The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-29

kings OF the earJn turned IEt4t. I1ele - a
plain man with a few sailors at his back,
coming off the sea Of Gahlee, going up 10
the palace Of the Cae5ars. making that
palace quake to the foundations, and
uttering a word Of mercy and kindness
which thrCbs th-Oug1 al the ear IN, ana
through all the heavens. and through all
ages. Oh. he was loving CuilSt. but II
was not effeminacy or inslpldlty OF charac-
ter: it was accompanied with majesty, IN
finite and omnipotent- Lest the
world should not realize his ear
nestuess, this Christ mounts the cross.
You say: If Christ has TO die, why not
let him take some deadly potion and lie on
a couch IL 50 blight and beautiful home.
IL he must die let hin expire amid ali
kindly intentions No, the world must
hear The hammers on the heads OF tae spikes.
TIE world must listen % the death rattle OF
the sufferer. The world must fesl MS warm
blood dropping on each cheek, while IL
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, aud then the os
Is laid on tho ground, and the sufferer
is stretched upon it, and the nails are
pounded through nerve and muscle and
bone, through the Tignt had, through the
left ma d, aud then tley shTko MS right
hand to see If it is fast, and they heave up
the wood, half a q zen should rs u d r the
weight. and they put he end of the cross
in the mouth Of the hole, and they plu lge
il in, all the weight Of his body conf
down for the first time on the spikes; and
while some hold the cross upright Others
throw in the dirt and tTampie II down,
and trample it harI. On, plant tina
tree we'll and til roughly, for it Is TO
bear fruit such as no other tree ever
bore. Why did Christ endure it, He could
have taken those rocks and with them
crushed his cruc fisrs. He could have
reached up and asped the sword # the
omnipotent God, and with one clean cut
have tumbled them into per1ition. But no;
he was to die. He must die. His life for
Your life. In q European city a y ing man
died on the SC fold for the crime Of murder.
Some time after the mother 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 a moment of anger she had
struck her husband blow that
slew him. The sJn came suddenly
into the room, an was washing away the
wounds and trying 70 suscltate his tuther,
when some ono looked through the window
and saw him, and supposed him to lie the
criminal. That young man died for his
own mother. You say: 1t was wonder
ful that he never eX posed her." But | tell
you Of a grander thing. Christ, tne Son Of
God, died not for his mother, uor for his
father, but for his sworn enemies. Ga,
such Christ as that-sO loving, 50 patient
so self sacriiciHg-can you not trust
him think there are many
under the influence of the spirit Of
God who are saying: II will trust
him if you will only tell me how and the
great question asked by thousands is How!
how" Ard vHile answer your question !
look up and utter the prayer hIch Rowland
Hill So often uttered in the midst of his SER
mons: Master, helpn How are YOU to
trust in Christi just as you trust eny one.
You trust your PAL tner IN business with
important Things. II a commercial house
gives you q note payable three months
hence. you expect tao payment of that note
at the end { tn ee months. You have per-
feet confidence in their word and
in their ability. Or again, you 60
home expecting there will be food
on the table. You have confidence in
that Now. I ask you to ha g the
same conf lie ce il the Lord Jesus Christ.
He says: ~ GU believe ] take away youl
sins, and they are all taken away
''Wh tn you say, "before / pray any
more' Before | read my Bible any more!
Before ! cry over my sins any more" Yes,
this moment. Believe with all your heart
and you ara saved w Y, Clrist is only
waiting to get from you what You give 10
scores of PEOPLE every day. What Is that'
Confidence. If these people whom IL trust
day by DAY arc more worthy tina Christ, if
they are more fart full than Christ, if they
have done more than Christ ever did, then
give hem the preference but if you eally
think that Crist is as Trustworthy as theg
are, then deal with him as fairly. "Oh,"
SAYS some one In a light way, IL believe
that Christ was born il Bethlehem and
believe that he died on the cross" Do you
believe it with your head or your heart? |
Will illustrate the difference. You are in
your own house. In the morning you open
a newspaper and you read how Capt
Brayeheart on the sea rlsked his life for the
salvation of his passengers. You say:
''What a grand fellow ne must have been
His family deserve very well OF the coun-
try" You fold the newspaper and sit down
at the table, and perhaps do not think of
that incident again. That is historical
faith.
But now you are on the sea, and it is
night, and You are asleep, and YOU are
awakened bv the shrek of "Fire!" You
rush out on the deck. You hear amid the
wringlng of the hands and the faintiug the
cry, mo hopel no hOpel We are lost! we
are lost!n The sail puts out lis wing of fire,
the ropes make u burning ladder in the
night heavens. the spirit of wrecks Kisses in
the wave, and on the hurricane deck shakes
Duu us dunST Oh sDlt ke ana oar kneSS.
''Down with the lifeboatsm cries the cap
tain. Down with the lifeboatsn People rush
into them. The DO It's ire about full. Room
only for one more man. You are standing
on the deck beside tue captain Who shall
1t bea You are the captainl The captain
says, You" You jump and are saved.
he sta ds there and dies. Now, YOU be
lieve that Capt. Bravehea sacrificed him
self for his passengers, but you believe il
with love. with tears, with hot and long
continued EXPLANATIONS, with grief at his
loss, and joy at YOUR deiverance. That i.
saving faith. In other words, what yor
believe with all the heart, and believe il
regard to yourself. Ga this hinge turns
my sermon; aye, the salvation of your
immol tai soul. You often go across G
bridge you know nothing about You
do not know y no built the bridge, you dc
not know what material it is ma lie Of, bu
you come to 1t g ID walk over it and ask M
qutsti MS. And here is an arched bridge
blasted from the Rock of Ages I'D
built by III architect of the whole uni
verse, spanning the dark gulf between siI
and righteousness, and a God asks YOU il
to walk TOSS 1t, d you start, and YOU
come to it, and you STOP and You go littl,
way on and you stop, and you fall back, anC
you experiment. You say, How DO
know that b id g VIII hold mem instea(
of marching on with firm step, asking
no questions, but feeling that the strength
of the eternal God is u der you. On, wa
there ever prize proffered so cheap as par
don and heaven are offered to yJu2 Fo
how much! A million dollarsl 1t is Ger
talnly worth more than that But cheaper