The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-04
A SERMON ON THE CROSS.
SACRAMENTAL DAY AT THE
BROOKLYN TABERNACLE.

ligion.
BROOKLYN, june 3.-The congregation at
the Tabernacle sang this morning:
I'd sing the precious blood He split,
Ny ransom from tho dreadful guilt"
This is sacramental day, and large num-
ber Of persons joined the church, making
the communicate membership four thous-
and, one hundred and ninety flour But
this is only part of the great attendance
that Sunday mornings and evenings over
flow the immense audience room. The Rev,
I. Dewitt Talmage, D. D., took for his text
the passage: "Whosoever doth not bear
his cross, and come after me, cannot be my
disciple" Luke Ia, "a. He preached the
following sermon:
The cross was gibbet on which criminals
were put to death. 1t was sometimes made
IN the shape of the letter 7, sometimes in
the shape of the letter X, sometimes in the
shape of the letter Ia simple upright;
sometimes two cross pieces against the per-
pendicular bar, so that upon the lower
cross piece the criminal partially sat. But
whatever the style Of cross, it was always
disgraceful and always agonizing.
When Darius conquered Babylon, he put
two hundred captlves to death on the cross
When Alexander conquered Tyre he put
two thousand captives to death on the
cross. SO it was just an ordinary mode Of
punishment. But in oil the forest Of crosses
on the hills and in the valleys OF the earth,
there is one cross that attracts more atten-
ton than any other. 1t is not higher
than the others, It is not
made out of different wood, there
is nothing peculiar in the notch at which
the two pieces are joined, and as to the
scene, they witnessed crucihxions every
few weeks, so that | see reckless man
walking about the hill and kicking care
lessly aside skull, and wondering who the
villain was that had so fiat and misshapen a
head; and here is another skull, and there
on the hillside is another skull Indeed. the
Bible says it was "a place Of skulls" But
about the victim on one of these crosses all
ages are crying: "Who is he's was he man 7
was he God9 was he man and Godr
Through the darkness Of that gloomy
day, | come close up enough TO the cross TO
see who it is IL is Jesus. How did he
come therel Had he come up on the top of
the hill to look Off upon the beautiful land
scape, or upon brilliant sunsetl No He
camo there i'll and exhausted. People some
times wonder why Christ expired so quickly
on the cross, in six or seven hours, while
other victims have been on the cross for
forty-eight hours before life was extinct.
will tell you the reason. He was exhausted
when he came there. He had been scourged
We are Mortified at the cruelties Of the
whipping post, but those cruelties were
mercy as compared with the scourging OF
Jesus Christ.
saw at Antwerp a picture made bv
Rubens-Kubens' picture Of the scourging
of Jesus Christ. 1t was the most over
mastering picture l ever looked at, or ever
expect TO see AS the long-frocked official
op0ned the door that hid the picture, there
he was--Christ with back bent and barred
The 1agelator stood with the upper teeth
clenched over the lower lip, as though to
give violence to the blows There were the
swollen shoulders Of Christ. There were
the black and blue ridges, denied even the
relief Of bleedingv There was the flesh ad
herring to the whips as they were lifted.
There were tho marks where the knots in
the whips gouged out the flesh. There stood
the prosecutor, with his foot on the calf of
the leg Of the Saviour, balancing himself
o! the furious and hellish look ON those
faces, grinning vengeance against the Son
of God. The picture seized me, it over
whelmed me 1t seemed az if it would kill
me- do not think could have looked at
it five minutes and have lived.
But that, my friends, was before Christ
had started for Calvary. That was only
the whipping Are you ready for your
journey to the croSsi
The carpenters have split tho timber into
two pieces. They are heavy and they are
long pieces, for one Of them must he fast
ened deep down into the earth lest the
struggling Of the victim upset the structure.
They put this timber upon the shoulder Of
Christ very gradually, first, to SOC whether
he can stand it, and, after they find he can
stand it, they put the whole weight upon
him. Forward, now, TO Calvary. The
hooting aud the yelling mob follow on. I'm
der the weight of the cross, Christ being
weary and sick, he stumbles and falls. and
they jerk at his robe, dignant that he
should have stumbled and fallen, and they
cry: Get up, get up" Christ, putting one
hand on the ground and the other hand on
the cross, rises, looking into the face of
Mary, his mother, for sympathy; but they
tell her TO stand back, it 10 no place for
woman--''stand back and stop this crying"
Christ moves on with his burden upon
his shoulders and there is boy that passes
along with him, a boy holding mallet and
a few nails. | wonder what they ars forl
Christ moves on until the burden is 50 great
he staggers and falls fat into the dust and
faints dead away, and a ruflian puts his foot
on him and shakes him as he would dead
dog, while another rufiian looks down at
him, wondering whether no has tainted
away, or whether he is only pretending 10
faint away, and with jeer and contempt In
describa says: Painted, have you
tainted Get up, get onp
Now, they have arrived at the foot Of the
bill OF with his clothes. Shall that loath-
some mob look upon the unrobed body OF
Christi Yes The commanding officers
say: "Unfasteu the girdIe; take Off the
coat. strip him" The work is done But
bring back the coat, for here are the
gamblers tossing up coin on the ground,
sayinL: "Who shall have the coat7 One
rufIian saws: 81 have it, / have tit Is
minep He roll it up and puts it under his
arm, or he examines 10 10 SEQ what fabric IL
Is made Of Then they pub the cross upon
the ground, and they stretch Christ upon il,
and four or five men hold him down while
thew drive the spikes home, at every thump
A groan, a groaul Alasl alasl the hour
passes on and the time comes when they
must cruelty him.
Christ has only one garment left now, a
cap, a cap OF thoriis. No danger that ii
will fall Off, for the sharp edges have pune
tured the temples and 1t Is sure and fast.
One ruffian takes hold Of one end Of the
short beam of tho cross aud another rufiian
takes hold OF the other end Of the snort
beam Of the cross, and another ruiiian puts
bis arms around the waist Of Christ, and
another ruffian takes hold OF ths end or the
long beam Of the cross. and altogether they
move on until they como TO the hole digged
in the earth, and with awful plunge IL jars
down with It's burden Of woe. IL Is not the
picture OF a Christ, IL is not tn statue OF
christ, as YOU sometimes see In a cathedral
but it is the body OF q bleeding, living