Is there no one
who, in some shape or other, does not feel the bondage of which I
have been speaking? He has something on his conscience; he has
something on his mind; extravagance, sin, debt, falsehood. Every
morning in the first few minutes after waking, it is the first
thought that occurs to him. He drives it away in the day; he
drives it off by recklessness, which only binds it more and more
closely round him. Is there any one who has ever felt, who is at
this moment feeling this grievous burden. What is the
deliverance? How shall he set himself free? In what special way
does the redemption of Christ, the free grace of God, present
itself to him? There is at least one way clear and simple. He
knows it better than anyone can tell him. It is those same words
which I used with another purpose. 'The truth shall make him
free.' It is to tell the truth to his friend, to his parent, to
any one, whosoever it be, from whom he is concealing that which
he ought to make known. One word of open, frank disclosure--one
resolution to act sincerely and honestly by himself and others,
one ray of truth let into that dark corner will indeed set the
whole man free."

"_Liberavi animam meam_. 'I have delivered my soul.' What a
faithful expression is this of the relief, the deliverance
effected by one strong effort of will in one moment of time. 'I
will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father I
have sinned against Heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy
to be called thy son. So we heard the prodigal's confession this
morning. So may the thought well spring up in the minds of any
who in the course of this last year have wandered into sin, have
found themselves beset with evil habits of wicked idleness, of
wretched self-indulgence. Now that you are indeed in the literal
sense of the word about to rise and go to your father, now that
you will be able to shake off the bondage of bad companionship,
now that the whole length of this long absence will roll between
you and the past, take a long breath; break off the yoke of your
sin, of your fault, of your wrong doing, of your folly, of your
perverseness, of your pride, of your vanity, of your weakness;
break it off by truth; break it off by one stout effort, in one
steadfast prayer; break it off by innocent and free enjoyment;
break it off by honest work. Put your 'hand to the nail and your
right hand to the workman's hammer;' strike through the enemy
which has ensnare