Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1888-06-15

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the breath growing feebler and feebler and
leebier and feebler until he gives one long,
deep, last sigh. He is dead!
VI my soul, he is dead. Can you tell whyl
Was he fanatic dying for principle that
did not amount to anythingl Was he man
mfatuatedf No; to save your soul from sin,
and mine, and make eternal life possible, he
died. There had 10 be a substitute for sin.
Who shall it bel "Let it be me, said Christ,
''let it be me-" You understand the mean
ing of that word substitution. You were
drafted for the last war; some one too, your
place, marched your march, suffered your
wounds and died at Gettysburg. Christ
comes to us while we are fighting our battle
with sin and death and hell. and He is our
substitute. lie marches our march. fights
our battle, suffers our wounds and dies our
Heath. Substitution substitution
How do you feel in regard to that scene de-
Scribed in the text, and in the region around
about the textl Are your sympathies
aroused! Or ara 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 of
people here this morning who can say in the
depths of their soul: mo, no, no; if Jesus
endured that and all that for me, | ought to
love him. | must love him, will love him,
| do love him. Here, Lord, give myself to
thee; It's all that can do"
But how are you going to test your love,
and test your earnestnessl My text gives a
test Itsays that while Christ carried a
cross for you. you must be willing to carry a
cross for Christ. "Well," you say, 81 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 crucifed, and yet in the pulpit and
in the prayer meetings you all keep talking
aboutcarrying a cross. What do you mean,
sir" Imean this: That this is cross which
Christ calls you to do, which is unpleasant
and hard. "O!' you say, latter hearing {
story of this Christ and all that no has en-
dured 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 L should ask you at the close of a
religious service to rise up, announcing y our
self on the Lords side-could you do it9 90!
no." you say, 81 have shrinking and SEN
Sitive nature, and it would be impossible for
me to rise before a large aSsembage, an
nounclng myself on the Lords side" Just
as l feared. You cannot stand that cross.
The first one that is offered you, you reject.
Christ carried mountain, Christ carried a
Himalaya, Christ carried world for you,
and you cannot lift an ounce for Him.
But here is a man whose cross will be to
announce among his business associates to-
morrow morning on exchange that he has
begun q 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 are his associates, so far as he can
influence them, to begin with him the Chris
tian life. Could you do that my brother!
"Oh, no" you say, mot just that. l think
religion is religion and business is business,
and it would be impossible for me to recon-
mend the Christian religion in places of
worldly business Just as fearei. There
q q nff n,,l
not carry it. Christ lifted mountain for
you; you cannot lift an ounce for Him.
There is some one whose cross will be to
present religion in the bone circle. Would
you dare to kneel down and pray, if your
brother and sister were looking at you!
Could you ask a blessing at the tea table!
Could you take the Bible and gather your
family around you, and read of Christ and
heaven and your immortal soul? Could you
then kueel and pray for blessing on your
household! "Ohl" you say, "not exactly
that; Icouldn't quite do that because have
a very quick temper, and If | professed re-
ligion and tried to talk religion in my house
hold, and then after that should lose my
temper, they would scott at me and say:
You are pretty Christianp" So you are
cowed down, and their sarcasm keeps you
out of Heaven and away from Christ, when,
under God, you ought to take your whole
family into the kingdom. Christ lifted a
mountain, lifted world, for you; you cannot
lift an ounce for Him. see how it is: you
want to be favorable to religion, you want
to support Christian institutions, you like to
be associated with those who love Jesus
Christ; but as to taking a positive step on
this subject, you cannot-you cannot; and
my text, like gate of hundred bolts, bars
you away from peace on earth and glory in
heaven.
There are hundreds of men and women here
brave enough in other things in life who sim
ply, for the lack of manliness and womanli-
ness, stray away from God. They dare not
say: Forever and forever, Lord Jesus, |
take Thee. Thou has redeemed me by Thy
blood, here is my immortal spirit. Listen,
all my friends. Listen, all the world" They
are lurking around about the kingdom of
God-they are lurking around about it, ex-
pectng to crawl in some time when nobody
is looking, forgetful of the tremendous words
of my text: "Whosoever doth not bear his
cross, and come after Me, cannot be My dis
cipe."
An officer Of neighboring church told me
that he was in a store in New York-iust
happened in-where there were many clerks,
and gentleman came in and said to Young
man standing behind the counter: care you
the young man that arose the other night in
the Brooklyn Tabernacle and asked for pray
ers" Without any flush Of cheek he replied
have been quite bad; but since arose for
prayers | think | am better thanI was.n 1t
was only his was of announcing that he had
started for the higher life. God will not cast
out man who is brave enough to take a
step ahead like that.
/ tell you these things this morning be-
cause, my dear friends, | want to show you
how Light the cross is that we have to carry
compared with that which Christ carried for
us. You have not had the flesh torn off for
Christ's sake in carrying your cross. He
tainted dead away under his cross You
have not carried the cross until it fetched the
blood. Under his there was a pool of car
mage that FLASHED the horses fetlocks You
have friends to sympathize with you in
carrying the cross: Christ trod the wine
press of Gods wrath alone alonel The cross
that you and 1 ought to carry represents
only few days or few years of trial. The
cross that Christ carried for us had COM
pressed into it the agonies of eternity.
There has some one come here to-day whom
you have not observed. He did not come
through the front door; he did not come
down any of these aisles; yet | know he is
here. He is from the East the far East. He
comes with blistered foot and with broken
heart and checks red not with health but
with blood from the temples. take hold of
his coat and l say: at does not seem to fit
thee" "No," he says, cit is not mine; it is
borrowed; it does not belong to me now.
For my vesture did they cast lots" And |
say to Him: Chime eyes are red as though
from loss of sleep" He says: Eyes, the Son
of man had not where to lay His head. "
And touch the log on His back and say:
"Why earliest Thou thisn "Ahm He says,
chat is a cross 1 carry for thee and for the
sins of the whole world That is a cross.
Fall into line, march on with Me in this pro-
cession, take your smaller crosses and your
lighter burdens, and join me in this march to
heaven" And we join that procession with
our smaller crosses and our lighter burdens,
and Christ looks back and He sees some are
hating because they cannot endure the
shame, or bear the burden, and with a voice
which has in it majesty and omnipotence.