Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-11-19
"CIIRIS7'S FINISHED WORK"
Is the Subject Of an Able D;s.
course by Rev. L. Dewitt
Talnlage,
chyist's Wonderful Progress on Earth
When Wealth, Education, and
Power We're Arrayed
Against Him.

The text was John, xvii. 4: II have
finished the work which Thou eayest me to
Jo,o He said:
There s profound satisfaction in the
completion of anything we have under
,aken We lift the capstone with exulta.
lion, while, on the other hand, there il
nothing more disappointing than, after
having toiled in a certain direction, to find
mat our time is wasted and our Investment
mottless. Christ came to throw up n
highway on which the whole world might.
If 1t chose, mount into heaven. He did it.
The foul-mouthed crew who attempted to
tread on Him could not extinguish the sinh
lime satisfaction which le expressed when
lie said II have finished the work which
Thou gaycst me to do"
Alexander the Great was wounded. and
the doctors conll not medicate his wounds.
and he seemed TO be dying, aud in his
dream the sick man saw Il plant with a
peculiar flower. and he dreamed that that
plant was put upon his wound, and that
immediately it was cured. And Alexander,
waking from his dream, told this to the
physician. and the physician wandered out
until 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 We're stu
pendous.
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
- 1>,t$ I
stances all calculated 10 depress and defeat.
In the first place, His worldly occupation
Was against Him. ] find that He earned
His livelihood by the carpenters trade--an
occupation always to be highly regarded
ana respected. But you know, as we'll as
/ do, that in order to succeed in any EN-
ployment one must give his entire time to
1t. and have to declare that the fatigues
Of carpentry We're unfavorable to the
execution of n mission which required all
mental and physical facilities. Through
high, hard, dry, husky, insensate Judaism,
to bew a way for a new and glorious dis
pcnsation was stupendous undertaking
that was enough to demand MI the con
contracted energies even, of Christ. We
have great many romantic stories about
what men with physical toll have accom-
plished in intellectual departments; but
YOU know that after man has been toiling
all day with adze and saw and hammer,
plane and an, about all he can do is to rest.
J. weary body is an unfavorable adjunct to
atoiling mind. You whose upbuilding of
a kingdom, or the proclamation of q new
code of morals, or the starting of a revclu-
ton 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 be-
come public speaker, to preach in the
face of mobs, while some wept and
some shook their fists, and some CRASHED
upon Him with their teeth, and many
wanted Him out of the way.
10 address orderly and respectful as
semblages is not SO easy as it may seem,
but it requires more energy and more force,
and more concentration TO address an ex-
asperated mob. The village of Nazareth
heard the pounding Of His hammer, but
all the wide reaches of eternity We're to
hear the stroke Of his spiritual upbuilding.
So, also, His habits of dress and of diet
were against Him. The mighty men of
Christ's time did not appear in apparel
without trinkets and adornments. None of
the Caesars would have appeared in citi-
zens apparel. Yet here was man, here
was a pretended king who always wore the
same coat Indeed it was far from shabby,
tor after he had worn it long while the
gamblers thought it worth rafting about;
but still it was far from being an imperial
robe. II was coat that any ordinary man
might have worn on any ordinary occasion.
Neither was there any pretenion i'll His
diet. No cup bearer with golden chalice
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 we'll in
Samaria He begged drink. He sat at
only one banquet, and that not at all
sumptuous, for, TO relieve the awkward
ness of the host, one of the guests had to
prepare wine for the company.
Other kings ride in Il chariot; He walked.
Other kings. as they advance, have her
aids ahead. and applauding subjects be,
hind; Christ's retinue was made up OF
sunburned fishermen. Other kings SLEEP
under embroidered canopy; this one on Il
shelterless hill. Riding but once, as fal
as l now remember--on q colt, and that
borrowed.
Again, His poverty was against Him. II
requires money to bniid great enterprises
Men of means are afraid OF pennlless
protector, lest n loan be demanded. IL re-
cures money to print DOCKS, 10 puiu ~
stitutions, to pay instructors. No wonder
the wise men of ChrisCs time laughed a.
the pennless, Christ. why" they said stl
who is to pay for this new religion? WHO
is to charter the ships 10 carry. the mission
aries? Who is to pay the salaries of thu
teachers? Shall wealthy Judaism be dis
comtited by a penniless Christi"
The consequence was that most of the
people that followed Christ had nothing te
lose. Wealthy Joseph of Arimathea burlef
Christ, but he risked no social position IL
doing that. 1t is always safe to bury deae
man. Zaccheus risked no wealth or socla
position in following Christ, but took q PC,
stion in tree to look down as He passed
Nicodemus, wealthy Nicodemus, rlske'
nothing of social position in following
Christ, for he skulked by night TO find linn
All this was against Christ. So the fac
that He was not regularly graduated wa
against Him. If a man comes with the al
rlomas of colleges, and schools, and theo
logical seminaries, and he has been througl
foreign travel. the world is disposed l'
listen. There was man who had gradu
dot, 1, ~ i,;o SNv 0naitamV