- thing of the picturesque, and they have the less to tell. When a man has had a long series of trials to drive him out: of himself, and at last he comes to Christ, like a wrecked vessel tugged into port, be has a. deal to talk of and write about, and perhaps he thinks it interesting to be able to tell it; and, if he can tell it to God’s glory. it is quite proper that he should. Many of these stories are found in biographies, because they are the in- cidents which excite interest ard make a life worth writing; but vou must not conclude that all godly lives are of the same sort. But I ask you this. when those blind men cam: to Christ just as they were, and said that III. I conclude with one more obser- vation, that those persons who are privi- leged to come to Jesus Christ softly, pleasantly, and happily, are Now, proceeding a step farther, there are all the essentials of salvation in the simple, pleasant, happy way of coming to Jesus just as you are; for what are the essentials? The first is repentance, and these dear souls, thongh they feel no re- morse, yet hate tlze sin they once loved. They have been taught by God’s Spirit to love righteousness and seek after holi- ness, and this is the very essence of re- pentance. ’l‘noSe who have thus come to Christ have certainly obtained true faith. They have no experience which they could trust in, hot they are ail the more fully driven to rest in what Christ has felt and done. They rest not in their own tears, hut in Christa llll'tti; nor in their own emotions, but in Christ‘s pings: not in their consciousness of ruin, but in the certainty that Chris: has cmne to save all those that trust him. They have faith of the purest kind. THE EVIDENCE ()1" LOVE. And see, too, how certainly they have love. “ Faith works by love,” and they show it They often seem to have more love at the first than those who come so dreadfully burdened and tempest-tossed ; for, in the calm quiet of their minds, they get a fairer View of the beauties of the Saviour, and they burn with love to him, and they commence to serve, him while others, as yet, are having their wounds healed, and are trying: to make their broken bones rejoic-e. I am not‘ wishing to depreciate a painful experi- ence, but I am only wanting to show, as to this second class, that their simply coming to Christ. as the blind men came, their simply believing that he could give them sight, is not one whit inferior to the other, and has in it all THE ESSENTIALS OF SALVATIOX. For, next, notice that the gospel com- mand itnplies in itself nothing of the kind which Some have experienced. What are we hidden to preach to menâ€"“Bel dragged about by the devil, and you shall i be saved 'l" No, but “Believe in the Lord ‘ Jesus Christ. and thou shalt be saved.” What is my corntnission at this time ? To say to you, “Despair, and ye shall be saved ?” No, verily; but “Believe and you shall be saved.” Freely take what God gives, and simply trust the Saviour. Is not that the gospel '.’ Well, then, why should any one of you say, ‘I Cannot trust Christ because I don’t feel this, and don’t feel that ?’ Conie as you are. the simple-mindedxwme in like-manner. We might all W151! to belong to that class. Some professors \Vuuld be ashamed to be thought simple-minded, but I Would glory in it. Too many of the doubting critical order are great, puzzle-makers. and great fuels for their pains. The childlike ones drink_the milk while these folks are analyzing If They seem every night to take themselves to pieces before they go to bed, and it is very hard for them in the morning to put themselves to gether again. To 8011):. minds the hardest thing in the World is to believe A SELF-EVIDENT TRUTH. They must, if they Can make a dust and a mist, and. puzzde themSelves, or else they are not happy. In fact, they are never sure till they are uncertain, and neVer at ease till they have disturbed. Blessed are those who he11e\e that God emmet lie, and are vq-uite sure it must be So if God has said it; these cast themselves upon Christ whether they sink or swim, because if Christ’s Salvzttluu is God’s Way of saw- ing man. it must he the right way, and they accept it. l‘vI-my, have thus come to Christ. ST. ST. PAUL’S (Church of England) Russell Streetâ€"Rev. C. H. Marsh, Rector. Ser- vices at; 11.00 A. M. and 7.00 P. M. Sabbath School at 2.30. Prayer Meet- ina Wednesday at 7.30 P. M. ST. BAPTIST, Cambridge Streetâ€"Rev. W'. K. Anderson Pastor. Services at 11.00 A.- M. and 7.00 P. M. Prayer Meeting Sab anh morning at 10.30 A. M. Sabbath School at; 2.30 P. M. Young People‘s Society of Christian Endeavor Monday at 7.30 P. M. Prayer Meeting \Vednes- day at- 7.30 P. M.â€"A11 seats free. METHODIST, Queen Street.