The Opelousas courier., 1892-09-10
REV. DIR. TALN6h
THE BReoKLYN DIv1NE's SUN
DAY SERMON.

yfExT: tWhut shall I do with Jesus"
xvii, %.
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 popular and to
please the people. Two distinguished
prisoaers were in the grasp Of government
and the propositioRwa made to free one of
them. There standsBarabbas, the murderer;
there stands Christ. the Saviour of the world.
At the demand of the people the renegade is
set free, but J%us 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, inoffen-
sive, loving, self sacrificing-and he is con-
founded as to what course ne had better
take. SO he impauels the mob as a jury IN
decide, saying to theal, "What shall I d
then, with Jesus9' &
Oh, it is no dried OF withered questid
but one that throbs with warm and quicK
pulse in the heart of every man and woman
here. We must do something with j 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 l do, then, with
Jesus?" Well, my friends, there are three
VI 4OuI Things you can 10 WIFI HIN.
You can, in the first place, let Him stand
without a word of recognition: but I do not
think your sense of common courtesy will
allow that. He comes walking on such a
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. Ii a beggar comes to your
door, you recognize him and say, t'What doo
you want% Ii you meet a stranger faint in
the street, you say, "What is the matter
with you" and your common humanity. and
your common sympathy, and you 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? ]
know there nave 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-you
can thrust Him back from your heart and
tell Him to stand aside. If an inNsSensive
| person comes and persists in stand close
up to you, and you have in vario ways
| given him to understand that yoG 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 a great while
btus uT6Dbyg 0AIUls 4O4Gy JOd4 - "a
stood close by you three times a day break
ing bread for 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, de has
been in the factory amid the flying wheels,
and now if you do not like is society you
can bid Him away: aye, If He will not go
you can take Him by the throat and tell
Him YOU do not want His interference, that
you do not want His breath IN your cheek.
that you do not want His eye on your be"
havior. You can bid Him away; or if He
wilT not go in that way, then you can stamp
your foot as you would at a dog and cry
"Begonep
yet I know YOU will not treat Jesus that
way. When PLATE could not do that, you
could not. Desperadoes and outlaws might
do SO. but I 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. q
friend. a good friend, a helpful companion,
. cheerful passenger on shipboard; but that
will amount to nothing.
You can look upon Him as a God and be
abashed while He rouses the storm, or blasts
fig tree. or heaves a rock down the noun
tain side. That will not do you any good
no more save your soul than the admlraGlon
YOU have for John Milton or William hakes
peare. / can think of only one more thlne
Won 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 SAT-
thing you caa do with Him, and may tn
Lord omnipotent by His spirit help me q
nersuade you to do that. A minister of Chris
was speaking to some children and said: =
will point you to Christ" A little child ros
m in the audience ami came up and put mel
hand in the hand of the pastor and said
stPlease, sir, take me to Jesus now, | war
to 90 now Oh, that it might be now wit
such simplicity OF experiences that you n
ioin hands and seek after Christ and get q
exnression of His benefaction and His mere.
You may take Christ into your confidenc
ne you cannot trust Him. whom can yo
, trust? I do not offer you a dry, theoiogici
technicaiity. simply ask you to come an
mt both feet on the Rock OF Ages Ial
: hold of Christ's hands and draw HIM
your soul with perfect abandonment %
hurl yourself into the deep sea OF bis mere
; He comes aud saws. ST will saw you"
van do not think He is. a hypocrite n
liar when He SAYS that, bslieve Him an
cav. ssLord Jesus, | believe here is n
heart. Wash it. Save it. Do 1t nc
Ave it Is done: for / obey Thy promise an
coma 7 can do no more. That is all Iho
hast asked. | come. Christ is mine. RI
don is mine Heaven is mime"
WHY. my friends, you put more trus9
: everybody than you do in Christ. n
everything: more trust in the bridge eros
n ing the stream, in the ladder up 60 tne loi
more trust in the stove that connnes Ohe "
mora tr,,st in the cook that prepares 70
h food more trust in the clerk that writ
) vour books. in the druggist that makes U
" medicine. in the bargain maker WIN WIG
vou trade-more trust in all these bhn
q thar in Christ. although He stands this n
man, offering without limit and Wltno
= mistake and without execution univeri
pardon to all who want it. Now IS not 70
:, ccbean, enough-all things for nothing?
y This i fhe whole of the Gospel as | una
q stand it-that if you believe that en-
died to save you, you are saved. Wns
!, Now No more doubt about it than bnaby
s;t there. No more Doubt about It than u
Won have q right hand. No more 40.
about it than that there is q God. IL
Z, had committed five thousand transgressls
u Christ would forgive You just as lreely =
YOU had never committed one; though .
Nm had gone through the whole catalogue
crime-arson and b~lasphemy and murdel
Christ would forgive you just as Ireeiy, !
-. coraing to Him as Though you had commit
= onlv the slightest sin of the tongue;
~ Why, when Christ comes TO PARDON 2 :
re He stops for nothing: Height is noun
Depth is nothing. Enormlty 10 ho0h
Protractedness is nothing.
w rfer sins like mountains for their size,
it'll The seas ssas to sovereign grace expand.
.va The seas of sovereign grace arise.
Lord Jesus. I give up all other props
q, M ali oUner expectations. TUNED and
% done. / lay held Thee. ! plead my prom
IL T fly to Thy arms. Lofu' seso -
the perisaF' o, uant
81. +ha army during the war there were a g.