The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-06-05

y "a
ICY moment expecting the steamer to 90
down. All the lights in the cabin were blown
~ AAe captain came crawling in On his
NAMES and knees. for he could not stand up
iiSht, SO Violently was the vessel pitching, and
ne cried out Light up, lichf upl" The
stewart said. 1--WE cant light up; the candles
are gone and the holders are gone" The cap
t'ih Aalu: II can't help that; light up!" The
Storm was awful when the lights were burning
worse ~; when the lights went out.
1AoA there WIS the absence of faithful
nurses, When You ale i'll, it is pleasant to
nave the lead bathed and the hands and feet
iry 1 Look at the hands and feet of Christ,
!ooh at the face OF Christ There we're women
t'eie VINO had cared foc the sick, but none of
T Tiein might come up near enough to help.
mere was Christ'S 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 1t their own way; they had it their
own way.
!, me hours pass on and it is twelve o'clock of
VIE 3avlor's suffering, and it is one o'clock,
ana IL Is two o'clock, and it is almost three
o'clock. Take the last look at that suffering
ilce 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, Mackness under the lower
ny! n.y. INC whole body adroop and shiyering with
the last chill, the breath growing feebler and
leepier and feebler and feebler until he gives
ohe long, deep, last sigh. He is dead
VI, On my soul, He is dead. Can you tell Why
W as lie fanatic dying for principle that
u ;,9. not amount to anything? Was he a man
Infatuated? No; to save your soul from sin,
ana mine, and make eternal life possible He
died. There had to be a substitute for SIM
w w no shall it be? LET it be me-" said Christ,
icy IL De me-" You understand the meaning
OF that word substitution. You were drafted
ior tIe last war; some one took your place,
anu dled at Gettysburg. Christ comes to us
whlie we are fighting our battle with sin and
ueatn ana hell, and He is our substitute. He
marches our march, fights our battle, suffers
our our wounds, and dies our death. Substitution
Substitution
How do you feel in regard to that scene de-
scrlbed in the text? Are your sympathies
aroused or are you SO dead in sin and so aban-
doned by reason of your transgressions that
you can look upon all that fearless and un-
moved? No, no; there are thousands of peo-
pie here this morning who can say in the
depths of their soul mo, no, no; if Jesus
endured that, and all that for me, l ought to
love Him. must love Him. will love Him,
l. do love Him. Here, Lord, L give myself to
Thee; It's all that / can do.''
But how are you going to test your love, and
test your earnestness? My text gives a test.
1t says that while Christ carried cross for
you, you must be willing to carry cross for
Christ. Veil" you say, 81 never could un-
derstand that. There are no crosses to be car
rled in this land; those prosecutions have
passed, and in all the land there is no one to
be cruciiied, and yet in the pulpit and in the
prayer meetings you all keep talking about
carrying cross. What do you mean, sir 2"
mean this: that 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, 1
am ready to do anything for Him. just tell
me what l 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 your
self on the Lords side, could you do it? "Oi
no, you say, 81 have shrinking and sensi-
tive nature, and it would be impossible for me
to rise before large assemblage, announcing
myself on the Lords side" just as feared.
You cannot stand that cross. The first one
That is offered you, you reject. Christ car
ried mountain, Christ carried Himalaya,
Christ carried world for you, and you cannot
lift an ounce for Him.
But here is man whose cross will be to an
nounce among his business associates tomor-
row morning on exchange that he has begun a
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 life.
Could you do that, my brother? "Oi M"
you say, mot just that. l think religion is re-
ligion, and business is business, and it would
be impossible for me to recommend the Chris
tian religion in places of worldly business
just as feared. There is a second cross Of
fered you, and you cannot 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 home 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
take the Bih1A and uafhar family
around you, and read of Christ and heaven,
and your immortal soul? Could you then
kneel and pray for blessing on your house
hold? "OP' you say, mot exactly that. I
quick temper, and if L professed religion and
tried to talk religion i'll my household and
then after that 1 should lose my temper, they
would scott at me and say: you are a pretty
Christianl" So, you are cowed down and
their sarcasm keeps you out of heaven
God you ought to take your whole
family into the kingdom. Christ lifted
q mountain, lifted q world for you you cannot
lift an ounce for Him. 1 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 positive step on this sub
ject, you cannot-you cannot, and my text,
like gate of a hundred bolts, bars you from
peace on earth and glory in heaven.
Iu6re arc nuuur6uS OF men ana women here
brave enough in other things in life who SIM
ply for the lack of manliness and womanliness
stay away from God. They dare not say:
Forever and forever, Lord Jesus, / take Thee.
Thou hast 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, expecting to crawl in
some time when nobody is looking, forgetful
of the tremendous words of my text: "Who-
soeyer doth not bear his cross, and cometh
after Me, cannot be My disciple.''
An officer of a neignboring church told me
that he was in store in New York-just hap
pened in-where there were many clerks, and
gentleman came in and said to a young man
standing behind the counter: "Are you the
young man that arose the other night in the
Brooklyn tabernacle and asked for prayers PSI
Without any flush of cheek, he replied: ~
am. haven't always done right, and have
been quite bad but since 1 arose for prayers
l think | am better than was" 1t was only
his way of announcing that he had started for
the higher life. God will not cast out man
who is brave enough to take step ahead like
that.
tell you these things this morning because,
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 faint
ed dead away under his cross You
have not carried the crossuntil it fetched the
blood. Under His there was a pool of carnage
that Mashed the hOrseai fntlOrks Won ba Nd