Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1886-11-03
DIR. TALMAGE ON "CHRIST'S FINISHED
WORK."
CHRISTS WORLDLY OCCUPATIONS
WERE AGAINST HIM.
JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA BURIEL
CHRIST.

JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA BURIEI
CHRIST.
But He Risked Nothing by that. BE
| cause it is always Safe to Bury
| Dead Man.
THE OBSTACLES AGAINST WHICE
THE SAVIOUR CONTENDED.
BROOKLYN, N. Y, October 24.-Th'
throngs in and around the Brooklyn IaD
ernacle on Sabbath mornings and evenings
are larger than at any time during the sew
enteen years of Dr.. Talmage's pastorate.-
This morning the opening hymn was tina
beginning:
"Oh, could speak the matchless worth,
| Oh, could sound the glories forth
| That in my Saviour shinep'
The text was John xvii, 4: "I have fin
ished the work which thou gavest me tt
do" The Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, ID.
said:
There is profound satisfaction in the
completion of anything we have undertaken
We lift the capstone with exultation, while
on the other hand, there is nothing more
|
certain direction, to find that eur time is
wasted and our investment profitless.-
Christ came to throw up highway on
which the whole world might, if it chose,
mount into heaven. He did it. The foul
mouthed crew who attempted to tread or
him could not extinguish the sublime salts
faction which he expressed when he said
81 have finished the work which Thou CAV
est me to do"
| Alexander the Great was wounded, and
the doctors could not medicate his wounds,
and he seemed to be dying, and in his dream
the sick man saw plant with peculiar
flower, and he dreamed that that plant was
put upon his wound, and that Immediately
| it was cured. Aud Alexander, waking
from his dream, told this to the physician,
and the physician wandered out uutil he
found Just the kind of plant which the sick
man had described, brought it to Him and
the wound was healed.
Well, the human race had been hurt with
the ghastliest of all wounds-that Of sin.-
1t was the business Of Christ to bring a
balm for that wound-the balm of divine
restoration. In carrying this business to a
successful issue the difficulties were stupen-
dous.
In many of our plans we have our friends
to help us; some to draw sketch of the
plan, others to help US in the execution
But Christ fought every inch of his way
against bitter hostility and amid circum-
stances all calculated to deprcss and defeat.
In the first place, His worldly occupation
was against Him. find that He earned
His livelihood by tho carpenters trade-an
occupation always to be highly regarded and
respected. But you know, as well as do,
| 10, fr,a n
one must give his entire time to it. and
have to declare that the fatiguss of carpen.
trv were unfavorable to the execution of a
mission which required all mental and
physical faculties. Through high, hard,
dry, husky, insensate Judaism to hew a
way for new and glorious dispensation
was stupendous undertaking that was
enough to demand all the concentrated
energies even of Christ. We have great
many romantic stories about what men
with physical toll have accomplished in in
| tellectual departments; but you know that
after man has been toiling all day with
adze, and saw, and hammer, plane and axe,
about all he can do is to rest A weary
body is an unfavorable adjunct to a toiling
mind. You whose upbuilding of king
dom, or the proclamation of a new code of
morals, or the starting of a revolution which
should upturn all nations, could get some
idea of the incoherence Of Christ's worldly
occupation with His heavenly mission.
| In his fathers shop, no more intercourse
was necessary than is ordinarily necessary
in bargaining with men that have work to
do; yet Christ, with hands hard from touch
of tools of trade, was called forth to become
public speaker, to preach in the face of
MODS, while some wept, and some shook
their fists, and some gnashed upon Him
with their teeth, and many wanted Him out
of the way.
To address orderly and respectful assem-
blages is not SO easy as it may seem, but it
requires more energy, and more force, and
more concentration to address an exaspera-
ted mob 4 sThe villagers of Nazareth heard
the pounding of His hammer, but all the
wide reaches of eternity were to hear the
stroke of His spiritual upbuilding.
So also His habits of dress and of diet
Christ's time did rot appear in apparel
without trinkets and adornments. None of
the Caesars would have appeared iu citizens
apparel. Yet here was man, here was a
pretended king, who always wore the same
coat. Indeed it was far from shabby, for
after he hadsworn it a long while, the gam
blers thought it worth rafting about; but
still it was far from being an imperial robe
1t was coat that any ordinary man might
have worn on an ordinary occasion.
Neither was there any pretension in His
diet. No cup-bearer with golden chalce
brought Him wine to drink. On the sea-
shore He ate fish, first having broiled it
Himself No one fetched Him water to
drink, but bending over the well in Samaria
| He begged drink. He sat at only one
banquet, and that not at all sumptuous, for,
to relieve the awkwardness of the host, one
of the guests had to prepare wine for the
company.
| Other kings ride in chariot; He walked
Other kings, as they advance, have heralds
ahead, and applauding subjects behind
| Christ's retinue was made up of sunburn.
ed fishermen. Other Kings sleep under
embroidered canopy; this one on a shelter.
less hill. Riding but once, as far as 1 now
rem ember, on colt, and that borrowed.
Again, His poverty was against Him. 1,
requires money to build great enterprises
Men Of means are afraid of a penniless pro
.jector lest lean be demanded. 1t requires
money to print books, to build institutions
to pay instructors. No wonder the wise
men of Christ's time laughed at this penni
less Christ. "Why," they said, "who is tt
pay for this new religion? VINO is TO cnar
ter the ships to carry the missionaries P
Who is to pay the salaries of the teachers
Shall wealthy Judaism be discounted by &
penriless Christ?''
The consequence was that most OF th'
people that followed Christ had nothing tt
lose. Wealthy Joseph of Arimathea buriet
Christ, but he risked no social position il
doing that. 1t is always safe to bury
dead man. Zaccheus risks no wealth o
social position in following Christ, but tool
a position in a tree to look down as H
passed. Nicodemus-wealthy Nicodemu
l-risked nothing of social position in follow
ing Christ, for ne skulked by night to fin
Him.
All this was against Christ. So the fac
that He was not regularly graduated wa
against Him. If man comes with the d
plomas of colleges and schools and theolog
oa1 copoiuarioc opI ho "a hnon fh ron U