Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1892-07-08
RHV. DIR. 7ALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divines Sum-
day Sermon
Subjects "The Great Question" preached
in'IondonA
TEXT: "IVhaS shat I do with Jesus y
-Moftla,- x~.,;; o. o''o'

I
AT the demand OF the people the reneyade il
set free, but Jesus is held. As the hard
vSagef and cruel eye 4 Barabbas goes among
his sympath:zars, receiving their coarse
congratulations, Plate turns TO his other
distinguished prisoner mild, meek inoffen.
sive, loving, self sacrihcing--an1 he Is con.
FOUNDED rs to what course ne had better
take 50 he impanels the mob as iury 10
! decide, saying to then. WHAT shall do.
then, with JesusY'
On, it is no dried or wtherel question.
Tut one that throos with warm and quick
| pulse in the heart of every man and woman
here. We must do something with esus.
lie Is here. You and ] are not so certainly
here rs He is, for He fills all this plsce-the
loving, living. dying Christ-and each ono
OF us VIII bave to ask and answer for himself
The question, What shall do then, with
Jesu'" Well, my friends, there are thres
or Tour things you IN do with Him
\ on can, In the first place let Him stan
without word oil recognition; hut do not
think your sense of common courtesy will
allow that. He comes walking on such n
long Journey you will certainly give Him a
chair on which He may sit He is 50 weary
you would not let Hun stand without some
recognition. II a beggar comes to your
door. you recognize him and say, "What do
yOh NAffAs II lOu UftL n stranger IalnT IN
the street, you say what is the matter
with you" AMI your common humanity, and
your common sympathy, and your common
sense OF propriety will not allow YOU to let
BIN stand without recognition the wounded
one OF the hills. You will ask, What makes
hlm weep, where was he hurt? who wounded
himi whence came be? whittier goes he? |
know there have been men who have with
outrageous indifference hated Christ. but [
know very well that is not what you will do
with jesus
Another thing you can do with Him-vou
can thrust Him back from your heart and
tell Him to stand aside II an inoffensivs
person comes an / persists i'm standing close
up to you, AMI 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
hlm away. Well, that is what we can do
with Je,iIs.
he has stool closo by us a great while
ten, twenty, thirty, forty years. He has
stood close 10y you threa tines day break
ing bread tor your hou chold all right
watching by your pillow. He has been IN
the nursery among your children, He has
ceen III the store among your goods, II has
Teen In the factory amid the flying wneels,
and now if you do not ike H IS society you
tan hid Him away; aye, II He will not go
you can take Him 10y the throat and tell
Him you do not want His interference, that
you do not want His breath ON your cneek.
that you do not want His eye on your be-
havior. Nou can bid Him away; or il He
VIII not 50 in that way, then you can stamp
your foot as you woull at a dos and cry
'Begone~
Yet | know you will not treat Jesus that
way. When Plate could not do that, you
coul1 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 Hini-you can look
on Him merely a. an optician to cure blind
yes. or an aurist 10 tune deaf ears.
friend. a good friend, a helpful companion,
a cheerful pas enger on shipboard; but that
wilt amount to nothing
You can look upon Him as a Col and be
abashed while He rouses the storm, or blasts
a fig tree, or heayes 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, AMI 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 His spirit help me to
persuade YOU TO 10 that A minister OF Christ
was speaking 10 some children ami said: 81
will point you to Christ A little child rose
up IN the aulience and came up and put her
hand in the hand OF the pastor and said:
"Please, SIR take me to Jesus now. l want
to go now" Oh. that it might be now with
SUCH simplicity OF experience that you aud
Join hanjs and seek after Christ and get an
expression of His benefaction and His mercy
You may tako Christ into your confidence.
II YOU cannot trust Hin. whom can you
trusl2 90 not offer you dry, theological
techncality. Isimply ask you 10 come AMI
put both feet on tho Rock Of Ages" Take
hold of Christ's hands ani draw Him TO
your soul with perfect abandonment and
hurl yourself into the deep sea OF His mercy
He comes and says. 81 will save you" Ii
YOU do lot think He is a hypocrite and
liar when He says that, believe Him AMI
saw: Lord Jesus, | believe; here is my
heart Wash it Save it. Do it now.
Aye, 1t Is done; Tor 1 obey Thy promise AMI
come. / can DO no more. That is all Thou
hast asked / COM. Christ is mine. Par
don is mine. Heaven is Nine
Why, my friends, you put mora trust in
everybody than You do in Christ and in
everything; more trust in the bridge cross
ing the stream, in tn ladder up t1 the loft;
lllNlt AIuNi III tue sJJN . lUhi fOnuntN iut
more trust in the COOK that prepares your
foo more trust in tho CLERK that writes
your books. in the dru ,gist that makes the
medicine, in the bargain maker with whom
you tradc-more trust in all these things
than in Christ, though He stands this mo.
ment Offering without limit and without
mistake and without exception universal
pardon to ali who want it. Now is not that
cheap enough--lll things for nothing?
This is the whole OF the Gospel as | under
stand it-that il you believe that Christ
die1 to save you, you are saved. When;
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 trans yressions
Christ would forgive you just as fresly us ii
you had never committed one; though you
had gone throu ,h the whole catalogue Of
crime-arson and blasphemy AMI murder
Christ would forgive you just as freely, you
coming to Him as though you had committed
only the slightest sin OF the tongue.
Why, when Christ comes to pardon a soul
He stops for nothing. Height is nothing
Depth is nothing. EnoTmity is nothing.
Protractedness is nothing.
Ger sins like mountains for their size,
The seas to sovereign grace expand,
iHN ttA1 VI sJfNANiEA EtaSN ans
Lord Jesus. give up all other proDs. give
up all other expectations. Ruinsi an un-
done. lay hold Thee. plead Tuy promises.
l fly to Thy arms Lord, save me: |
pershr'
When the Christian commission went into
the army during the war there were great
multitude Of hungry msn AMI OIly few
loaves of bread, AMI the delegate OF the COM
mission was cutting the bread aud giving it
out to wounded and dying men. Some one
came up and said, "Cut those slices thinner.
or there will not be enough to 90 around"
AMI then the delegate cut the slices very
thin and handed the bread around until they
all had some, but not much But. blessed
be God, there is no need OF economy in this
Gospel. Bread for all; bread enough and to
spare. Why peri II with hunger?
Again, 1 advise you, as one or the oesT
things you can do with Christ, to take Him
into your love. Now there are two things
which make us love any one--inherent at
tractiveness. and then what he does in the
way of kindness toward Us. Now Christ "a
in both these positions. Inherent attrac-
ii veness fairer than the children OK men.
tha luster of tho morning in His eve ths