The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-07-26
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Weekly Disoourses of the Great
Brooklyn Preacher.
Subject: "SOur ExPcricnces.'
delivered at Chicago, In.)

TEXT: "Whem. Jesus therefore had NJ.
eeiued tho Utnegdr. xix, 80
The brigands of Jerusalem had done their
work. II was almost sundown, and Jesus
was dying. Persons in crucifction often lin
gerod on from day to day--crying, begging,
cursing; but Christ had been exhausted by
years Of fmaltreatment Pillowless, poorly fed
aogged-as bent over and tied to a low post
his bare back was fnflamed with the scourges
intersticed with pieces of lead and bone
and now for whole hours, the weight
OF his body hung on delicate
tendons, and, according to custom,
. violent stroke under the armpits had been
given by the executioner.. Dizzy, swooning,
nauseated,. feverish-a world Of agony Is
compressed in the two words: II thirstln
U skies of Judea, let drop OF rain strike on
bis burning tongue. 0 world, with rolling
rivers, and sparkling lakes, and spraying
fountains, give Jesus something to drink II
there be any pity in earth, or heaven or hell,
iet it now be demonstrated in ,eh VI OF
this royal sufferer. The wealthy Vop en- Of
Jerusalem used to have a fun " mouvy with
which they provided win - lhos- prop!o
who died in crucitixion- y Gr,ul opiat.,
to deaden the pain; but :, 'St would not
take 1t. He wanted TO die SOBER and SO He
refused the wine. But afterward they go to
a cup of vinegar and soak sponge in it, and
put it on stick of hyssop, and then press it
against the hot lips OF Christ. You say
the wine was an anaesthetic, and intended
TO relieve or deaden the pain But the vine-
gar was an insult. am disposed to adopt
the theory of the old English commentator,
who believed that instead of Its being an
oplate to soothe, it was vinegar to insult.
Malaga and Burgundy for grand dukes and
duchesses, and costly wines from royal watts
for bloated imperials; but stnging acids for
q dying Christ. He took the vinegar.
In some lives the saccharine seems to pre-
dominate. Life is sunshine on bank of
flowers. A thousand hands to clap approval.
In December or in January, looking across
their tables, they see all their family present.
Health rubicund. Skies tiamboyant. DAYS
resilient But in great many cases there
are not so many sugars as acids
The annoyances, and the vexations,
and the disappointments Of life
overpower the successes. There is a
legend says that there was worm in Solo
mons staff, gnawing its strength away; and
there is weak spot in every earthly support
that a man leans on. King George, of Eng
land, forgot all the grandeurs OF bis throne
because, one day in an interview Beau Bum
nell called him by his first name,
and addressed him as servant,
crying: George, ring the bellp'
Miss Langdon, honored all the world
the evil reports set afioat regarding her,
that she is found dead, with an empty bottle
Of prussic acid in her hand Goldsmith said
that his life was wretched being, and that
all that want and contempt could bring to it
had been brought, and cries out "What,
then, is there formidable in jailf' Correg-
gios fine painting is hung up. for tavern
sign. Hogarth cannot sell his best paintings
except through rattle. Andrew Delsart
makes the great frescoe in the Church of the
Annunciata, at Florence and gets for pay a
sack OF corn; and there are annoyances and
vexations in high places as well as in low
places, showing that In great many lives
the sours are greater than the.sweets. "When
Jesus therefore had received the vinegar"
1t is absurd to suppose that man who has
always been well can sympathize with those
who are sick; or that one who has always
been honored can appreciate the sorrow OF
those who are despised; or that one who has
been born to a goeat fortune can understand
the distress and the straits of those who are
destitute. The fact that Christ Himself,
took the vinegar, makes Him able to SYM
pvthize to-day and forever with all those
whose cup is filed with sharp acids of this
life. He took the vinegar.
In the first place, there is the sourness of
betrayal. The treachery Of Judas hurt
Christ's feelings more than all the friendship
of His disciples did Him good. You have
had many friends; but there was one friend
upon whom YOU put especial STRESS You
feasted him. You loaned him money. You
befriended him in the dark passes of life, when
he especially needed friend. Afterward he
turned upon you, and he took advantage of
you. He talked against you. He microsco
pized your faults He flung contempt at you
when you ought to have received nothing but
gratitude. At first, you could not sleep at
nights. Then you went about with sense of
having been stung. That difficulty will
never be healed, for though mutual friends
may arbitrate in the matter until you shall
come back. Now, commend to all such the
sympathy of betrayed Christ. Why, they
sold Him for less than our twenty dollars!
They all forsook Him, and fed They cut
Him to the quick. lie drank that cup of be-
trayal to the dregs. He took the vinegar
There is also the sourness of pain. There
are some of you who have not seen a we'll
day for many years. By keeping out Of
draughts, and by carefully studying dietetics,
you continue to this time; but, O, the head
aches, and the sdeaches, and the bsckaches,
and the heartaches which have been your
accompaniment all the way through You
have strugg ed under heavy mort
gage. Of physical disal ilities, and in
stead of the placidity that once char
acterized you. 1t is now only with great
effort that you keep away from irritability
and sharp retort. Difficulties Of respiration,
Of digestion, Of locomotion, make up the
great obstacle in your life, and you tug and
sweat along the pathway, and wonder
friends, the brightest crowns in heaven will
not be given to those who, in stirrups,
dashed to the cavalry charge, while the
general applauded and the sound Of clashing
sabres rang through the land; but the
brightest crowns in heaven, / believe,
will be given to those who trudged on
amid chronic ailments which unnerved
tanning their faith in God. It is
comparatively easy to fight in regiment Of
a thousand men, charging upon the parapets
to the sound of martial music; but it is not SO
easy to endure when no one but the nurse
and the doctor are the witnesses of the
Christian fortitude. Besides that you never
had any pains worse than Christs. The
sharpnesses that stung through His brain,
through His hands, through His feet, through
His heart, were as great as yours certainly.
He was az sick and as weary. Not nerve,
or muscle, or ligament escaped. All the
pangs of all the nations of all the ages COM
pressed into one sour cup. He took the vine
garl
There is also the sourness of poverty. Your
Income does not meet your outgoings, and
that always gives an honest man anxiety,
There is no sign Of destitution about you--
pleasant appearance, and a cheerful home
for you; but God only knows what time
you have had to manage your private
finances. Just as the bills run up,
the wages seem to run down. But
you are not the only one who has
not been paid for hard work. The great
Milkie sold his celebrated piece, "The Blind
Fiddler" for fifty guineas, although after
ward it brought its thousands. The world
hangs in admiration over the sketch OF
Gainsborough, yet that very sketch hung for
years in the shop window because
there was not any purchaser. Oliver
Goldsmith sold his "Vicar Of Wake.
field" for few pounds in order To
keep the bailiff out of the door; and the vast
majority Of men in all occupations and nro-
fessions are not fully paid for their work.
You may say nothing, but life to YOU is a
hard push; and when you sit down with your
wife and talk over the expenses, you both rise
up discouraged You abridge here. and
you abridge there, and you get thing,
snug for smooth sailings, and lol suddenly
mere Il a large doctors bill to pay. or Won
have lost your pocket book, or some creditor
has failed, and you are thrown a-beam end
Well, brother, you are In glorious company.
Christ owned not the house in which he
stopped, or the colt on which He rode, or the
boat In which he sailed He lived in {
borrowed house; He was buried in q Dor