"Anything more?" said he.

"Yes." And the Doctor read again: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.' "That means that if you act up to whatever light you have you shall have more light. In God's school we never are taught a second lesson till we practise the first."

"Now," said Dr. Pierson, "I have given you three texts already to ponder and study. I wish to add one more: 'Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' That means that if you come directly to Jesus, he will give you rest. Now notice these four texts. One bids you to search the Scriptures; one, to pray in secret; one, to put in practise whatever you know; and the last, to come to Jesus as a personal Savior." "Is that all?" he inquired.

"That is all. Will you promise me to go and follow this simple prescription?"

"I will."

After kneeling in prayer together, this follower of Ingersoll left him. Two weeks later, at the close of the sermon, the same young man came almost running toward him, with both hands extended and his face beaming as he said: "I have found God and Christ, and I am a happy man!" Then he told Dr. Pierson the fascinating story. He had gone home that Sunday night, taken out from his trunk the Bible his mother had put there when he had left home; had opened it and knelt

before the unseen God. He simply, sincerely asked that if there were a God at all, and if the Bible were the Word of God and Jesus Christ his Son and the Savior of man, it might be shown him plainly. And as he read and prayed and sought for light, light was given; he humbly tried to follow every ray and walk in the light, and the path became clearer and plainer and the light fuller and brighter, until his eyes rested in faith upon Jesus.

I have told you this long story because it has in it the throbbing of a man's heart who through darkness sought after Christ by taking him at his word, and found him the true Advocate he had promised to be. Follow his example to-night; it is action that you need; do the duty that is next to your hand; confess Christ here and now, and trust him to fulfill his promise.

VII.

CHRIST STANDING IN OUR STEAD,

He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.-1 John ii. 2 (Revised Version).

OUR message to-night is very plain and very comforting. Our sins have broken the law of God and have brought us under its condemnation. It would not be possible for God to sustain moral government in the universe unless some one made satisfaction for this sin. It does not impugn God's love to say that. A ruler and a judge may be compelled to sentence a prisoner directly against the love of his heart. If law is to be maintained, it will often lead to a conflict between law and love. We have an illustration of this in the story of David. Absalom had slain Amnon and fled to Geshur, and there remained in banishment for three years. David loved Absalom with all his heart, and the writer of the history says that the soul of King David was consumed with longing to see his favorite son again. Love would have restored him, but law forbade his restoration. The father in David cried out for the sight of his son and for his reinstatement at court, but as a king he was responsible

for the administration of law. He was compelled to keep Absalom in exile, banished from his own presence at the very time when his heart was consumed by the tender love he felt toward him. Our sins have brought about exactly the same conflict between law and love in the heart of God. It is idle and wicked for men to speak of God's punishment of sin as if it were cruel and vindictive. The universe would be full of anarchy and ruin were there not a just God on the throne who enforces law without respect of persons.

I think these reflections make it very plain to us that the only hope of escape from bearing the just penalty of our sins is in some one from the outside, who is not under the penalty himself, some one great enough and good enough and who loves us enough to come and stand in our place and suffer the penalty in our stead. The same thought is illustrated in the proposition which Judah made to Joseph in the court of Pharaoh in Egypt, when Joseph proposed to keep Benjamin as a hostage. Judah said: "Now, therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren." His proposal was that he should stay in Benjamin's stead and as his substitute. So in his infinite love God gave Christ to be bondsman or surety in our place, and Jesus willingly laid aside the glory of heaven and came and stood in our stead. To propitiate is to satisfy. Our sins had offended

the law of God, and Christ came to satisfy the broken law which condemned us. He came to take our burden of sin on his own shoulders and bear its penalty.

What a new element that introduces into the words by which we often close our prayer, "for Jesus' sake." We have no standing at the mercyseat except in the name of Jesus.

Not only on the cross did Christ take your place, but now, in your sorrow for sin and in the remorse of your guilty conscience, if you will open your heart to him and confess him before men, he will come and take your place within your own heart. He will take away the stinging sense of guilt and condemnation and leave there his own perfect peace. Dr. Reginald Campbell, an English preacher, tells how, on one occasion, he was sent for to see a lady, a stranger, who was dying in Brighton. He found her to be a woman of wealth and education, but quite ignorant of the leading facts of the Christian faith. Her religious views had been formed almost entirely by the influence of certain Oriental cults. To her Jesus was simply a great moral teacher, standing in line with other religious masters. Of Christianity as the religion of redemption she had no knowledge. Her lifestory had been a sad one, stained deeply by both sorrow and sin. The poor suffering soul stated it for herself in words that are charged with meaning. "Oh," she sighed, "that it were possible for some