The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-01-31

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children; it was spoken to the Phari.
sees. The children had come without
any invitation. No sooner did Jesus
| appear than the little ones pitched from
| their mothers arms, an avalanche OF
beauty and love into His lap. ''Suffer
little children to come unto me-" That
| was addressed to the Pharisees; not to
| the children. Christ did not ask John
! to put his head down on His bosom;
John could not help but put his head
there. Such eyes, such cheeks, such a
chin, such hair, such physical condition
| and appearance-why, it must have
been completely captivating and win
some. suppose look at Him was Just
to love Him. o! how attractive His
manners! Why, when they saw Christ
coming along the street they ran into
their houses and they wrapped up their
invalids as quick as they could and
brought them out that He might look at
them. o! there was something 50 pleas
ant, so inviting, so cheering in every
thing He did, in His very look. When
these sick ones were brought out did He
say: Take away these sores; do not
trouble me with these leprosies?" No,
no; there was kind look, there was q
gentle word, there was healing touch.
They could not keep away from Him.
In addition to this softness of char
acter there was a fiery momentum. How
the old hypocrite trembled before Him.
How the kings Of the earth turned pale.
Here is plain man, with few sailors
at His back, coming off the Sea of Cali
lee, 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 the ages.
o! He was loving Christ But it was
not effeminacy, or insipidity of char
acter; 1t was accompanied with majesty,
infinite and Ompipotent- Lest the
world should not realize His earnest
ness, this Christ mounts the cross You
say: IF Christ has to die, why not let
Him take some deadly portion and lie
on 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 head 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 50
the cross must be lifted, and the 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
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 then
they 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 it mall 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 tram
pie it hard.
o, plant that tree well and thorough
ly, 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 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 my life. His |
life for your life. In one of the |
I'M nj sn1
he scaffold for the crime of murder. |
some time after the mother of this |
Toung man was dying, and the priest |
anne in, and she made confession to the |
PRIEST that she was the murderer, and |
lot her son; in moment of anger she |
lad struck her husband a blow that /!
lew him. The son came suddenly into
Wounds and trying to resuscitate his
ather, when some one looked through |
he window and saw him, and supposed
lin to be the criminal. That young
nan died for his own mother. You say:
1t was wonderful that he never ex-
,osed her." But tell you Of grander
hing. Christ, the Son of God, died
1
tut for His sworn enemies. o, such a
,hrist as that-so loving, so self-sacri-
lcing-can you not trust Him?
How are you to trust in Christ? Just
8 you trust any one. You trust your
'artner in business with important
Kings. If a commercial house gives
'ou a note payable three months hence,
ou expect the payment Of that note at
he end of three months. You have
erfect confidence in their word and in
heir ability. You go home to-day.
lou expect there will be food on the
able. You have confidence in that.
low, l ask you to have the same conf
ence in the Lord Jesus Christ. He
avs:
"You believe; l take away your SINS"
nd they are all taken away.
What" you say, before / pray any
nore? Before l read my Bible any
nore? Before cry over my sins any
nore?"
Yes, this moment. Believe with all
our heart and you are saved. Why,
'hrist is only waiting to get from you
THAT you give to scores of people every
ay. What is that? Confidence. II
hese people whom you trust day by day
re more worthy than Christ, if they are
nore faithful than Christ, if they have
one more than Christ ever did, then
i've them the preference; but if you
eally think that Christ is as trust
,orthy as they are, then deal with Him
s fairly.
"Oh," says some one in light way.
I believe that Christ was born in
and believe that He died
n the cross"
Do you believe 1t with your head or
our heart? | will illustrate the differ