The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1888-06-15

Rev. I. dc Will TamaEc, ID. d., TOOK
for his text the passage:
Whosoever doth not bear His cross and
como after me can not be my disciple. Luke
xiv, 4.27.
He preached the following sermon:
The cross was gibbct OIL which criminals
were put to death. II was sometimes made
in the shape Of the letter I, sometimes in
the shape OF the letter y, 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. Eut what
ever style Of cross always di>grcrful,
always agonizing.
When Darius conquered Babylon he put
two hundred captvcs 10 death on the cross.
When Alexander conquered Tyre he put
two thousand captivcs TO death OH the cross.
So 1t was Just al ordinary mole Of punish.
ment. But in all the forest of crosses OH the
hills and In the valleys Of the earth tllcrc.is
one cross that attracts more attention than
any other II is not higher than the others,
1t 10 not made out Of different wood, there is
nothing peculiar in the notch ut which the
two pieces are joined, and as 10 the scene,
they witnessed cruciilxions every few weeks
70 that l see reckless man walking the
hill aud kicking arcle>sly aside skull, and
wondering who the villain was who had 50
nat and misshapen \ head; and here j. an
another skull. 1n,leCd the Bible says it
was - place Of skulls" lsut about The VIC
tim on one Of these crosses all ayes are cry.
ing: s'Who is lie? Was He Il man? Wa, lie
God:" Was He man and God:"
TllrOuuh fhn AZ moss nf tl,,t ,l.,.
i come close up enough TO the cross 10 SIC
who II is. 1t is Jesus. How did lie come
tnere3 Had lie come up on the llIl to oah
of upon the beautiful landscape OF upon
and exhausted. People sometime, wonder
why Christ expired >o'Incky on the cross,
in SIX Or seven hours, while other victims
have been on The cross fer iorty-cisht hours
before life was extinct. will tell YOU tile
reason. lie WAS exhausted when lie came
there. lie had been scollrscd. We are
Mortified at the crucltics OF tile whipping
post, but those crueltIcs We're mercy rs com.
pared with the scourgms of Je>,l> Christ.
saw Ut Antwcrpa picture made by Hl-
Jesus Christ. ii was the most uyeln,:,sir,.
ing picture ever loakcd at, or ever cNpcl
TO see. As the long-trockcd official opened
the door that hid the picture tirrc lie was
Thirst with back bent and barred. Tie a:,.
elator stood with the upper teeth cllncrd
over the lower lip, as though TO give Vic.
lence to the blows. There were tho swollen
shoulders OF Christ. There were tile huck
and blue ridges, denied even the rllrf VI
bleeding. There WA, the flesh adhcrln. 10
the marks where the knots iii the whip,
gouyed out tho flesh. There stood the ,e,,
secutor, with his foot on the calf OF the Ie.
Of the Savior, balancing himself, on, lie
furious and helIish look on those faces, .ri..-
ming vengeance against the sun OF t,oi. Tic
picture seized mo, it overwhelmed me: II
seemed as II it would kill me. ITO not tniuh
could have looked at ii live minutes and
have lived:
But that my friends, was before Chr,,
whipping. Arc you ready for the Journey to
the cross!
= The carpenters have split the timber into
two pieces. They are heavy and they are
long pieces, for one Of them must be f,>-
Cling Of the victim upset the structure.
They put this timber on the shoulder oi
Christ very ,:sradually first. 10 SEQ whether
He can stanl it, and after they lind lie ran
slant II, they put the whole weight upon
hootinK ana the yclin. mob follow on.
Under the weight OF the cross. Christ brr.
weary and sick, lie >ilnblcs and falls, anu
they jerk at his robe indignant that lie
snoula nuve stumbled and fallen. and they
cry: Get ul, get up Christ, putin. one
hand on the ground aud the otllcr hand on
Mary, His mother, Tor sympathy, Lul thy
tell her to stand back, il is no place for Il
woman-"stand back and stop tins CRYING"
christ moves Oh with His burden upon His
shoulders, and there is u boy thai passes
along with Him, II boy holding !, niailct and
lew nails. l wonder what they are for.
Christ moves on until the burden Is 70 great
Ae staggers and falls fiat into the dust ant,
faints dead away, and Il rlllian puts Ills foot
on Him and shakes Him rs he would dead
Dog, while another rutlian looks down ut
HIN, wondering whether He has falnlcd
away or whether lie is only pretending 10
iaiht away, and with jeer and contempt ill
dlscrtbable says: "Fainted, have.you! Faint
edI Get up, get ON"
Now they have arrived at the foot Of the
hill. on with His clothes. Shall that loatil.
some mob look upon tho unrobcd body of
Christ! Yes; The commanding officers say:
"Unfasten the sirtle, take off the coat. strip
Him." The work is done. Bring back the
coat, Tor here are the gamblers tossing up
coin ON the ground, saying: ..WllU
shall have the coat:" One rullian says: al
m NAV enn n,t nay, !, n LII ,, Is MIME lie rolls ii
It to see what kind of fabric il is made OF.
Then they put the eros, ,,pon the ground
and they stretch Christ upon il, and four or
five men hold Him down while ,licv drive
the spikes home: ut every th,,npa .roar, "A
gr0an! Alas, alas. the hour las o. on and the
time comes when they must cruelty Him.
Christ has only one garment lci; now,
cap, II cup Of tllorns. No danger that ii will
fall oil, Tor the sharp edges have pinct,,rrd
the temples and it Is sure and inst, t,nrrut
fan takes hold of ono end of the short beam
of the Gloss, and another r,llilam takes hold
of the other end OF the Short beam of
the cross, and another rllilian pul his arm,
around the waist Of Christ, and another rllt.
fan takes hold of the end of the long jean
Of the cross. and I'LL together they move on
until they come to the hole diggcL in the
earth, anu With awful plunge il jars down
with It's burden OF woe. 1t not the picture
OF Christ, IL is moi the statue Of Christ, as
you sometimes see in cathedral: but It is
the BODY OF bleeding, living, dying Christ.
ihey sometimes say lie lad live wounds
out Lhey nave counted wrong. Two wounds
Tor the hands, two wounds Tor the feet, one
wound for the SIDE, they say. live wounds.
NO they have missed the worst aud they
have missed the most Did You ever see the
bramble out OF which that crown OF thors
was made! ! saw one OH brooklyn ferry
boat, in the hands Of u gentleman who lad
Just returned from Palestine, Il hrumhlc Just
ike thnt OUT OF which the crown vi tiIoru>
was made. how cruel and how >tubborn
were the thorns! And When that zap of
thorns was put upon Christ it Was pressed
..s", vi .,,,i Inn no. h.e wounds nut ten,
'"TE ,.ty, .nil.fNi can liot count tilchh.
III. ahei rev, we're tnree or i0ur absences that
Haoe that scene worse. first There WAS tie
sose r VI MateL. me ciimatc was hot;
tne lever, Tue lhllamailoii, INC nervous pros.
..ai9 ~ .ne Hangrene hau seized upon Hun.