The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1892-07-14
HOW TO MEET JESUS,
DR.. TALMAGE ON THE FAMOUS OUES-
TON OF PLATE.

It's Not Enough to Sympathize with Ii ia
SuHerJnEs or to Reverence His Charac-
ter or Mora lity---He Must se Taken
Into the Heart.
LONDON, July 3.-Dr, Talmage con.
tinues to receive from all classes of the
English people the warm est of welcomes
and the heartiest greetings. The work
of arranging his tour has been exceed
ingly difficult. So numerous were the
invitations awaiting HIM that to accept
some aud decline others equally press.
ing seemed invidlous. Wherever he has
gone the largest churches in the cities
bave been crowded to excess and could
have been filled many times over.
Among the sermons he has preached
tho one selected for publication this
week is from the text, Matthew xvii,
-, "What shall / do with Jesus?"
Plate was All unprincipled politician
lie had sympa tines, convictions Of right
and desires TO be honest, but all these
were submerged by wish to be popular
and to please the people. Two dlstin-
Gulshcd prisoners were in the grasp of
government, and the proposition was
made to tree one Of them. There stands
Barabbas, the murderer; there stands
Christ, the Saviour OF the world. AT
the demand Of the people tbc renegade
ls set free, but Jesus IS held. AS the
hard visaGed and cruel eyed Barabbas
goes among his sympathizers, receiving
their coarse congratulations. Plate
turns to his other distinguished prisoner
mild, meek, inollenslve, loving, self
sacriticlng-and he is confOundcd as 10
what course he had better take, so he
lmpanels the mob as a Jury to decide.
saying to them, "What Shall do. then
with Jesus?"
On, 1t is no dried or witlcrcl uucs-
tlon, but one that throhs with warm and
quick pulse in the heart of every man
and woman here. We must do some
thing with Jesus. He is here. You
and L are not so certainly here as he is.
Tor he fills all this place-the loving liy.
ing, dying Christ-and each one Of us
Will have to ask and answer for himself
the question, "What shall | do. then
with 'Jesus?" Well, nv friends there
are tnrec or TOUR things you can do with
him.
You can, in the first place, let hi II
stand without word of recognition; but
90 not think your sense of common
courtesy will allow that. He comes
walking on such a long journey, YOU
VIII certainly give him chair on which
he may sit. He is so weary, YOU would
not let him stand without some recooui-
ton. If a beggar comes to YOUR door.
you recognize him and say, "What do
YOU want?" II you meet stranger
lalnt In The street, you say, "What is
the matter with you?" and your common
humanity, and your common sympathy
and your common sense of proprlety will
not allow you to let him stand without
recognition-the wounded one of the
bills. You will ask, What makes hin,
weep? where was he hurt? who wounded
nm? whence came he? whittier goes he
know there have been men who hay,
with outrageous Indifference hate,
Chrlst, but know very we'll that tha
ls rot what you will do with Jesus.
Another thing you can dc with him
you can thrust him back from your hear
and tell him to stand aside. 1t an inof
fenslve person comes and persists il
standing close up to you, and YOU have
IN various ways given him to understand
II at you do not want his presence or his
society, then you ask the reason of his
ltnpertinence and bid him away. Well
That ls what we can do with Jesus.
He has stood close by us a GREAT
while-ten, twenty, thirty, forty wears,
lie mas stood close by you three times
a day, breaking bread ior your house.
nold, all night watching by your pillow.
lie mas been IN the nursery among your
children; he has been in the store among
your goods; he has been in tho factory
amid the flying wheels, and now if voL
40 not Ike his society you can bid him
away; ave, II he will not 90 YOU can
take him by the throat and tell him YOU
90 not want his interference; that Won
40 not want his breath on your cheek:
That you do not want his eve on your
DehaYlor. You can bid him away. or il
he Will not go in that way. then You can
stamp your loot, rs you would at doc,
and cry, "Bogonew
Yet know you will not treat Jcsue
that way. When PLATE could not do
mat, you could not. Dcspcradoes and
outlaws might do so, but | know that
that IS not the way you Will treat him.
tliat mat Is not what you will do with
',esus. There is another thing YOU can
90 with him--you can look on him mere
~ as an optican to cure blind eyes, or
an aurlst! 20 tune deaf ears, a friend, A
good friend; a helpful companion. a
cheerlnl passenger on shipbOard; but
mat will amount to nothing. You can
look upon him as a God and he abasbcd
Mhlie he rouses the storm, or blasts a
iiS tree, or heaves a rock Gown the
mountain side. That will not do Won
any good; no more save your soul than
inc admiration you have for John Mil
ton or William Shakespeare.
can think of only one more thing
you can Go with Jesus, and that is to
take HIM into your hearts. That is the
pest thing you can do with him, that is
the only safe thing you can do with him,
ana may the Lord omnipotent bv his
spirit help me to persuade YOU to do
That. A minister of Christ was sneak.
ing to some children and said, II will
point you to Christ" A little child
rose in the audience and came up and
put her hand in the hand of the pastor
and SAID: "Please, Sir, take me to Jesus