Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-06-08

1
OF the short beam Of the cross, and an
other ruff .n puts his arms around the
waist of Christ, and another ruffian takes
hold OF the end of the long Beam Of the
CT SIS, and altogether they move on until
they come to the hole digeed IN the earth,
and with awful plunge it jars down with
its burden of woe. It is not the picture
| of Christ, it is not the statue OF Christ. "a
you sometimes see In cathedral; but it
is the body Of a bleeding, living, dying
Christ.
They sometimes say he had five
wounds, out they have counted
wrong. Two wounds for the hands,
two wounds for the feet, one wound FOR
the side, they say, five wounds. No, they
have missed the worst and they have
missed the most. Did you ever see
the bramble out of which that crown Of
thorns Was made? saw one On Brook
Ign ferrYbost, in the hands of gentleman
who hsd Just returned from Palestine, 8
bramble just like th.. cut of which The
crown Of thorn5 was made o, how cruel
and how stubborn we're the thorns. And
when that esp of thorns WAS put upon
Christ, and it was pressed down upon
Him, not five wounds, but ten, twenty,
There were three or four absences that
msde tina. sce1e worse. First, there was
the absence Of water. The climate was
hot. the fever. the II h.mms'iop, the ner-
vous prostretiop, the gangrene had seized
| upon Him, and He terribly wanted water.
ais wounds were worse than gurshot
fractures, and yet no wster. A Turk in
The thirteenth century was crucified on
10 C ~ tupr Gi1hf ls
the water might tErtslizs him. And, Q,
low the lhirsv Of Christ mu have tan
tsl;z ID IS he thought OF the Euphrates
sad the Jordan ant tue Anaz0a and 81
the fountains CT earth ard heaven poured
out OF HIS Own hand. Thew offered Hin
an intoxicating drsusht made out OF wiae
and Inyrrh, but He decline d il. He want
ed TO die sober. No water.
Then, my friends, there wss the sb
sence Of light. Darkness elwaTs exas
perates trouble. | never shsll forget the
night in the summer Of 1873, in the
ST. amer Greece, mid-Atlsntlc, every mo-
ment expecting the steamer TO 90 down
All the lights in the cabin were blowD
out. The captain came crawling in ca
MS hands and knees, for be could not
stand upright, so violently was
THE VESSEL PHI CHlNGp
snd he cried out: "L'ght up, light up"
Tie steward said: ave can't light up;
the candles are gone and the holders are
gone" The c.ptsin said: al can't help
thSt; light upi" The storm was awful
when the lights were b1rning, worse
When the lights went out.
Then there WAS the absence Of faithful
nurses. When you are III, it Is pleasant
Ia
and feet rubbed. Look 1T the hands snd
feet OF Christ, look at the face Of Christ.
There were women there who had cared
fo- the sick, but none Of them might
come no near enough to help. There
was ChrisL's mother, but she might not
come I'd nesr enough to help. They
said; "Stand back, stand back; this Is
no plsce for you" The high pris SIS and
the soldiers wanted it their own wayi
they had it their own way.
The hours pass on ani 1t is II O'Clock
of the SAvior's suffering, and it is l
O'Clock, and it is O'CLOCK, and it is al
most S O'Clock Take the last look ST
that suffering face; wan and piuched, the
purple lips drawn back agsinst the
teeth, the eyes red with weeping and
sunken as though grief had pushed them
Whole body adroop and sniveting with the
last chill, the breath growing feeder and
feebler ard feebler and feebler until He
gives one long, deep, last sigh. He lie
deadi
Oh, nv soul, ne is dead! Can you tell
way? Was He fanatic dying for prin-
ciple that did not amount to anything?
Was ne man infatuated? No; to save
o. nd mi NJ hsl
eternal life possible, he died. There had
10 ne $ substitute for sin. Who shall it
bs2 Let 1t be me-" said Christ, "iet Il
be me-"
You understand the meaning OF that
word substitution. You were drsfted for
the last war; some one took your place
wounds, and died at Gettysburg. Christ
paItle with sin and death and hell; He IL
our substitute. He marches our march,
fights our battle, suffers our wounds, sno
dies our desth. Saostitu ion! Suosti-
tutor!
How do you feel in regard to thst scene
described in the text, and in the region
thies aroused, or are you
50 DEAD IN SIM
sud go sbartoned by reason OF your
trausgressions thst you can look upon all
that fearless snd unmovsd. No, no;
there sre thou suds Of people here this |
N orning who can say in the depths Of
their soui: 'No, no, no; IL Jesus en- |
dured that, and sill that for me, ought !
to love Him. must love him, l will
love Him, do low Him. Here, Lord,
give myself to Thee; tits all that I can
do"
But low are you going to test your
love, ana test your earnestnessS Ny tt xt
gives test. It SAYS tnst while Christ !
carried cross fer you, you must be will I!
ing 10 carry q cross for Christ. Well"
you eay, "I never could understand inst |
There are no crosses 10 be carried in this !
lspd; those prosecutions hsve passed, !
and in oil the land there is no one to be |
crucih9d, and yet in the pulpit are in the |
prayer meetings you all keep taking |
about carrying 9 cross. What do you |
mean, siI?" mesn this, thst Is 8 cross
which Christ calls you to do, which is IN
pleasant snd hard. "Ot!" you say, "st-
Ter hearing the story of this Christ and
sn that He has endured for me, l sm
resdy to do anything for Him. jas. tell
me what have to do and I'lI do It. / |
am ready to carry any Gloss"
SUPPOSE should ask YOU at the close