â€"Rev. Newton Hill, Pastor. Services at 11.00 A. M. and 7.00 P. M. Sabbath School as 2.30 1’. M. Praver Meeting Thursday at; 7.30 P. M. railway employees but alsovto young men everywhere. He urged the necessity for temperance and thrift, and went on to say that ”he himself had never let drink enter his lips. He began life like some of .those preSent as a Working blacksmith, and he made it a rule both as a tradesman and as an employer never to enter a public house. No matter whether the jobs were lbig or small, he never entered a public house in connection with one of them. In the next place. they should be careful and thrifty. He always saved whatever he possibly could. He was never niggardly or mean; he bought the best clothes he Could; the best of everything ; he never starved himself : he never denied himself anything that was reasonable; but he always saved a few shillings,let it be ever So little.” Sir William then went on to advise his hearers to open a connection with savings banks, and concluded with the following significant warning :â€" l“There were a lot of banks opening in Glasgow at present, against which he wished to warn the younger members. They had agents by the hundred; and they did all their business at the corners of the streets. He kpew the faces of these men; he had known some of them for twenty years. They were nearly all bank agents ; and they had a large amount of support among the younger members of the working classes. He saw that one of these gentlemen returned his income at no less than £8000 per annum. The bankers he referred to were bookmakers, and1 against these he warned the working} classes. They would never start business if they put their money in their banks. It was becoming a public scandal the way these men went about the streets. To the younger men among the working classes, he said beware of these banks. If they put their money in them it was a hundred to one if they ever got it out again.” METHODIST, Cambridge St.â€"Rev. T. M, Campbell. Pastor. Services at 11 A.M.. and 7.00 1’. M. Sabbath School and Bible Class at 2.30. Classes at 10 A.M. Prayer Meeting, \Vednesday at 8 1’. M. Young People‘s Christian Endeavor Society. everv Friday evening at 7.30 Advice to Young Men. Sir William Arm], of Forth and Tay Bridges fame, has been addressing the empluyecs of tlie Vorth British Railway in the (i lasuuw district. Sir \V 111mm said much tlinto was interesting not only to how; but It is not how you come, it is whether you come to him. As to eVi- Jences, they are fine things in fine weath- er, but: when the tempest is out wise men let evidences go. The best evidence a man can have that he is saved is that he is still clinging to Christ. To sum up all in one, I would that every man and woman and child here would come and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. It seems to me m be such a matchless plan of salvation, for Christ. to take human sin and to suffer in the sin- ner’s stead, and for us to have nothing to do but just accept what Christ; has done, and to trust ourselves “holly with him. He that: would not be saved by such a pltm as this deserves to perish ; and so he must. God grant that. none of us may rejec! this way of grace, this open way, this safe way. Come, linger no longer. The Spirit and the bride say “Come.” Lord draw them by the love of Jesus. Amen. Lastly, some may suppose that those who come gently to Christ may lose a good aeal of adaptation for after useful- ness, because they will not be able to sympathize with these who are in deep perplexity, and in awful straits when they are coming to Christ. Ah. well, there are enough of us who can sympa- thize with such; and I do not know that everybody is bound to sympathize with everybody in every respect. It is a great mercy to have some brethren around us who with those who have been through that pain; but do you not think it' is a great mercy to have others who, through not having undergone that experience can sympathize with others who have not un- dergone it ? Is it not useful to have some who can say, “ Well, dear heart, don’t: be troubled for I, too, came to Jesus as gently and Safely and sweetly as you have done?” Such a testimony will comfort the poor soul; and so. if you lose the power to sympathize one way, you Wlll gain the power to sympathize in another. M. C. A., Rooms Cor. Kent and Cam- bridge sts. Open daily from 9.00 A. M. to 10.00 P. M. ‘ Prayer Praise meeting Saturday at 8 P. M. Young men‘s meeting Sunday at 4.15 P. M. Short addresses. Good sing“ . Youn men always welcome. Dr. fir. H. arke, fresident; C. K. Calhoun Gen. Secre- ary. MARY S (Roman Catholic) Russel Street â€"-Rev. Vicar General Laurent, Pastor, Rev. Father Nolan, Cuflrate Services at 8.00 and 10.30 A. M. and? ..00P M. Sabbath School at 3. 