The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1889-08-09


did, in His very look. When these sick
ones were brought out did He say: "Do
not bring me these sores; do not trouble
me with these leprOsies?" No, no; there
was a kind look, there was a gentle word,
there was a healing touch. They could
not keep away from Him.
In addition to this softness of charac-
ter, there was a fiery momentum. How
the kings of the earth turned pale. Here
is plain man with few sailors at his
back, coming off the sea of Galilee, going
up to the palace of the Caesars, 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 Christ. But it
was not effeminacy or insipidity Of char
acter; 1t was accompanied with majesty,
Infinite and OmnipOtent. Lest the world
should not realize His earnestness, this
Christ mounts the cross.
You say: IF Christ has to die, why
not let Him take some deadly potion and
lie on couch in some bright and beauti-
full home? If 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. It must be dug three
feet deep, and tlren the cross is laid on
the ground and the sufferer is stretched
upon il, 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 a 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 hard. oh,
plant that tree we'll and thoroughly, 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 crucifers. 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 a European city a young man died
on the scaffoId 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 aud not her
son; in a moment of anger she had
struck her hus band blow that slew Him.
The son came suddenly in the room, and
was washing away the wounds and trying
to resuscitate his father when some one
looked through the window and saw him,
and supposed him to be the criminal.
The young man died for his mother. You
say: 1T was wonderful that he never
exposed her."
But / 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 50 self sacri-
ficing-can you not trust Him? l think
there are lnauy under the influence of
God who are saying: 81 will trust Him;
you will only tell me how;" and the great
question asked by thousands is: "How?
how?" And while 1 answer your ques-
ton look up and utter the prayer which
Roland Hill so often uttered in the midst
of his sermons.
Master, helpW
How are you to trust in Christ? just as
you trust any one. You trust your part
ner in business with important things. II
a commercial house gives you note pay
able three months hence, you expect the
payment of that note at the end of three
months. You have perfect confidence in
their word and in their ability. Or, again,
you go home expecting there will be food
on the table. You have confidence in
that. Now, 1 ask you to have the same
confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. He
says:
"You believe I take away your sins, and
they are all taken away"
"Whatw you say, "before pray any
more? Before L read my Bible any moret
Before cry over my sins any more?"
Yes, this moment. Believe with all
your heart and you are saved. Why,
Christ is only waiting to get from you
what you give to scores of people every
day. What is that? Confidence. If
these people whom you trust day by day
are more worthy than Christ, il 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 trustworthy 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 1 believe that He died on the
cross" Do you believe it with your head
or your heart? l will illustrate the differ
ence. You are in your own house. In
the morning you open a newspaper and
you read how Captain Brav eheart on tue
sea risked his own life for the salvation
of his passengers. You say: "What a
grand fellow he must have beenl 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 by the shrek Of "Fire" You
rush out on deck. You hear amid the wiring
of the hands and the fainting. the cry:
''NO hope, no hope! We are lostl we are
1Ost" The sail puts out its wings Of fire,
the ropes make a burning ladder In the
night b eavens, the spirit OF wrecks
Kisses in the wave, and on the hurricane
deck shakes out its banner Of smoke and
darkness.
Down with the l.fe- boats! :" cries the
captain. down with the life boats"
People rush into them. The boats are
about full. Roo N only for one more
man. You are standing on the deck be-
side the captain. Who shall 1t bef You
or the captain? The captain says: you"
You jump and are saved. He stands
there and dies. Now. you believe that
for his passengers, but you believe it with
love, with tears, with hot and long ex-
Carnations, with grief at his loss, and
joy at your delfverance.
That is saving faith. In other words,
what you believe with all the heart and
believe IN regard to yourself. On this
hinge turns my sermon; aye, the saliva
ton Of your immortal soul. You often