The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-09-07

church has been decorated and beauti-
fed in various ways and newly up
holstered, presenting most attractive
appearance. ...- . ..
SUBJECT OF THE SERMON: 1.-THE POPULAR
CHRIST"
TExT:-Genesis xix. 10: 'UntO Him
shall the gathering of the people be-"
Through a supernatural lens that |
might call a pTOphescope Jacob looks
down through the corridor of the CEN
turies, and sees Christ the most popular
being in all the earth. Once the world
tried hard to put Him down and put
Him out. In the year 1900, while eXca-
waiting for antiquities, fifty-three miles
northeast of Rome, copper-plated
table was discovered, on which had been
inscribed the death sentence of Jesus
Christ, reading: I'm the year IL of the
Empire of Tiberius Gear and the oath of
March, I, Pontius PLATE, Governor of the
ProetOry, condemn Jesus of Nazareth to
die on the cross between 1.-TWO thieves
Quintius Cornelius to lead Him to the
place of execution" This death war
rant was signed by the following wit
nesses: First, Daniel, Rabbi, Pharisee;
second, Johannes, Rabbi; third, Raphael;
folrth, Capet, a citizen. This capital
punishment, according to order, took
Christ's right hand was Dismas. The
name of the rObber on the left was
Gestas. Pontius PLATE, writing of the
execution, says "In all the world they
lighted candles from noon until even
ing" Thirty-three years of maltreat-
ment! The world assigned His birth to
bastardy, and His death to excruciatiOn.
A city wall built about that time and a
few months ago exposed by an arch@O-
oh orin nf mi OF
resenting a cross and donkey nailed
on it, and underneath the words: "This
is the Christ whom Christians worship"
But gradually Christ is coming out from
under the worlds abuse. His name
stands higher up in the worlds estima-
tiOn than it ever did. ScOffers are turn
ing to wOrshipers. Where Christ had
had one friend once, He has thousand
now. OF twenty celebrated infidels in
Great Britain in our time, sixteen have
come out for Christ, trying to undo the
blatant mischief Of their lives. Every
man who writes letters or documents,
Willingly or unwittingly, is doing
honor to Christ. We date everything as
B. G. OF A. D. B. c., before Christ, or A
D., Ammo Domini, year of our Lord-all
the ages or earthly history having for
pivot to turn on the upright beam of the
cross of the Son of God. B.C. and A. d.
l do not care what you call Him
whether King or COnquerer, or Lebanon
Cedar or Morning Star, or Sun of Right
eOusness, OF Brother, or Friend, or as in
{ same phrase from which my text
n taken, you call him Shiloh, which
means His Son; or TranquilatOr, or
Peace-maker. l only want you to know
"that unto Him shall the gathering of
the people be-"
around Christ for pardon. No sensible
or BEAUTIFULLY ambitious man is fully
satisfied with his past life. The fool
may think he is all right, but the
thoughtful man knows he is not. A re-
view of his lifetime behavior before God
and man is far from satisfactory. "Oh,"
he solilouuizes, 81 have done so many
things l ought not to have done, and
said so many things ought not to have
said, thought so many things L ought
not to have thought, that must have
matters readjusted. l must have the
past fixed up. There are days and months
and years that cry out against me in
horrible vociferationw All, Christ is
the only one who can adjust the past,
and he does it by complete obliteration.
He does not erase the record of our mis-
doinps in dash of ink from the regist-
er's pen, but, lifting His right hand,
crushed red at the palm, He presses 1t
against his thorn-pierced brow, and then
against His pierced side, and then, with
the crimson accumulation OF all these
lacerations, He rubs out all the aceusa-
tory chapters, and blOts out our trans
gressions. o man, anxious about the
future, better be more anxious about the
Dastl Why carry the burden Of that sin
any longer? Come under the horizontal
hesm Of the cross. The Christ who has
saved millions of others will save you.
fBut." saws one, 81 have been as bad as
I could be for forty years. Any mercy
for meP" Mercy for you! "But," says
another, 'T had the grandest parentage,
the holiest of fathers and the tenderest
of mothers, and my depraVity has been
inexcusable; any mercy for meP Mercy
for youl "But," says another, 81 have
committed the objectionable sin, and
those who committed that shall not be
forgiven, either in this world or the
world to come. Any mercy for mep"
The fact that you have any sOlicitude
left on the subject is proof positive that
YOU have not committed. the unpardon-
able sin. Mercy on you'll Come, let US
measure the kingdom of Christ's mercy.
Let one surveyor take his chain and
start toward the south, and another sur
yeyor take his chain and start toward
the east, and another surveyor take his
chain and start toward the west, and let
us make up the number of the square
miles. You must wait for all eternity to
a report of the measurement. 1t is i'm
measurable. Paul attempted to scale
the height, and he went up peak above
h neak, altitude after altitude, and after
he had gone as far as he could climb he
saw other Sierra Nevadas beyond and
other Matterhornsa above, and sinks down
exhausted and gives it up, shouting to
us who are far below in the plain: I'm
searchablep' "Past finding OutP' "That
in ali things He ought to have the pre-.
eminencep' 1 do not care what you call
it-whether pardon or pity, or grace or
deliverance, or salVat1on-the story mas
CONQUERED p It of the earth, and will,
before long, conqser all of it. Nearly all
the sinners mentioned as saved in 1.-THE the
Rible were great sinners. David, great
Sinner: % Paul, a great sinner; Rahab, a
great sinner; the publican, great sim
5ef; Magdalen. great sinner NE the Sophis PRO
that Christ will pardon half-and-half
sinner; but what the world needs TO be