The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1889-08-14
word, there was healing touch. They
could not keep away from Him.
In addition tn this eoftnaaa NJ charoctor

Al oQQltlOQ W ttllS SOltucoS VI CudrdCL6T.
there was fiery momentum How the
Kings of the Garth turned pale. Hereis plain
man with few sailors at his back, coming
of the sea of Galilee, going up to the palace
OF the Caesars making that palace quake to
the foundations, and uttering word Of
mercy and kindness which throbs through
| all the earth, and through all the heavens,
| and through all ages. D, he was a loving
Christ! But it was not effeminacy or in
| sipidity of character; it 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 a
couch in some bright and beautiful homel
If He must die, let Him expire amid all kind
| ly 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 80 the
cross must be lifted, and a 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 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 whlle some hold the
cross upright others throw IN the
| l,,+ I'd x.o, 10 ND 10
hard. O, plant that tree well and thor
oughly, for it is to bear fruit such as no
other tree ever bore. Why did Christ en-
dure 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 European city young
man died on the scaffold for the crime of
murder. Some time after the mother Of
this young man was dying, and the priest
came in, aud 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 Games uddenly into 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 That
young man died for his own mother. You
say: ut was wonderful he never exposed
her." But tell you Of grander thing.
Christ, the Son of God, died not for His
mother, not for His father, but for His sworn
enemies. o, such Christas that-so loving,
so patient, so elf-sacrifcing-c you
not trust Hint think there are many
under the influence of the spirit of God
who are saying: 81 will trust Him if you
will only tell me howl; and the great ques-
ton asked by thousands is: "Hows howF'
And while l answer your question look up
and utter the prayer which Rowland Hill so
often uttered in the midst of his sermons
master, help!" How are you to trust in
Christ! Just as you trust any one. You
trust your partner in business with
important things. If commercial house
gives you note payable three months
hence, you accept the payment Of that note
at the end of three months. You have per
feet confidence in their word and their
ability. Or again, you go home expecting
there will be food on the table. You have
confidence in that. Now ask you to have
the same confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ
He says: 'YOu believe take away your
sins, and they are all taken away
"What!" you say, "before l pray any
mores Before read my Bible any morei
Before l cry over my sins any moreV
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
thats Confidence. If these people whom
yot 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 trustworthy as
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