The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-07-16
PULPIT UTTERANCES
"LAYALL YOUR cRlEfs ATIEsUs' FEET"
% He Has q Balm for Every Wound and
Grace Sufficient for Each Earthly
Need "-Sermon by DIR.
Talmage.


XIV, 12: sand His disciples went and told
Jesus"
An outrageous assassination had just
taken place. To appease a revengeful
woman, King Herod ordered the death of
that noble, self-sacrifcing Christian, John
the Baptist. The group Of disciples were
thrown into grief and dismay. They felt
themselves utterly defenseless, there was
no authority to which they could appeal,
and yet grief must always find expression.
II there be no human ear to hear it, then
the agonized soul will cry it aloud to the
winds, and the woods, and the waters.
But there was an ear that was willing to
listen. There was tender pathos and at
the same time most admirable picture in
the words of my text: "They went and
told Jesus" He could understand all their
grief, and he Immediately soothed it. Our
burdens are not more than half so heavy
to carry if another shoulder is thrust un.
der the other end of them. Here we find
Christ, his brow shadowed with grief,
standing amid the groups of disciples,
who with tears and violent gesticulations
reavement are expressing their woe.
In the first place, commend the be-
havior of these Disciples to all those who
are sinful and unpardoned There comes
time in almost every mans history when
he feels from some source that he has an
erring nature. The thought may not have
such weight as to fell him. 1t may be
,,1, a., ~,
just after very hot summer day. One
man to get rid Of that impression will 60
to prayer; another will stimulate himself
by ardent spirits, and another man will
dive deeper in secularities. But some
times man can not get rid Of these i'm
pressions. The fact is, when man finds
out that his eternity is poised upon per-
feet uncertainty and that the next moment
his foot may slip, he must do something
violent to make himself forget where he
stands or else fly for refuge. II there are
any who have resolved that they would
rather die of this awful cancer of sin than
to have the Heavenly Surgeon cut it out,
let me say, my dear brothers, you mingle
for yourselves a bitter cup. You fly in the
crouch under yoke, and you bite the dust
when you might rise up crowned con.
querors. Driven and perplexed and
harassed as you have been by sin, go and
tell Jesus to relax the grip of death from
your soul and plant your unshackled feet
upon the golden throne. Christ let the
tortures Of the bloody mount transfix him.
With the beam of His own cross He will
break down the door Of your dungeon.
From the thorns of His own crown He will
pick enough gems to make your brow
blaze with eternal victory. In every tear
on His wet cheek, in every cash of His
side, in every long blackening mark of
laceration from shoulder to shoulder, in
the graye-shattering, Heaven-storming
death groan, hear Him say: Him that
cometh unto Me will in no wise cast out"
"Oh," but you say, "instead of curing my
wound you want to make another wound,
namely: that of conviction" Have you
never known q surgeon to come and find q
chronic disease, and then, with sharp
caustic, burn it all out? So the grace of
God comes TO the .. sore of sin. 1t has
long been ranking there, but by Divine
grace it is burned out through these fires
of conviction, "the flesh coming again as
the flesh of little child" where sin
abcunded, grace much more aboundeth." )"
With the ten thousand unpardoned sins OF
your life go and tell Jesus. You will new
er get rid ofyour sins in any other way.
Again commend the behavior of the
Disciples to all who are tempted. l have
heard men in mid-life say they had never
been led into temptation. If you have moi
felt temptation it is because you have moi
tried to do right. A man hoppled and
hand-cuGfed as long as he lies quietly does
not test the power of the chain; but wher
he rises up, and with determination re
solves to snap the hand-cuff or break the
hopple, then he finds the power of the iron
And there are men who have been for ter
rRnd twenty and thirty years bound hand
and foot of evil habit who have never fell
the power of the chain because they have
never tried to break it. 1t is very easy tc
go on down with the stream and with the
wind, lying on your oars; but just turr
around and try to go against the wind ant
the tide and you will find it a very differ
ent matter. AS long as we go down the
current of our evil habit we seem to gel
along quite smoothly; but after awhile w
turn around and head the other way
toward Christ and pardon and Heaven
Oh, then how we have to lay to the oars
All have their temptation, not one person
escaping. 1t is all folly to say to some
one: 81 could not be tempted as you are.'
You see some man with cold, phleg
matte temperament, and you say: 81 sup
pose that man has not any temptation.'
Yes, as much as you have. In his phleg
matte nature he has temptation to indo
lence and censoriousness and overeatine
and drinking; to sink down into grea
latitude and longitude of fattiness;
temptation to ignore the great work o.
life; a temptation to lay down an obstacl,
in the way Of all good enterprises. The
temperament decides the style of tempta
tion; but, sanguine OF emphatic, you will
have temptation. Satan has graphing
hook, just fitted for your soul. A maj
never lives beyond the reach Of tempta
ton. You say when man gets to be sev
enty or eighty years Of age he is safe from
all Satanic assault. You are very mucl
mistaken. A man at eighty-fve years o
age has as many temptations as man a
twenty-five. They are only different style
Of temptation. Ask the aged Christian