The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-04-27
LORDS SUFFER SERMON.

AO8Os8 8URPZR SERAONs
Rev. DR.. Gilbert Speaks Conesrning the
Saera0ontal Offering.
AZ the Ffrst Methodist Episcopal church, yes-
terday. the regular quarterly meeting was held,
concluding with the sacrament Of the Lords
supper. Dr. Gilbert preached IN interesting
sermon appropriate to the occasion, taking his
text from Iaaiah HIS:
asurely he hath borne our grfeis and carried
snlsten OF God, and Afflicted.
"But He was wounded for our frausgressione;
ne vas bruised for our iniquities; the chastiae-
stripes We are healed
Dr.. Gilbert referred briefly to his discourse Of
iass Sunday. and continued substantially Is fol-
iows:
There b In nature round about a. the great
law OF the survival Of the strongest We - the
eagle prey upon the hawk, the hawk upon the
sparrow, the sparrow upon the worm, the worm
upon vegetation, and 30 on. So, throughout al
nature and life. life is continually feeding and
living upon the expenditure of death and sub
sisting upon that which II beneath it In .
word, the vigorous II supreme and the weaker
goes down. There seems to be almost . Law Of
pitiiessness round about us; it seems to b sur
vtvai not Of the 6ttest, but Of the strongest II
was even much more 30 among men in the time
OF Plato, and Of course, under such condition
OF lie ~ that, the mere virtues of meekness,
forgiveness, helpfufness and philanthropy had
very little place, and the stronger virtues were
those which were held in the highest esteem II
was the strong man, the conqueror, the warrior,
the man whom Carlyle celebrates in his "Heroes
and Hero Worship
In contradistinction to this there runs an
other law, traces Of which We can zee even in
nature. II II the law of sacrifice The law Of
giving for the sake of others We zee It in the
trees, In the flowers, In beast, bird and fish, and
In tact throughout al nature. The strawberry
plant that first starts out with tender shoots,
producing other strawberry plants like itself
ana blossOming and bearing until it actually
blossoms itself to death. We see it in animal
life Take herd OF bufaioes when danger Is
near. You viii see they always form In solid
body, putting the smaller and weaker ones tn
the center and the strong ones on the front to
stand the brunt OF the battle. Could there be
anything more savage than the tiger? yet see the
tigress playing with her young. She ID e tender
and soft to thst little cub a. any mother could
be to her baba Take the birds. The nature of
birds IL freedom and fight You would think
that nothing would be more In opposition to the
nature and temperament Of q bird and OF bird
life than to be confined Yet the little bird pa
ttently sits brooding over the nest until at last
the little life breaks through the shell; and
even after that she h in bondage and ministers
to those little ones until they are able to take
wings for themselves. The law Of love in ma
ture overrides the law of the survival Of the
strongest 1want to show you that vicarious
love 10 not something that il found simply in
the sentiments Of theology; that it is something
which Jesus Christ illustrated to US In becoming
man and living among men. Jesus did not
come to lay down his life for the sake OF others
In any mere perfunctory way. No man can b
man without bearing q load Of cares and sor-
rows, which are part of mans very nature;
so when Jesus became man, he underwent all
that man does and was % man OF sorrowA" No
man can 60 through the world today without
others, 50 Jesus In being man could not 60
through this world without hearing his load OF
cares and trials, which load came naturally onto
his heart II came 20 him naturally and in the
course OF his life he vicariously suffered with
and for man.
In all love there IL martyrdom. At the heart
of all affection there is suffering. Perhaps here
might be the solution Of what We call the
problem Of pain We think Of II - . curse
from God, but pain which IL done for loves
sake, suffering which II suffered for affections
sake, has in it the highest secret Of al joy. So
there IL gladness In tears, happiness in heart
breaks and an exaltation in undergoing perse-
cution for Christs sake and for the sake Of those
whom We love.
What 10 tho meaning OF the word sympathy?
Looking into 1t etymologically we find it means
suffering with" others. Should misfortune
come to your loved ones, you cannot escape
being affected by it Do they weep-your tears
fow with them. should they fall sick and die,
You cannot escape being troubled by it. In all
love, In al friendship, there is blessed martyr
dom Il it not the case that every mother knows
this? Away back In the history of our Scrip
lures it IL said that with pain shall she bring
forth her children: ana there 10 no pain on
earth more poignant than that. yet Jesus Christ
said, ''For joy that there is . man child born
into the world" She thinks not OF her travail
In this home love there IL the example OF sacri-
fee for Us We know what it Is in the marital
relation, as husband and wife are bound to-
gether in all the joys and sorrows of existence.
So that in all love and all suffering there is this
great law Of sacrifice which we have to
look at continually. God has so made US that no
man can live 70 himself and no man can die to
himself Even in our labor, by the division of
labor. each man lives by the toll of another. No
man can at once be his own baker, his own shoe
maker. tailor, miller, blacksmith and builder
But each mnst do something Of these for others,
and throughout all society man IL dependent
upon his fellow-m men, and is working for their
good himself.
Take it today in the support OF the infirm,
care OF the insane and education of the igno-
rant. Everywhere God lays upon US the burden
of caring for Others, and no man can get away
from il. No man but what has to pay his pro-
portion OF the taxes to support these asyiuus,
schools and hospitals. II we neglect them ret
ribution comes sure and swift. Unless we take
proper care of our sick, especially in the times
of scourges like yellow fever and smallpox, q
pestilence viii sweep over our land In dreadful
punishment for our deglect We see this exam
pie of sacrifice for love in everything; in those
brave men at Valley Forge, A. they tramped up
and down the scntry's beat with bleeding feet.
We see II in the life OF Peter the Great who left
his country that he might go to Holland to learn
to build ships and come back and teach his peo-
pie how to follow those great trades We see il
in the lines upon Lincoln's face. He loved his
country, and for her he grew old and bowed
down with unutterable sorrow and calamity
and though he was said to be jester, yet he tn
obliged In those brilliant flashes of wit and
h