The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1886-11-18

The left Pass clear to the other side. That
victim also twists himself upon the nails to
| look at the center cross-yet, not to scof.
It is to worship. He, too, would like to get
bis hand loose; not to snite, but to deliver
the sufferer Of the middle cross He cries
to tie Tailer cursing ON the other side: Isl
| lence! between US is innocence. is agony
Wesuifer for our crimes. Silencel" Gather
| around this left hand cross, Oh, ye people
he not afraid. Bitter herbs are sometimes a
tonic for the body, and the bitter aloes that
you grow on this tree shall give strength
aud life to thy soul.
This left hand cross is a repenting cross.
Az men who have been nearly drowned tell
| us that in one moment, while they were under
the water, their whole life passed before them,
/ so suppose in one moment the dying male
factor thought over all his past life. OF that
nfght-when be went into an unguarded door
and took all the silver, the gold, the jewels,
! and as the sleeper stirred he put a knife
through his heart OF that day when, in the
lonely pass, he met the wayfarer and regard
less of the cries and prayers and tears and
! struggles of his victim ne flung the mangled
| corpse into the dust of the highway or heaped
] upon it the stones He says: "Oh, am a
! guilty wretch; 1 deserve this There is no need
| of my cursing. That viii not stop the pain
! There is no need of disappearing Christ, for
He has done me no wrong; and yet cannot
| die SO. The tortures of my body are outdone
/ by the tortures of my soul. The past is a
scene of nisdoing; the present cruciixion;
! the future an everlasting undoing Come
! back, thou hiding midday sunl Kiss my
| check with ono bright ray of comfort. Whatl
/ no help from above-nO help from above-nO
| help from beneath9 Then 1 must turn to
my companion in sorrow, the one on the mid
/ die cross. l have heard that He knows how
/
/ heard that He can cure the wounded. I have
| heard that He can pardon the sinner. Surely,
| in all His wandorings up and down the earth
he never saw one more in need of
His forgiveneSsl Blessed -onel I turn to
theel Wilt Thou look for the moment away
from Thy own pangs to pity me. Lord, it is
not to have nay hands relieved or my feet
taken from the torture. 1 can stand all this,
but Oil my sinsi my sinsl my sinsi they
pierce me through and through. They tell
me 1 must die forever. They viii push me
out into the darkness unless Thou wilt help
me. confess it all. Hear the cry of the
dying thief: Lord, remember me when Thou
comest into Thy kingdom. 1 ask no great
things. 1 seek for no throne in heaven, no
chariot TO take me to the skies; but just
think of me when this days horrors have
passed. Think of me a little-of me, the one
now hanging at Thy side-when the shout of
glory, Thou wilt not forget me, wilt
Thou7 Lord, remember me when Thou
comest into Thy kingdom. Only just remem-
ber me-"
Likewise must we repent. You say: "I
have stolen nothing" I reply: ave have
all been guilty of the mightiest felony of the
universe, for we have robbed God-robbed
Him of our time, robbed Him of our talent,
robbed him of our services. Suppose you
oe
and every month you pay him his salary, and
at the end of ten years you find out that he
has been serving another firm, but taking
your salary: would you not at once condemn
him as dishonest? God sent US into this world
to serve Him. He has given us wages all the
time. One half of US have been serving
another master. When man is convicted
of treason be is brought out; regiment sur
rounds him and the command is given: "At-
tention, company. Take aiml Firei" And
the man falls with a hundred bullets
through his heart There comes a time
in a mans history when the Lord calls
up tho troop of his jniquities, and at |
Gods command they pour into him a CON
concentrated vollcy of torture. You say: II |
don't feel myself TO be a sinner That may
be. Walk along by the cliffs, and you see |
5unlght and flowers at the mouth of the !
cave; but take q torch and 20 in, and be- |
y
eye of a wild beast or hear the hiss of a SER
pent. So the world seems in the sunlight of |
worldliness; but as I wave the torch of Gods |
truth, and go down into the deep cavern |
of the heart-alasl for the bristling horrors |
and the rafting fangs. Have you ever
noticed the climax in this passage of Scrip |
ture: "The heart is deceitful." That seems |
enough. But the passage goes ON and says: |
"The heart is deceitful above all things"
Trrsr IL. = n IL
passage goes ON further and says: "The |
heart is deceitful above all things and des-
perately wicked" If we could see the true |
condition of the unpardoned before God, |
what wringing of hands there would bel |
What thousand-voiced shrek of supplca- |
ton and despairl But you sinner, |
sinner. speak not to the person who sits |
next to you, but to you. You are sinner.
All the transgressions of lifetime have been
gathered up into an avalanche. At any |
moment it may slip from the cliffs and crush |
you forever. May the Lord Almighty, by |
His grace, help us to repent of our sins while /
repentance is possible
This left hand cross was a relieving cross.
There was no guess work in that prayer; no
"ifn in that supplication. The left hand cross
flung itself at the foot of the middle cross,
expecting mercy. Faith is only just opening |
the hand to take what Christ Offers us. The |
work is all done, the bridge is built strong
enough for us all to walk over Tap not at
the door of Gods mercy with the tip of your
fingers, but as warrior, with gauntleted
fists, beats at tho castle gate, so with all the
aroused energies of our souls let us pound
at the gate OF heaven. That gate is locked. |
You go to it with bunch of keys. You try |
philosophy That win not open it. A large |
door generally has ponderous key. I take
tho cross and place the foot of it in the lock,
and by the two arms of the cross 1 turn the
lock, and the door opens
This left hand cross was p2rdOning cross.
The crosses were only two or three yards
apart. 1t did not take long for Christ to |
hear Christ might have turned away and
said: "TIow darest thou speak to me? am
the Lord of heaven and earth. 1 have seen
your violence When you struck down that
man in the darkness L saw you. You are
Getting lust reward. Die i'm darkness-die /
for ever But Jesus said not so, but rather: |
"This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise !
rs much as to say, II see you there; don't |
worry will not only bear my cross, but |
help you with yours.
Forthwith the left hand cross becomes the !
abode OF contentment. The pillow of the
malefactor, soaked in blood, becomes like |
the crimson upholstery of a kings couch.
When the body became still, and the sur
geons feeling the pulse said one to another; |
"He is dead" the last mark OF pain had gone
from his face. Peace had smoothed his |
forehead. Peace CLOSED his eyes. Peace |
closed his lips. Now you see why there weTNe
two transverse pieces on the cross for 1t has |
become n ladder into the skies. That dying |
head is easy which has under it the promise
"This day thou shalt be with Me in Para
disc" Ye whose lips have been filed with |
blasphemy ye whose hands for many years
have wrought unrighteousness, ye who |
have ccmpanioned with the unclean, ye who !
have scaled every height Of transgression,
ard fathomed every depth and passed every !
extreme of inieuity-mercyl mercyl
The dying thief reioiced 70 see
That fountain il his day,
AID there may !, as vile as be,
Wash all my sins away
] have shown you the right hand cross and |
the left hand cross; now come to the middle 1
cross We stood at the ore, and found |
il yielded poison. We stood at the other, ana |
found it yielded bitter aloes. Come now To |
hal- down aflpleS OF /