Milford chronicle., 1888-06-08

for the feet, one wound for the side, they
say, five wounds No they have missed
the worst and they have missed the
most Did you ever see the bramble out
Of which that crown Of thorns was
made? / saw one ON a Brooklyn ferry
boat in the hands Of a gentleman who
had Just returned from Palestine,
bramble Just like that out of which the
crown of thorns was made. Oh! how
cruel and how stubborn were the thorns.
And when that cap Of thOrns was put
upon Christ, and it was pressed down
upon him, not five wounds, but ten,
twenty, thirty-I cannot count them.
There were three or four absences that
made the scene worse. First. there was
the absence of water The climate was
hot, the fever, the inflammation, the
nervous prostration. the gangrene had
seized upon him, and he terribly wanted
water His wounds were worse than
gunshot fractures, and vet no water. A
Turk in the Thirteenth century was cru
Gifted on the banks of a river so that the
sight of the water might tantalize him.
And OH how the thirst of Christ must
have tantalized as he thought of the Eu-
pirates and the Jordan and the Amazon
and all the fountainsof earth and heaven
poured out Of his own hand. They Of
fered him an Intoxicating draught made
out of wine and myrrh, but he declined
it. He wanted to die sober. No water.
Then, my friends, there was the alb
sence Of light. Darkness always exas-
peratcs trouble. I never shall forget the
night in the summer Of 1878, in the
steamer Greece, mid-Atlantic, every
moment expecting the steamer to go
down. All the lights in the cabin were
blown out. The captain came crawling
in on hands and knees for he could not
stand upright, so violently was the YES
sci pitching, and he cried out: Light
up, light upl" The steward said: 1--WE
cam light up; the candles are gone and
the holders arc gone. The captain said;
Il can't help that; light up" The storm
was awful when the lights were burning,
worse when the lights went out.
Then there was the absence of faithful
nurses. When you are i'll, it is pleasant
to have the head bathed and the hands
and feet rubbed. Look at the hands and
feet of Christ, look at the face of Christ.
There were women there who had cared
for the sick. but none of them might
come up near enough to help. There
was Christ's mother, but she might not
come up near enough to help. They said:
"Stand back, stand back; this is no
place for YOU" The high priests and
the soldiers wanted it their own way;
they had it their own way.
The hours pass on and it is 10 O'Clock
of the Saviour's suffering, and it is
o'clock, and it is 2 o'clock, and it is al
most o'clock. Take the last look at
that suffering face, wan and pinched,
the purple lips drawn back against the
teeth. the eyes red with weeping and
sunllen as though grief had pushed them
back, blackness under the sower lid, the
whole body adroop and shivering with
the last chill the breath growing feebler
and feebler and feebler and feebler until
he gives one long, deep, last sigh. He is
dead
o! my soul, he is dead Can you tell
why2 Was he fanatic dying for prin-
ciple that did not amount to anything2
Was he man infatuated? No; to save
your soul from sin, and mine, and make
eternal life possible. he died There had
to be a substitute for sin. Who shall it
be2 LET it be me, " said Christ; ''et it
be me. " You understand the meaning
of that word substitution. You were
drafted for the last war; some one took
your place, marched your march, suf-
fered your wounds AMI died at Gettys-
burg. Christ comes to us while we are
fighting our battle with sin and death
and hell, and he is our substitute. He
marches our march, fights our LATHE,
suffers our wounds, and dies our death.
Substitution! Substitution
How do you feel in regard to that scene
described in the text. and in the region
round about the text2 Are your sympa-
thies arousedl or are you so dead in sin,
and so abandoned by reason of your
transgressions that you can look upon all
that fearless and unmoved? No, no;
there are thousands o. people here this
morning who can say in the depths Of
their soul: "No, no, no; if Jesus en-
dured that, and all that for me, l ought
to love him. l must love him. will
love him. do love him. Here. Lord.
give myself to thee; tits all that
can do"
But how are you going to test your
love, and test your earnestness? Ny text
gives test. It says that while Christ
carried a cross for you you must be will
ing to carry a cross for Christ. "Well, "
YOU say, Il never could understand
that. There are no crosses to be carried
in this land; those prosecutions have
passed, and in all the land there is no one
to be crucified. and yet in the pulpit and
in the PRAYER meetings you all keep talk
ol., n fIa
You mean. SIR" / mean this: Tha. is a
cross which Christ calls you to do, which
is unpleasant and hard. "Oh, you say,
''after hearing the story of this Christ
and all that he has endured for me, am
ready to do anything for him. Just tell
me what / have to do and I'll do it.
am ready to carry any cross"
Suppose / should nsl you at the close
Of a religious service to rise up announc-
ing yourself on the Lord S side-could
YOU do it? ''Oh! no, " you say, Il have
a shrinking and n sensitive nature. and
it would be impossible for me to rise
before a large assem- blage, announcing
myself on the Lords side. Just as l
feared. You cannot stand that cross.
The first one that is offered You, YOU re.
iect. Christ carried mountain, Cnrlsl
carried a Himalaya, Christ carried
world for you, and you cannot lift an
ounce for him.
But here is a man whose cross will b
to announce among his business asso-
ciates tomorrow morning on exchange,
that he has begun new life, that while
he wants to be faithful in his worldly
duties. he is living for another world,
and he ought to advise all those who arc
his associates, so far as he can influence
them, to begin with him the Christian
life. Could you do that, my brotheri
"Ohl no, you say, mot just that.
think religion is religion, and business is
business, and it would be impossible for
me to recommend the Christian religion
in places of worldly business" Just as !
feared. There is second cross offered
you, and you cannot carry it. Christ
lifted mountain for you; you cannot
lift an ounce for him.
.r,,,. r,r.., ,..l,oso mill ia