The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-09-12

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under tho edict of the Roman governor
of the province Of Judea. They are
gambling over his garments. The rab-
bic stand around seeing the last act Of
the drama Of his life, scoffing or laugh
ing, joining with the high priest in
mocking him. He is dying-a poor,
despised Nazarene, rejected, betrayed
by his own chosen friend, deserted by
his disciples who swear to stand by him,
his life failure, going out in apparent
darkness and despair. We hear his
cries, so human, II thirst"-so unutter-
able in ansuish-"My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me!" And at
last they take him down and lay him in
the tomb.
CLEANING MARBLE AND GATHERING
SPIRES.
He taught scarcely three years-a
man of no education save the divine
law from within, poor in this worlds
goods, the friend of no great man, cru
CITED criminal between two thieves.
And yet come with me, 100 years from
that day, and Justin Martyr, the his
torian, tells us that there was to be
found on the face of the earth not
nation, race or tribe, not gathering at
campfire Of wandering Arab that
you could not hear songs and prayers
to this Jesus of Nazareth thus crucified,
He molds the wills of millions in his
own. Martyrs court death for his sake
and count it gain. The history of the
world is his. There is no history of the
world since Calvary, except the history
of Christianity. All the rest can be
written in footnote in the real history
of the race. Kings baptized their chill
dren in his name.
Tho proudest monuments of earth in
cleaning marble and glittering spires,
in poems Of architecture and beauty,
speak the glory of his name. The cross
has become the symbol of triumph. 1t
has conquered ALL The history of Greece
and of Rome and all the civilizations Of
the past have flowed into the cross and
been lost in the stream of its history.
Is there any human explanation of this
phenomena of history? The only key
that can unlock this mystery of tho
ages is the divinity of this peasant who
died thus in the reign of Tiberius Caesar
and Pontius PLATE. ....5..." 4.
AGE-LoNG PRAYERS.
Fourth-The more intense becomes tho
life of today the more miraculous be-
comes his power in molding and fash
ioning that life. Man has been since
the dawn of history oppressed with the
consciousness of sin. Sin has been a
reality of awful proportions, not only in
the history Of tho race, but In the his
tory of the soul of man. He has ever
cried for pardon. He has driven him
self to the desert. He has sought it far
and wide. The prechristian religions
of the world arc all age long prayers.
They are age prayers for deliverance.
We are confronted here, now, today,
with the fulfillment of this age prayer
of the race-namely, the forgiveness of
sin. This is not a question of docu-
ments, inspired or otherwise. 1t is not
o question Of ancient manuscripts, fall
lible or infallible, errant or inerrant. It
is a question of fact, here, now, today,
living facts.
We are confronted today with the
miracle of power exercised by this mys-
terious person over the living souls of
men. His hand is stretched over the
tumult and anguish of suffering souls,
souls suffering under sin, struggling
with sin, and he actually saves men
from sin, not RENTS the judicial penalty,
but he saves today from the power and
dominion of sin. The exercise of this
power likewise results in the complete
Regeneration of character. This is no. a
tradition. 1t is not dependent upon the
authenticity of any document. 1t is a
simple fact of this hour. 1t is an exer-
else of power that has no explanation
save in the divine.
JERRY M'AUIEY,
As came to the church this morning
l saw curious monument in the city.
There is monument erected at tho
iuncture of three great .thoroughfares
In this city-namely, Broadway, Sixth
avenue and Thirty-fourth street-that
has strange history. 1t is a mon
ument built to the memory of a river
thief and convict, and yet there lives
today not man but speaks his name
revorently and tenderly. l defy any
living man To stand before that monu-
mont and read its inscription to tho
memory of Jerry McAuley, and read
tho history of the convict whose life it
commentaries, and explain to me the
miracle of his transformed and rcgener-
ated character upon any grounds save
tho divinity of the Jesus whom he
served.
While serving his sentence in prison
he heard the testimony of one of his
confederates in crime to the power of
Jesus Christ to forgive sins. His soul
was seized with the conviction of
sin, and through the long watches of
the night he struggled upon the floor of
his cell in agony, crying to God. He
says that he heard tho voice of Jesus
saying, "Thy sins which are many are
forgiven. Peace, be STILL" Whence
came that power to lift from the dead,
and fill with life and joy and strengthP
Whence came that power that so re-
fashioned and remade this debauched
outcast, the terror of the police of the
city, until his name should be spoken
with reverence and tenderness and love,
and we should build in the city's most
crowded square monument to his
name2
NINETEENTH CENTURY.
If the history Of that monument be
scientifically and truly written we will
have written the history of the Incarna-
ton. There is no explanation of such q
fact save in the divinity of Jesus of
Nazareth. 1 do not bring to you dog
matte assertion. do not reason in this
matter a priori. 1 bring you facts, stub
born facts-cold, passionless facts.
From out the storehouse of the ages
bring these facts this morning. | lay
them before you. do not say Jesus
Christ is divine; that you must believe in
miracles because he is divine l bring
to you these stern realities of the world
of experience from the storehouse of the
history of the past and the life of the
present, and | ask you what you will do
with tha foofs