ays, "He that sitteth upon the throne saith, Behold,
I make all things new." Dear brothers and sisters, some of us need to
turn over a new leaf, to make a fresh start, how shall we do it? Let
us take our secret sin, our secret sorrow, to Jesus now. Let not the
sun go down and find us impenitent, unpardoned. Let us no longer go
through life like galley slaves, chained and labouring at the oar.
Jesus waits to strike off our chains, He came to preach liberty to the
captives. Think of that, you who are yet prisoners, slaves of some
sin. Jesus will set you free. As long as you hide your fault you are
a slave, you are torn and bitten by remorse, the worm that dieth not,
the fire that is not quenched. Tell the story of your sin to Jesus
_now_. Never mind how sad, how shameful it is. He is the _same_
Jesus, remember. The same who cleansed the Magdalene, who pardoned the
adulteress. Can you, will you, say to-day--

"We come to Thee, sweet Saviour,
With our broken faith again;
We know Thou wilt forgive us,
Nor upbraid us, nor complain.

We come to Thee, sweet Saviour,
Fear brings us in our need;
For Thy hand never breaketh
Not the frailest bruised reed."

"Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." Let
Advent find us once more fighting the battle from which some had
retreated. Let the marks and scars upon our armour teach us our
danger, and help us to fight more watchfully, more humbly. Let the
mistakes, the weaknesses, the negligences, the ignorances of the past,
be warnings to us for the future.

"Saint Augustine, well hast thou said
That of our vices we can frame
A ladder, if we will but tread
Beneath our feet each deed of shame.

Deem not the irrevocable past
As wholly wasted, wholly vain,
If, rising on its wrecks, at last
To something nobler we attain."

Do you remember the Eastern story of the magician, who gave a ring of
vast beauty to a certain prince? Not only was the ring set with
priceless gems, but it had this wonderful quality. If the king
indulged in any evil thought or wish, or devised any sinful act, the
ring contracted on his finger, and warned him by its painful pressure.
My brothers, does the ring of conscience press no finger here to-day?
Is there no one here now who says in his heart: "Would to God that I
were as in years past?" If so, cling to the cleansing Hand of Jesus
_now_. A well-known Scottish physician tells us that,