Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-06-15

| -. saw one on a Brooklyn ferry |
pon IN the hands of gentleman who
bramble just like that out of which the
crown of thorns was made. q, how
cruel and how stubborn were the thorns,
ana 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 that scene worse. First. there
was the absence of water. The climate
was not; the fever, the inflammation. the
nervous prostration. the gangrene had
selzed upon Him. and He terribly wanted
water. His wounds were worse than
Turk in the Thirteenth century was
crucitied on the banks of a river. so that
the sight of the water might tantalize
nm. And o! how the thirst of Christ
must have tantalized as He thought of
the Euphrates and the Jordan and the
Amazon and all the fountains of earth
and Heaven poured out of His own
hand. They offered 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 ab-
sence of light. Darkness always exas-
|
the night in the summer of 1873, in the
steamer Greece, mid Atlantic. every mo-
ment expecting the steamer to 60 down.
All the lights in the cabin were blown
out. The Captain came crawling on
his hands and knees. for he could not
stand upright, so violently was the
vessel pitching. aud he cried: Light
up. light up!" The steward said: "We
can't light up;the candles are gone and the
holders are gone" The Captain said:
Il can't help that: light up" The storm
was awful when the lights were burning;
worse when the lights were out.
Then there was the absence of faith
full nurses. When you are i'll. it is pleas
ant 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 Christs 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 II o'clock
of the Saviour's suffering, and it is
o'clock. and it is o'clock, and it is al
most 3 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
sunken as though grief had pushed them
back. blackness under the lower lid. the
whole body adroop and shivering with
the last chill. the breath growing feebler
and feebler and feebler and feebler I'M
til He gives one long, deep, last sigh.
He is dead. ~.
Oh! my soul. He is dead. Can you tell
why? Was He a fanatic dying for a
principle that did not amount to any
thing? Was He a man infatuated? No;
and make eternal life possible He died.
There had to be substitute for sin.
Who shall it be? Let it be me. said
Christ, let it be me-" You understand
the meaning of that word substitution.
You We're drafted for the last war: some
one took yenr 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.
He marches our march. fights our battles,
suffers our wounds and dies our death.
Substitution. Substitution!
How doyou feel in gard to that scene
described in the text. and i'll the region
around about the text? Are your SYM
pathies aroused? 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 Of people here this
morning who can say i'll the depth OF
their soul: mo. no, no; if Jesus en-
dured that. and all that for me. ought
to love Him. [ must must love Him, L
will love Him, do love Him. Here.
Lord. give myself to thee; tbs all that
can do"
But how are you going to test your
love, and test your earnestness? My
text gives test. 1t says that while
Christ carried a cross for you. You must
be willing to carry cross for Christ.
We'll" YOU say, Il never could under
stand 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 about carrying cross.
What do you mean. sir?' mean TINS:
That this is cross which Christ calls
you to do, which is unpleasant and
hard. "o!' you say. after hearing the
story of this Christ and all that He has
endured for me. I am ready to do any
thing for Him. Just tell me what l have
to do and I'll do it, am ready to carry
any cross.
Suppose I should ask you at the close
of religious service to rise up: an-
nouncing yourself on the Lords side
could YOU do it? 20! no" you say. Il
have shrinking and sensitive nature,
and it would be impossible for me to
rise before large assemblage, announc-
ing myself on the Lords side" just as
feared. You cannot stand that cross.
The first one that is offered you. you re-
iect. Christ carried mountain, Christ
Carried Himalaya, Christ carried
world for Won, and you cannot carry an
ounce for Him. en-,
But here is man whose cross will be
to announce among his business assocl-
ates 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 are
his associates. so far as he can influence
them. to begin with him the Christian ian.
life. Could you not do that, my
brother? "Oh, no. you say, mot just
that. 1 think religion is religion; and