The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-11-19
THE THREE CROSSES.
Sermon by Rev. T. Dewitt Tai
mage, D. D.

Sermon by Rev. T. Dewitt Tai
mage, D. D.
"The Orchard ON the Iln Poison
Gus Fruit, and tho Bitter Aloes-
Glorious Triumph Of the
Middle Gross.
BRooKLYN, N. T., Nov. H-After tho
opening exercises ct the Tabernacle this
morning DR.. Talmage announced - his
text Luke 1888: land when they were
come to the place, which il called Calvary,
there they crucified Him, and the malefac-
tors, one on the right hand and the other on
the left" he then said:
Just outside Of Jerusalem Is . swell OF
ground toward which scrowd Is ascending,
for 1t il the day Of execution. What
mighty assemblagei Some for curiosity to
hear what the malefactors will say, and to
see how they will act. The three persons
to be executed are already there.
Some of the spectators are vile OF
lip and bloated of cheek; some look up
with revenge, hardly able to keep their
hands of the sufferers; some tear their
own hair in frenzy Of grief; some stand
in silent horror; some break out into I'M
comfortable weeping; some slap their
hands in delight that the offenders are to
be punished at last The soldiers with
drawn swords drive back the mob which
presses on SO hard. There is fear that the
proceedings may be interrupted. Let the
Roman legion, now stationed at Jerusalem,
on horseback dash along the line and force
back the surging multitude. "Back with
you!' is the cry. "Have you never seen
man die befOre!"
Three crosses in . row. An upright piece
and two transverse pieces-one on the top
on which the hands are nailed, and one at
the middle, on which the victim sat. Three
trees just planted-yet bearing fruit-the
one at the right bearing poison, and the
one at the left bitter aloes; the one in the
middle apples Of love. Norway pine and
tropical orange and Lebanon cedar would
not make 50 strange . grove as this Or
chard of Calvary. Stand and give look at
the three crosses; just look at the one on the
right; its victim dies soothing. More tre
mendous than his physical anguish is his
scorn and hatred of Him on the middle
cross. This one on the right turns half
around on the spikes to hiss at the one in
the middle II the scoffer could get one
he would smite the middle sufferer
in the face. He hates Him with perfect
hatred. think he wishes he were down on
the ground, that he might spear him. He
envies the mechanics who, with their nails,
have nailed Him fast. Amid the settling
darkness and louder than the crash Of the
rocks hear him jeer out these words: "Ah,
all, you poor wretch, knew you were an
imposter. You pretended you were God,
and yet you let these legions master your
1t was in some such hate that Voltaire, in
his death hour, because he thought he saw
Christ in his bedroom, got up on his elbow
and cried out: ''Crush that wretch!' What
had the middle cross done to rouse up this
right hand cross! Nothing. ., the enmity
of the natural heart against Christ. The
world likes q sentimental Christ, or
philanthropic Christ, but Christ who
comes to snatch men away from their sins
away with Him.
On this right hand cross to-day I see
typified the unbelief Of the world. Men
say: "Back with Him from the heart;
will not let Him take my SINS. II He will
die, let Him die for Himself, not for me-"
There has always been q war between this
right hand cross and the middle cross, and
wherever there is an unbelieving heart,
thus the fight goes on. ., if, when that
dying malefactor persisted, the faithless-
ness of men had persisted, then that tree
which yields poison would have budded and
blossomed with life for all the world. Look
up into that disturbed countenance of the
sufferer and see what q CHASTITY thing it is
to reject Christ. Behold in that awful
face, in that pitiful look, in that un-
blessed death hour, the stings Of the
sinners departure. What q plunge into
darkness! Standing high upon the cross
at the top of the hill, so that all the world
may look at him, he says: Here go out Of
q miserable life into wretched eternity"
One, two, three. Listen to the crash Of the
fall, all We ages. So Hobbies, dying after
he had seventy years in which to prepare
for eternity, said: "Were l master of the
world, l would give it all to live one day
longer" Sir Francis Newport, lowering
over the brink, cried out: "Wretch that
am. whittier shall l fly from this deaths
What will become of met Oh, that were
to lie upon the fire that never is Quenched
one thousand years to purchase the favor
of God and be reconciled to Him again. Oh,
eternity! Oh, eternity Who can discover
the abyss of eternity! Who can paraphrase
upon these words: Forever and forever"
That right hand cross-thousands have
persisted on it, in worse agonies. For what
is physical pain compared to remorse, at
the last, that life has been wasted, and
only fleeing moment stands between the
soul and its everlasting overthrow! Oh,
Sod! let me die anywhere rather than ut
the foot Of that right-hand cross. Let not
one drop of that blood fall upon my cheek.
Rend not my ear with that cry. 1 see it
now as never before-the loathsomeness
and horror of my unbelief. That dying
malefactor was not so much to blame
as l. Christianity was not established,
and perhaps not until that day had
that man heard the Christ. But
after Christ has stoodalmost nineteen cent
uries, working tho wonders Of His grace,
you reject Him. That right hand cross
with its long beam overshadOws the earth.
1t is planted in the heart Of the race. When
will the time come when the spirit Of God
shall, with its axe, hew down that right
hand cross, until it shall fall at the foot of
that middle cross, and unbelief, the railing
malefactor of the world, shall perish from
all our hearts, Away from me, thou spirit
of unbelief! hate thee. With this sword
of God thrust thee back and thrust thee
through. Down to hell; down most &C.
cursed monster Of the earth, and talk to the
millions thou hast already damned. Talk
no longer to these sons of God, these heirs
Of Heaven.
'If Thou be the Son Of God" Was there
any ''if'' about it. Tell me, thou star, that,
in robe of light, did run to point out His
birthplace! Tell me, thou sea, that didst
put thy hand over thy lip when He bid thee
be still! Tell me, We dead, who got up to
see Him die! Tell me, thou sun in mid
heaven, who for Him didst pull over thy
face thy vail of darknessl Tell me, ye lep-
ers who were cleansed, ye dead who were
raised, is He the son of Goda Aye, aye, re-
spends the universe. The flowers breathe
it. the stars chime it, the redeemed cele-
brate it, the angels rise up on their
thrones to announce it. And vet on the