The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-07-09
PILATES QUESTIes.
"K'hat Shall | Do Then With
]esas?"
Each One OF You VIII Have to Ask and
Answer For Himself That Question
Sermon by Rev. II. Dewitt Tai
mage, ID. ID.

DR.. Talmage in England, the one Sc
lected for publication this week is from
the text: Matthew xvii. 20, "What
shall do with Jesus?"
PLATE was an unprincipled politician.
He had sympathies, convictions of right
and desires to be honest; but all these
were submerged by a wish to be popu7
lar and to please the people. Two dis
tinguished prisoners were in the grasp
of government, and the proposition was
made to free one of them. There stands
Barabbas, the murderer; there stands
Christ, the Saviour of the world. At the
demand of the people the renegade is
set free, but Jesus is held. AS the hard
ivisaged and cruel eyed Barabbas goes
among his sympathizers, receiving their
coarse congratulations, PLATE turns to
his other distinguished prisoner-mild
meek, inoffensive, loving, self-sacrifc-
ing-and he is COMPOUNDED as to what
course he had better take, so he im-
panels the mob as a jury to decide, say
ing to them: "What shall I do, then:
with Jesus?"
Oh, 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 some
thing with Jesus. He is here You;
and I 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 him.
self the question, ''What shall I 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 com.
mon courtesy will allow that He
comes walking on such long journey,
you will certainly give Him chair on
which He may sit. He is so weary. you
would not let Him stand without some,
recognition. If beggar comes to your
door, you recognize him and say
"What do you want?" If you meet a.
stranger faint in the street, you saw,
what is the matter with you?" and.
your common humanity, and your COM.
mon sympathy, and your common sense,
of propriety will not allow you to let.
Him stand without recognition--the-
wounded One of the hills. You will:
ask: What makes Him weep? where,
was He hurt? who wounded Him?,
whence came He? whittier goes He? T.
know there have been men who have
with outrageous indifference hated
Christ, but know very well that that
is not what you 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
inoffensive person comes and persists in
standing close up to you, and you have
in various ways given him to under
stand 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 by you three times a.,
Gay, breaking bread for your household,
all night 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 His society you cam
bid Him away; aye, if He will not go.
you can take Him by the throat and
tell Him you do not want His inter-
ference; that you do not want His
breath on your cheek; that you do not
want His eye on your behavior. You.
can bid Him away, or if He will not go
in that way, then you can sta1ap your
foot, as you would at dog, and cry.
"Begone!''
Yet l know you will not treat Jesus
that way. When Plate could not do
that, you could net. Desperadoes and,
outlaws might do SO, but know 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 artist
60 tune deaf ears, a friend, a good
friend, helpful companion, a,
cheerful passenger on shipboard; but
that will amount to nothing You cnn
look upon him as God and be abashed,
while he rouses the storm, or blasts a,
fg tree, or heaves q rock down the
ElCEhLGlN SUE. L lldG WILL lou 90 you.
any good; no more save your soul than
the admiration you have for John Mil
ton or William Shakespeare.
I 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 the Lord omnipotent by
spirit help me to persuade you to do
that. A minister Of Christ was speak
ing to some children and said, stI 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
now. I want to go now" Oh, that it.
might be now with such simplicity Of
experience that you and l join hands
and seek after Christ and get an express
sion of his benefaction and his mercy!
You may take Christ into your conf
dence If you can not trust Him, whom,
can you trust? do not offer you dry,
theological technicality. simply ask.
you to come and put both feet on the,
''Roclz OF Ages" Take hold Of Christ's.
hand and draw Him to your soul with,