The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-07-20
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINES SUN.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: 'The Great Question:,
preached in England.)

! TEXT: eWhdt ShdN 40 lptth Jesus.
Matthew 11vii,. %.
Plate was an unprincipled politician. He
had sympathies, convictions Of right and
| submerged by wish to be popular and to
| prisoners were in the grasp of government
and the proposition was made to free one Of
them. There stands Barabba the murderer;
there stands Christ. the Saviour of the world.
| At the demand OF the people the renegade is
set tree, but Jesus is held. As the hard
visaged and cruel eyed Barabbas goes among
his sympathizers, receiving their coarse
congratulations, filate turns to his other
distinguished priSoner-mild, meek inoffen-
sive, loving, self sacrificing-and he is con.
founded as to what course ne had better
take, SO he impanels the mob as jury to
decide saying to thea, "What shall I do,
then, with JesusY
On, it is no dried or withered question,
but one that throbs with warm and quick
pulse in the heart Of every man and woman
here. We must do something with esus.
He is here. You and are not so certainly
here as He is, for He fills all this place-the
loving living, dying Christ-and each one
Of us will have to ask and answer for himself
the question. 'What shall do, then, with
Jesus" Well, my friends, there are three
or four things you can do with Him.
You can in the first place, let Him stand
without word OF recognition, but do not
think your sense of common courtesy will
allow that. He comes walking on such
long journey, you will certainly give Him a
chair on which He may sit. He is SO weary,
you would not let Him stand without some
recognition. If a beggar comes to your
door. you recognize him and say, "What do
you want?' II you meet stranger faint in
the street, you say, ''What is the matter
with you" and your common humanity, and
your common sympathy, and your common
sense OF propriety will not allow you to let
him stand without recognition-thew wounded
one OF the hills. You will ask, What makes
him weep? where was he hurt? who wounded
him? whence came hes whittier goes he9 l
know there have been men who have with
outrageous indifference hated Christ, but I
know very we'll that is not what ou will do
with Jesus.
Another thing you can do with Him-you
can thrust Him back from your heart and
tell Him to stand aside. If. an inoffenslve
person comes and persists in standing close
up to you, and you have in various ways
given him to understand that you do not
want his presence or his society, then YOU
ask the reason OF his impertinence and bid
him away. Well, that is what we can do
with Jesus.
He has stood close by US great while
ten, twenty, thirty, forty years. He has
stood close oy you three times day break
ing bread tor your household, all plight
watching by your pillow. He has been In
the nursery among your children, He has
been in the store among your goods, He has
been in the factory amid the flying wheels
and now if you do not like n IS society you
you can take Him by the throat and tell
Him you do not want His interference, that
you do not want His breath on your cheek,
that you do not want His eye on your be-
havior You can bid Him away; or il He
will not go in that way, then you can stamp
your foot as you would at dog and cry
"Begonem
Yet know you will not treat Jesus that
way. When Plate could not do that you
could not. Desperadoes and outlaws might
do So, but know that that is not the way
you will treat Him. that that is not what
you will do with Jesus, There is another
thing you can do with Him-you can look
on Him merely as an optician to cure blind
eyes, or an aurist to tune deaf ears,
friend, q good friend, helpful compani0n-
cheerful passenger on shipboard; but that
will amount to nothing.
You can look upon Him as God and be
abashed while He rouses the storm, or blasts
a fig tree, or heaves q rock down the noun
tain side. That will not do you any good
no more save your soul than the admiration
you have for John Milton or William Shakes
peare. can think Of only one more thing
you can do with Jesus, and that is to take
Him into your hearts That is the best thing
you can do with Him, that is the only safe
thing you can do with HIN, and may ths
Lord omnipotent by His spirit help me to
persuade you to do that. A minister of Christ
was speaking to some children and said ~
will point you to Christ" A little child rose
up in the audience and came up and put her
hand in the hand Of the pastor and said:
"Please, sir, take me to Jesus now, I want
to 90 now." Oh, that it might be now with
such simplicity of experience that you and I
join han0s and seek after Christ and get an
expression of His benefaction and His mercy /
You may take Christ into your confidence.
If you cannot trust Him, whom can you
trust? do not offer you dry, theological
technicality. simply ask you to come and
put both feet on the "Rock Of Ages" Take
hold of Christ's hands and draw Him to
your soul with perfect abandonment and
hurl yourself into the deep sea of His mercy.
He comes aud says ''l will save you" If
you do not think He is a hypocrite and a
har when He says that, believe Him and
say: Lord Jesus, | believe, here is my
heart. Wash it. Save it. Do it now.
aye, lr IS done; for 1 obey Thy promise and
come. can do no more. That is all Thou
hast asked. I come. Christ is mine. Par.
don is mine. Heaven is mine"
Why, my friends, you put mora trust in
everything; more trust in tho bridge cross
ing the stream, in the ladder up to the loft;
more trust in the stove that confines the fire;
more trust in the cook that prepares your
food; more trust in tho clerk that writes
your books, in the dru ,gist that makes the
medicine, in the bargain maker with whom
you trade-more trust in all these things
than in Christ, although He stands this mo.
ment offering without limit and without
mistake and without exception universal
pardon to all who want it. Now is not that
cheap enouGh-all things for nothing,
This is the whole of the Gospel as under
stand it-that il you believe that Christ
died to save you, you are saved. Whene
Now. No more doubt about it than that you
sit there. No more doubt about it than that
you have a right hand. No more doubt
about it than that there is God. If you
had committed five THOUSAND transgressions
Christ would forgive you just as freely as if
you had never committed one; though you
had gone through the whole catalogue OF
crime-arson and blasphemy and murder
Christ would forgive you just as freely, you
coming to Him as though you had committed
only the slightest sin OF the rongue.
Why, when Christ comes to pardon soul
He stops for nothing. Height is nothing.
Depth is nothing. Enornity is nothing.
| Protractedness is nothing.
Ger sins like mountains for their size,
The seas to sovereign grace expand,
The seAs OF sovereign grace arise.
Lord Jesus, give up all other props, give
up au orner expectations. Ruined AMI un-
done. l lay hold Thee. pleai Toy promises.
1 fly to Thy arms. 'Lori, save me; I
| perish"
When the Christian commission went into