The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1892-08-26

Jerusalem hOWled at tine Don OF dOd,
it was hate against goodness, it was
blasphemy against virtue; it was earth
against Heaven. What was ii in that
innocent and loving face of Christ that
excited the vituperation and the con-
tumely and scorn of men2 III He had
bantered them to come on, if He had
laughed them into derision, IL He had
denounced them as the vagabonds they
were, we could understand their fe-
rocity: but It was against inoffensive-
ness that they brandished their spears
and shook their fists, and ground their
teeth, and howled, and scoffed, and
jeered, and Knocked. What evil had He
done? Whose eye-sight had He put out?
None; but He had given vision to the
blind. Whose child had He slain?
None; but He restored the dead dam
sci to her mother. What law had He
broken2 None; but He had inculated
obedience to government. What foul
plot had He enacted against the happi-
ness of the race? None; He had come to
save a world. The only cruelty He
ever enacted was to heal the sick The
only ostentation He ever dis
played was to sit with publicans and
sinners, and wash the disciples feet.
The only selfishness he ever exhibited
was to give His life for His enemies.
And yet, all the wrath of the world
surged against His holy heart Hear
the red-hot scorns of the world kissing
in the pools of Saviour's blood And
standing there to-day, let us see what
an unreasonable, loathsome, hateful,
blasting, damning thing is the iniquity
of the human heart Embossed, what
will not sin do? 1t will scale any
height, it will fathom the very depth
of hell, it will revel in all lascivious-
ness. There is no blasphemy
it will not utter, there
are no cruelties on which it will not
gorge itself. It will wallow in filth,
IL will breathe the air of charnel
houses of corruption, and call them
aroma; it will quaff the blood of i'm
mortal souls and call it nectar. When
sin murdered Christ on the cross, it
showed what it would do with the
Lord God Almighty if it could get at
Him. The prophet had declared-I
think it was Jeremiah-had declared
centuries before, the truth, but not
until sin shot out its forked tongue at
the soul of martyred Jesus was it
illustrated that 1.-THE heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately
! wicked"
Again: 1T behooves Christ to suf-
fer" that our affections might be ex-
cited Christward. Why, sirs, the be-
havior of our Lord has stirred the af-
fections of all those who have ever
heard of it. 1t has hung the art gal
leries of the world with such pictures
as Ghirlandajos ''Worship of the Magi,"
Giotto's Baptism of Christ" Hol-
mad Hunts Christ in the Temple"
Tintoret's agony in the Garden"
Angeles "Crucifxion," and it has
called out Handels Messiah" and
rung sweetest chimes in Young's Night
Thoughts" and filled the psalmody of
the world with the penitential notes of
sorrow and the hosannas of Christian
| triumph. Show me any other
king who has so many subjects.
| What is the most potent name to-day
in the United States, in France, in En-
gland, in Scotland, in Ireland? Jesus.
| Other kings have had many subjects,
| but where is the king who has so many
| admiring subjects as Christ? Show me
regiment of a thousand men in their
army, and l will show you battalion
of ten thousand men in Christs army
Show me in history where one man
has given his property and his life for
anyone else, and will show you in
history hundreds and thousands of
men who have cheerfully died that
Christ might reign. Aye, there are a
hWrw, = 4 4
were, would step out and die for Jesus.
Their faith may now seem to be faint,
and sometimes they may be incon-
sistent; but let the fires of martyrdom
be lxindled, throw them into the pit,
cover them with poisonous serpents,
pound them, fail them, crush them,
and will tell you what their last cry
would be: Come, Lord Jesus, come
quicklyr'
Oh, yes! the Lord Jesus has won the
affections of many of us. There are
some of us can say this morning: Lord
Jesus, my light and my song; my hope
for time, my expectation for eternity
Altogether lovely Thou art My soul
is ravished with the vision. Thou art
mine. Come, let me clasp Thee. Come
life, come death, come scorn and pain,
come whirling wind and darkness, Lord
Jesus, can not give Thee up. / have
heard Thy voice. have seen Thy bleed
ing side. Lord Jesus, if / had some
garland plucked from heavenly gardens,
/ would wreathe it for Thy brow. If /
had some gem worthy of the place, I
would set it in Thy crown. If had
seraphic harp, / would strike it in Thy
praise. But / come lost and ruined and
undone, to throw myself at Thy feet.
No price bring
Simply to Thy Cross cling
Thou knowest. all things. Thou know
est that love Thee.
But remark agaia; at behoo~ed
Christ to suffer" that the world might
learn how to suffer. Sometimes people
suffer because they can not help them
selves; but Christ had in His hands all
the weapons to punish His enemies, and
yet in quiescence He endured all out
rage He might have hurled the rocks
of Golgotha upon His pursuers, he
might have cleft the earth until il
swallowed up His assailants; He might
have called in reinforcement or taken
any thunderbolt from the armory of
God Omnipotent and hurled it seething
and fiery among His foes; but he an
swered not again.
o, my hearers! has there ever been in
the history of the world such an ex-
ample of enduring patience as we find
in the cross? Some of you suffer phys