The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-11-12

woman should bruise the serpent's head"
Now in the books of Moses, the Prophets,
and the Psalms, we are continually finding
broken lines, bits of roads; they are ancient,
but they converge to one centralSstation,
"the worlds golden Milestone" These
point invariably towards the sufferings Of
the Son of God, towards the cross Of Jesus
Christ.
So beginning far back, this friend who
met the disciples on the road to Emmaus,
as it were, took them around and showed
them these connections, one by one, and
said; "See where these things are all
pointing, Ought not Christ to have suffered
just as you say He hidS" .t +f.
And what must our first parents
have understood by that saying: "Tho
seed Of the woman shall bruise the SER
pent's headF Why, that some time or
other there should be born of their flesh
and blood one who would strike the mon
ster Of evil at the vital point; one Of their
race in coming time should rise who should
give the author Of evil his stunning, stag
gering blow, and should break his power
"The seed Of the woman should bruise the
serpent's head" That must mean to turn
his wisdom into folly and foil his plans. 1t
must mean that one would rise Of their
"fesh and blood" who should destroy his
works and retrieve the disaster which he
wrslght, rescuing the race from its thral-
dom, and set men back into new relations,
and into new paradise. On this hope Of
antiquity were built the expectations Of
the nations, and the hopes Of all the en-
pires Of the world have grown out Of that
ancient expectation. Now this preacher in
this unreported sermon would very likely
| say:
"You are saying that your friend was
! crucified; you ought TO have expected it.
Do you not remember the promise, and that
there was also the declaration that the SER
pent should bruise his heely What does
! that signify! The heel is that by which
man has his contact with the earth, that
which holds him connected with matter,
with flesh and blood, which touches the
dust, his ignoblest, least worthy part; that
which however bruised still leaves head,
heart and brain unhurt, vigorous and pow
erful. The mortal body, that which allied
your friend with the dust, and that alone
did the Scriptures say should be bruised
and that must be bruised Ought not the
Christ to have suiTeredy And did the cru
cinxion which SO disturbed you reach any
farther than His heel, could it have been
any less"
Thus this wonderful expounder OF Moses
and the Prophets may go on TO speak of the
typical things; "You remember, too, that
serpent in the wilderness; how men,
women and children were dying. You re-
member how Moses, at Gods bidding,
lifted the serpent Of brass upon pole, so
that they might look and live, the poison
counteractcd, as II were, by the vision in
! their very places. Don't you remember bis
wo ds: Even so must the Son of Man be
! lifted up, that whosoever believeth on Him
should not perish hit have eternal lifeY
And that passover lamb-have you forgot.
ten thaty How the very best, the spotless
OF the flock, was TO be taken year after
! year, TO be put TO the knife, midst sorrow
and tears; and you remember how the
blood was TO be sprinkled and his flesh
] burned and consumed. You remember
| how they were forbidden 10 break the
bones, and then how many thousands of
these innocent creatures were taken, whose.
blood has been flowing for the sins Of the
people for thousands Of years; and you re.
member how this, your friend, was TO be
delivered as a Lamb 10 the slaughter and
how IL was said: Behold Gods Lamb,
which taketh away the sins of the world
! II mans lambs have thus been taken away,
ought ye not to expect as much OF Gods
Lambs Ought ye not to expect this!"
The turn he gave TO His discourse would
naturally take His followers TO that SD Of
Isaiah. And as He called attention TO tho
words, "He is despised and rejected of
men," ETC., etc., and as He said these words
and asked that significant question:
"Ought not the Messiah TO have suffered
these thingss" who can wonder that with
the food of revelation that poured in upon
them "their hearts burned within them,n
burned with shame that they were so slow,
10 believe, and burned with joy that the
crucihed Jesus was not after all dcceiver
OF men, or deceiver OF Himself, was not the
disappointed man they had thought, but
had done the very work he had been ap.
pointed TO do from the foundation OF the
world, and that Jesus after all had con.
quered They had been troubled because
they feared that He was not the one, now
they began 10 wonder that they should not
have seen that He must so have suffered
! He began 10 quote from the 22d Psalm,
"My God, why hast Thou forsaken Mey"
When had they last heard thaty Oh that
hour Of great darkness, the quivering
earth, the supernatural gloom, the inevit-
able anguish
He quotes again: "On Him was the re.
proach Of men, a man despised by my peo.
pie. All they that see me laugh me to
scorn, shoot out their lips and shake Their
heads, saying: He trusted In the Lord thai
He would deliver Him let Him deliver Him.
Did they not remember that wagging Of
the head and that scornful 'Ha, Ha, comt
down from the cross and save Thyselfg He
saved others, Himself He can not save"
The stranger goes on; "They part Ny
garments among them and cast lots upon
my vesture, and they are thinking Of those
last words: "It is finished" Father into
thy hands," etc.
When strangely enough the stranger goes
on from their Psalter: ~ delight to do thy
will, o God" ~ have preached righteous.
ness In the great congregation, withhold
not Thy tender mercies," etc. "Mine In
iquities have taken hold on me so that am