The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1892-06-28


utterly friendless, an officer Of the court
room comes up and smites him in the
mouth. and see the blood stealing from
gum and lip. Oh! it was farce of
trial, lasting only perhaps an hour, and
then the judge rises for sentence. Stop!
It is against the law to give sentence
unless there has been an adjournment of
the court between condemnation and
sentence; but what cares the judge for
the law "The man has no friends-let
him die" says the judge; and the ruff
fans outside the rail cry: ''Aha! aha!
that's what we want! Pass him out
here to US! Away with him! Away
with hinI'
A DIVINE SYMPATHIZER-
Oh! bless God that amid all the in
justice that may have been inflicted upon
US in this world we have d divine sym
pathizer. The world cannot lie about
you nor abuse you as much as they did
Christ. and Jesus stands today in every
courtroom, in every house, In every
store, and says: "Couragei By all my
hours Of maltreatment and abuse, | Will
protect those who are trampled upon.
And when Christ fOrgets that two o'clock
morning scene, and the stroke of the
ruffian on the mouth. and the bowling
of the unwashed crowd, then he will
forget you and me in the injustices of
life that may be inflicted upon us.
Further. l remark: The last great in
stallment paid for our redemption was
the demise of Christ. The world has
seen many dark days. Many summers
ago there was a very dark day, when
the sun was eclipsed. The fowl at noon
day went to their perch, and we felt a
gloom rs we looked at the astronomical
wonder. 1t was a dark day in London
when the plague was at its height, and the
dead with uncovered faces were taken
in open carts and dumped in the
trenches. 1t was a dark day when the
earth opened and Lisbon sank; but the
darkest day since the creation of the
world was when the carnage of Calvary
was enacted.
1t was about noon when the curtain
began to be drawn. 1t was not the COM
ing on of night that sOOthes and re-
freshes; it was the swinging of great
gloom all around the heavens. God
hung it As when there is dead one
in the house you bow the shutters or
turn the lattice, so God in the afternoon
shut the windows of the world. As it is
appropriate to throw black pail upOnthe
coffin as it passes along, so it was apprO-
pirate that everything should be sOmber
that day as the great hearse of the earth
rolled on bearing the corpse of the king.
A mans last hours are ordinarily kept
sacred. However you may have hated
or caricatured a man, when you hear he
is dying silence puts its hand on your
lips, and you would have loathing for
the man who could stand by deathbed
making faces and scofing. But Christ
in his last hour cannot be left alone.
What! pursuing him yet after 80 long a
pursuit? You have been drinking his
tears. Do you want to drink his blOodi
They come up closely, so that notwith-
standing the darkness they can glut
their revenge with the contortions of his
countenance. They examine his feet.
They want to feel for themselves whether
those feet are really spiked. They put
out their hands and touch the spikes,
and bring them back wet with blood,
and wipe them on their garments.
Women stand there and weep, but can
do no good. 1t is no place for the ten
der hearted women. 1t wants a heart
that crime has turned into granite.
The waves of mans hatred and of
helTs vengeance dash up against the
mangled feet, and the hands of sin and
pain and torture clutch for his holy
heart. Had he not been thoroughly
fastened to the cross they would have
torn him down and trampled him with
both feet. How the cavalry horses
arched their necks and chaInped their
bits and reared and snuffed at the blood!
Had Roman officer called out for a
light his voice would not have been
heard in the tumult; but louder than
the clash of spears and the wailing Of
womanhood, and the neighiug of the
chargers, and the believing of the cru
cifyers there comes a voice crashing
through-loud, clear, overwhelming,
terrific. 1t is the grooming of the dying
son of God! Look! what scene! Look.
world. at what you have done!
lift the covering from the maltreat-
ed Christ to let you count the wounds
and estimate the cost. Oh! when the.
nails went through Christ's right hand
and through Christ's left hand, that
bought both your hands, with all their
power to work and lift and write; when
IQC HILLS NCIII l4Ou5Al O4lA lSI . A4oAAb
foot and Christ's left foot. that bought
your feet, with all their power to walk
or run or climb: when the thorn went
into Christs temple, that bought your
brain, with all its power to think and
plan; when the spear left Christ's side,
that bought your heart, with all its
power to love and repent and pray.
APPEAL TO SINNERS.
o sinner, come, come back! If q man
is in no pain, if he is prospered, if he is
well. and he asks you to come, you take
your time and you say: Il can't come
now. I'll come after awhile. There Is
no haste But if he is in want and
trouble you say: II must go right away.
1 must go now" Today Jesus stretches
out before you two wounded hands, and
he begs you to come. Go and you live.
Stay away and you die. Oh, that to
hi,,, 11-}oo hor1Cpbf ne might plVn all