Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1890-01-31

kind look, there was gentle word, there was
a healing touch They could not keep away
from Him
In addition to this softnsss OF character.
there was fiery momentum. How tEe old
hypocrites trembled before Him low the
Kings Of the earth turned pale. Esre is n
plain man with few sailors at His back,
coming of the sea Of Galilee, going up 10 the
palace OF the CaeSars. making that palace
quake TO the foundations and uttering a
word OF mercy and kindness which throhs
through all the earth, and through all the
heavens and through all the ages Oh, He
was loving Christ But it was not effen-
macy, or insipidity OF character: 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 q couch in some bright and
beautiful home: If He must die, let Him
expire amid all kindly attentions" 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 the cross must be lifted
and the hole is dug on the top of Calvary.
1t must be dug three feet deep, and then tue
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 shake His
left foot to see il it Is fast. and then thew
heave up the wood, half dozen shoulders
under the weight and they put the end of
the cross to the mouth of the hole, and they
plunge 1t in, all the weight of His body COM
ing 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. o, plant that
tree well and thOrou h y, for it Is 10 bear
fruit such no other tree ever bore. Why
did Chr st endure it? He could h we taken
those rock and with them crushed His cruel
fers. He co Id have reached up and grasped
the sword Of the Omnipotent God and with
one clean C 1t have tumbled them into perdi-
ton. But no, He was to di He must e.
His life for my life. Fl life for you life
In on of the EurOpea cities young man
died on tn, scatfOld or he crime of muir
der. Some time after, the mother of this
you g ma was dying, and the prizes came
in, and she made con ession to the
pr est that she was the murde G an
not Ler son; a moment Of anger she
had struck her husband a blow that slew
him. The son came suddenly into the room,
and was washing away the wounds and try
ing 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 that he never ex-
y
thing. Christ the Son of God died not for
His mother, not for His father, but for His
sworn enemies. o, such a Christ as that-so
loving, so self sacrifcing-can you rot trust
Him?
I think there are many under the spirit of
God who are saying: II will trust Him if you
will only tell me how" and the great Ques-
ton asked by thousands in this assem- blage
is: Glow? how" And while l answer your
question look up and utter the prayer which
d "a ID r.
of his sermons: Master, help How are
you to trust i'll Christ? Just as you trust
any one. You trust your partner in bust
ness with important things. If a COM
mercial house give you a note payable
three months hence, you expect the pay
ment of that note ut the end of three
months. You have perfect confidence
in their word and in their ability. You go
home to-day. You expect 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. "Whatm 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 aad 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 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 they
are, then deal with Him as fairly. "Oh"
says some one in light way, II believe that
Christ was born Ill Bethlehem, and | believe
that He died on the CT oss." 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 Cap
tain Braveheart on the sea risked his life
for the salvation of his passengers. You
say: What a grand fellow he must have
been! His family deserves 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. But now you are on the sea, and
Is night and you the are brs asleep p
Fire. You rush out on the deck.
You hear, amid the wringing Of the
hands and the fainting, the cries: mo
hope! we are lost we are lostW The sail
puts out its wings of fire, the ropes make a
burning ladder in the night heavens, the
spirit of wreck Kisses in the waves, and on
ne hurricane deck snakes OUT It's banner or
smoke and darkness. Down with the life
boatsn cries the Captain. Down with the
life boatsr' People rush into them. The
boats are about full. Room only for one
more man. You are standing on the deck
or the Captain? The Captain says: You"
You Jump and are saved. He stands there
and dies. Now, you believe that Captain
Braveheart sacrificed himself for his passen-
gers, but you believe it with love, with tears,
with hot and long continued EXPLANATIONS,
with grief at his loss and with joy at your
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 salvation
Il