30 RM ANDREW‘S (Presbyterian). \Villiam Street. Rev. Robert. Johnston, B. A., Pastor. Services at 11.00 A.M. and 7.00 P. M. Sabbath School at 3.00 P. M. Prayer Meeting \Vednesday at 8.00 P. M. Young; People's Christian Circle Sabbath Morning at 10.15 The Churches. (JAN SYMPATHIZE 18:1 and 1853 Notre Dame Street, corner of McGill street. The firmly established reputation of this \\ ell knoun house is a sufficient guarantee that outside shou is only the last thing aimed at, and that stability and good value for money are to be found 1n the old established firm of Messrs 0710674 McGaWey (of 50%. On the fourth floor bedroom sets in profusion are to be found frcm lthe cheap ash wood to the elegantly carved set valued at fifteen hun- ldred dollars. Brass and iron furniture, of which they have just receiv- ed a very large consignment from Birmingham, England. is an especial- ly noticeable feature; handsome solid brass bedsteads and pretty cots for children from $30 up to $12 5â€"there they are of the newest designs : neat iron bedsteads as low as $5, and rising to much higher figures, can also be found here. A great advantage in this house is that the price of every piece of lurniture and article is marked in plain figures, but owing to the widening of Notre Dame street west, which will necessi- tate their removal next spring, they are now offering special induce- ments in the way of Discounts off the marked prices. The entire es- tablishment is a model one, neatness and order prevailing everywhere; all available space is taken up to accommodate the enormous stock which they carry, and from which purchasers can select at their liberty. Their new passenger elevator will be found not only a great covenience, but also a luxury in its way to carry their customers to any of their six flats of show rooms. On the third floor a fine selection of Rocking, Easy and Reclining Chairs claims particular attention. The celebrated bent wood furni- ture imported from Vienna, Austria, and of which the Messrs. McGar- vey make a specialty, also occupies a prominent position on this floor. meets the eye, such as J, 4, 5, 6 and 7 piece parlor suites. Odd piece suites, gilt chairs, corner chairs, ottomans, dix ans, tete- -a- tetes ,piano and foot- stools 1n plushes, brocatelles and silk damasks of all the neu est and latest shades; also a full line of fancy centre, card and u ork- tables, statuette-stands, ladies writing desks, music stands and eascls. Library Tables, Writing Desks. and Easy and Combination Chairs of all descriptions. Sideboards, Dining Tables, Hall Stands, Bookcases, Wardnobes No one need despair; the millionnaire can furnish his top to bottom with the finest and most costly, and his juni fill his little tenement with useful and pretty articles at p} his more limited means. On entering the well-known and extensive warerooms on Notre Dame street, the visitor is struck bv the excellent display of Everything in the furniture line is to be found there five cent chair to a fifteen hundred dollar bedroom set, suit everyone. A walk through those spacious show rooms is a revelation: in fact they really amount in themselves to a Montreal Industrial exhibition in their line. Such must necessarily be the reflections of anyone who pays a visit to this firm’s prominent establishment and mikes a tour of nspcction through their attractive warerooms. Art in the household and beauty in tl life was the gospel prepounded by the lat elevators of the human mind, and to realiz ~ ‘ o3§THE MARSH 0F EMPRWEWENT.% OWEN MCGARVEY Son. ' A Sideboard for $4.50, 3. Bureau for Mattrass and SpIings for $5. Com: etc., very low. We are making a sum Search the Happy Homes of mm It’s a well recognized fact that daily surroundings have much moulding of character. If the home be neatly furnished the chances are that the good man will come home early 0’ nights and that the children will up refined and gentle. grow YOUR HOMES CAN BE FURNISHED CHEAPLL’ ave bf iture v 72.5 peyer go. Well- made Furn am a a few ye necessary asst * â€"â€" ith us at 160. price than it 18 to- da/ W cheaper 1n ANDERSON, N UGEN T 85 CO ARLO] 1849-1853 Notre Dame Street MONTREAL On reaching the second floor a beautiful‘assortment of Furniture Dealers and Manufacturers, near the Market You will find g; Furniture .50. a Bureau for $4, a Bedstead for $2, ore. [gs for $5. Common Chairs, Hall Furniture: are making a special drive in Mattrasses. VV'ILL -V- .vâ€". and most costly, and his junior iclerk can V'E 0U ‘e, from a twenty- . and prices to prices to suit house from much to der cre: ab“ en] US