Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1889-08-02


me with these leprosiesln No, no; there was
a kind look, there was gentle word, there
was healing touch. They could not keep
away from him
In addition to this softness Of character,
there was a fiery momentum. How the kings
Of the earth turned palel Here Is plain
man, with few sailors at his back, coming
of the sea Of Galilee, going up to the palace
Of the Ciesars, making that palace quake to
the foundations, and uttering a word OF
mercy and kindness which throbs through all
the earth, and through all the heavens, and
through all ages. Oh, he was a loving Christi
But it was not effeminacy or insipidity Of
character; 1t was accompanied with majesty,
infinite and omnipotent Lest the world
shozid not realize his earnestness, this Christ
mounts the cross
THE DEATH OF CHRIST.
You say; ''If Christ has to die, why not let
him take some deadly potion and lie on a
couch in some bright and beautiful homei II
he must die, let him expire amid all kindly
intentions" No, the world must hear the
hammers on the heads of the spikes. The
world must listen TO the death rattle Of the
sufferer. The world must feel his warm blood
dropping on each cheek, while it looks up into
the face Of his anguish. And so the cross
must be lifted, and hole is dug on the top Of
Calvary. 1t must be dug three feet deep, and
then the cross is laid on the ground, and the
sufferer is stretched upon it, and the nails
are pounded through nerve and muscle and
bone, through the right hand, through the left
hand; and then they shake his right hand to
see If it IS fast, and they heave up the wood,
half dozen shoulders under the weight, and
they put the end Of the cross in the mouth of
the hole, and they plunge it in, all the weight
of his body coming down for the first time
on the spikes; and while some hold the cross
upright, others throw in the dirt and trample
it down, and trample it hard. Oh, plant that
tree well and thoroughly, fori is to bear fruit
such as no other tree ever bore. Why did
Christ endure itl He could have taken those
rocks, and with them crushed his crucifiers.
He could have reached up and grasped the
sword Of the omnipotent God, and with one
clean cut have tumbled them into perdition.
But no; he was to die. He must die. His
life for your life. In an European city a
young man died on the scaffold for the
crime Of murder. Some time after, the mo-
Their Of this young man was dying, and the
priest came in, and she made confession to
the priest that she was the murderer and not
her son; in moment of anger she had struck
her husband blow that slew him. The son
came suddenly into the room, and was wash
ing away the wounds and trying to resusci-
tate his father, when some one looked through
the window and saw him, and supposed him
to be the criminal. That young man died for
his own mother. You say, st was wonder
full that he never exposed her." But l tell
you of a grander thing. Christ, the Son Of
GOd, died not for his mother, nor for his
father, but for his sworn enemies Oh, such
a Christ as that-so loving, so patient, so self
sacrIfcing-can you not trust himl think
there are many under the influence of the
Spirit Of God who. are saying, Il will trust
Him if you will only tell me how" and the
great question asked by thousands is, "Howi
howP And while answer your question
lock up and utter the prayer which Rowland
Hill so often uttered in the midst of his ser.
mons, 'Master, help" How are you to trust
in Christi Just as you trust any one. You
trust your partner in business with impOr-
tant things. If a commercial house gives
you note payable three months hence, you
expect the payment of that note at the end
Of three months You have perfect conf
dence in their word and in their ability. Or
again, you 80 home expecting there will be
food on the table. You have confidence in
,
fdence in the Lord Jesus Christ. He
says; "You believe / take away your sins
and they are all taken away" "Whatw you
say, "before pray any morel before l read
my Bible any more9 before l cry over my
sins any more2" Yes, this moment. Believe
with all your heart and you aresaved. Why,
Christ is only waiting to get from you what
you give TO scores of people every day.
What is thatl Confidence. If these people
whom you trust day by day are more worthy
than Christ, if they are more faithful than
Christ, if they have done more than Christ
ever did then give them the preference; but
if you really think that Christ is as trust
worthy as they are, then deal with him as
fairly. "Oh, " says some one in light way,
II believe that Christ was born in Bethle-
hem, and believe that he died ON the cross. "
Do you believe it with your head or your
hearth ! will illustrate the difference. You
are in your own house. In the morning you
open a newspaper and you read how Capt.
Braveheart on the sea risked his life for the
salvation Of his passengers. You say, "What
a grand fellow be must have been His fam
lily deserve very well Of the country" You
fold the newspaper and sit down at the table,
and perhaps do not think Of that incident
again. That is historical faith.
YOU ARE SAVED