Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1888-06-09
THE ASSASSINATION.
ssAcRAMENTAL DAY SERVICES IN
THE BROOKLYN TABERNACLE.

THE BROOKLYN TABERNACLE.
Rev. DIR. Tnimage Gives q Graphic De-
scripth.n of the saourgiag and Cruci-
fxion of Our Saviour-The Terrible
Crown of Thorns.
BROOKLYN, June 3.-The congregation Mt
1.-THE Tabernacle sang, this mornings
I'd sing the precious blood he split,
My ransom from the dreadful guilt.
This is Sncrnmental day, and large num-
iber of persons Joined the church, making
tho communicate membership 4iD4. But
this Is onlya part of the great attentlbnce
THAT, Sunday mornings and evenings, OVER
flow the immense audience room. The Rev.
II. De Witt Talmnge, D. D., took for his text
tho passage: whatsoever doth not bear his
cross, and como after me, cannot be my dis
cipIe.n-Lul,e xiv, 81. lie preached the fol-
lowing sermon: ~ 6
Tho cross was a gibbet on which criminals
!: were put to. denth, 1t was sometimes made
III the shape Of the letter sometimes in the
shape of the letter Z, sometimes in the shape
of the letter la simple upright: sometimes
two cross pieces against tho perpendicular
bar, so that upon the lower cross piece the
criminal partially sat. But whatever the
style of the cross it was always disSraceful
and always agonizing.
When Darius conquered Babylon be put
200 captives to death on the cross. When
Alexander conquered Tyre, no put 1000 cap
tives to death OIL the cross. So it WAS just
III ordinary mode of punishment But in
all the forest OF crosses on the bills and in
the valleys of the earth, there is ono cross
that attracts more attention than any other.
It is not higher than the others, it is not
rnnde 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
crucnxions every few weeks; so that | see
q reckless man walking about the hill and
kicking cnrclcssly aside SKULL and wonder
ing who tho villain was that had so fiat an0
misshaIen head; and here Is another skull,
and there OIL the hillside is another skull. In
deed, the Biblesays it was "a place ofskulls.n
But about the victim on one of these crosses
nil ages are crying: "Who is hci was he
i. man! was he n. God? was lie man and Godf'
Through tho darkness of that gloomy day
who it is. 1t is Jesus. How did he como
there! Had he come up on the top of the hill
. to look off upon the beautiful landscape or
upon brilliant sunset No. lie came there
i'll and exhausted. People sometimes wonder
why Christ expired so quickly on the cross,
In six or seven hours, while other victims
have been OIL the cross for forty eight hours
before life was extinct. | will tell you the
reason. He was exhausted when he cnmo
there He had hecn scourged. We IRE hor
rifed at the cruelties of the whipping post,
but those cruelties wero mercy compared
with thcscourging of Jesus Christ.
saw ut Antwerp picture made by Rubens
-Rubens picture of the scourgng of Jesus
Christ 1t was the most overlnastering pict-
ure ever looked Mt, or ever expect to sec.
As the long frocked official opened the door
that hid the picture, there he was-Christ
with back bent and barred. Tho fugellator
stood with the upper teeth clenchei 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. tho relief Of bleeding There
was tho flesh adhering to the whips as they
wero lifted There wero the marks v,hero the
knots IN the whips gougel out tho flesh. There
stood the prosecutor, with his foot on the calf
of the leg of the Saviour, balancing himself.
OF tho furious and bellish look on these faces,
grinning vengeance against the Son Of God.
The picture seized Inc, it overwhelmed me;
it seemed rs if it would kill mo. do not
think could have looked at it five minutes
and have lived.
But that, my friends, was before Christ Ind
started for Calvary That was only the
whipping. Are you ready for your journey
to tho CROSSE
Tho carpenters havo split tho timber into
two pieces They are heavy and they arc
long pieces, for one of them must be fastened
deep down in the earth, lest the struggling of
the victim upset the structure. They put
this timber upon the shoulder of Christ very
gradually first, to SEQ 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 and tue yell
ing mob follow OIL. Under tho weight Of tho
cross, Christ being weary and sick, hc stunt
bles and falls, and they jerk ut his robe i'll
dirnant that he should have stumbled and
fallen, and they cry: Get up, get up!a
Christ, putting ono hand OIL the ground and
the other band OH the cross, rises, looking
into the face of Mary his mother, for SYM
putty; but they tell her to stand back, it is
no place for Il woman. "Stand back and stop
this crying"
Christ moves on with his burden upon his
shoulders, and there is q boy that passes
along with him, boy holding mallet and
q few nails. | wonder what they are forl
Christ moves on until the burden is SO great
he staggers md falls fat into the dust and
faints dead away, and Il ruffian puts his foot
OH him and shakes him us he would dead dog,
whilc another rufIian looks down at him
wondering whether he bias tainted away, or
whether be is ouly pretending to faint away,
and with jeer and contempt indescribable,
says: Tainted, have youf Fnintedl Get
up! get onl"
Now they have arrived at the foot of the
hill. or with his clothes! Shall that loath-
some mob look upon the nnrobed body OF
Christ? Yes. The commanding officers say:
"Unfasten the girdle, take or the coat; strip
hi,nr' The work is done. But bring back
tho coat, for here are the gamblers tossing
up coin on the ground, saying: IL have it,
have it; it is minel" He rolls it up and puts
it under his arm, or he examines it to seq
what fabric it is made of. Then they put
the cross upon the ground and they stretch
Christ upon it, and four or five men hold
him down while they drive the spikes home.
At every thump groan-a groan. Alasl
alasl The hour passes on and the time
comes when they must cruelty him.
Christ has only ono garment left now, O
cap, cap of thorns. No danger that it will
fall off, for the sharp edges havo punctured
the temples and it is lure and fast One ruff
fan takes hold of one end of the short beam
of the cross, and another rufinn takes bold
of the other end of the Short beam OF the
cross, aud another ruiIian puts his arm:
around the waist of Christ, and another ruff
tlau takes hold of the end of the long beam
of the cross, and altogether they move Oh
until they como to tho hole diggcd in the
o,r+b md with awful plunge it lars dow