Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1893-08-17
A SUBLIME SACRIFICE
HOW CHRIST PURCHASED OUR DE-
LlVERANCE ON CALVARY.

Unforeseen mt the Throne of God.
BROOKLYN, Aug. 13.-Rev. Dr. Talmage
today chose for his subject "A Bold Chal-
lenge." the text being Romans viii, "a;
WHO'S he that condemnethS it is Christ
that died, yea, rather that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us"
This is the last sermon l shall ever
preach" said Christmas Evans on the 18th
of June 1888. Three days afterward he eX-
pired. l do not know what his text was,
but know that no man could choose "A
better theme--though he knew it was the
last time he should ever preach-than the
subject found in this text.
Paul flung this challenge of the text to
the feet of all ecclesiastical and civil au-
thority. He feared neither swords nor lions,
parth nor hell. Diocletian slew uncouuted
thousands under his administration, and
the world las been full of persecution; but
NIL the prosecutors of the world could not
alright Paul. Was it because he was phys
ically strong? Oh, no. ] suppose he was
very much weakened by exposure and NAL
treatment. Was it because he was lacking
in constituencies? No; you find the most
delicate shades of feeling playing in and
out his letters and sermons. Some of his
DuISb llllO tears W ldU
was it that lifted Paul into this triumphant
mood? The thought of IA Saviour dead a
Saviour risen, a Saviour exalted, Saviour
interceding.
SUBLIME SACRIFICE.
All the world has sung the praise of prin-
cess Alice One child having died of a con
tagious disease-she was in the room where
another was dying, and the court physician
said to her, You must not breathe tho
breath of this child or you yourself will
die" But seeing the child mourning be-
cause of the death of her brother the moth
er stopped down and in sympathy kissed
the little one, caught the disease and per-
ished. All the world sang the heroism and
the self sacrifice of Princess Alice, but |
have to tell you that when our race was dy-
ing the Lord Jesus stopped down and gave
us the kiss of his everlasting love and per-
ished that we might live. at is Christ
that died"
Can you tell me how tender hearted Paul
could find anything to rejoice at in the hor-
rble death scene of Calvary? We weep at
funerals. we are sympathetic when we see
n stranger die; when II murderer steps up
on the scatfod we pray for his departing
spirit, and how could Paul-the great
hearted Paul-fnd anything to be pleased
with at the funeral of a God? Besides that,
Christ had only recently died, and the sor-
row was fresh in the memory of the world,
and how in the fresh memory of a Saviour's
death could Paul he exultant?
1t was because Paul saw in that death
his own deliverance, and the deliverance of
q race from still worse disaster He saw
the gap into which the race must plunge
and he saw the bleeding hands of Christ
close it. The glittering steel on the top of
the executioner's spear in his sight kinded
into torch to light men heavenward. The
prosecutors saw over the cross five words
written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin; but
Paul saw over the cross of Christ only one
-"cXpiation" He heard in the dy-
ing groan of Christ his own groan of eter-
nal torture taken by another. Paul said
to himself, Had it not been that Christ
volunteered in my behalf, those would
have been my mauled hands and feet, my
gashed side, my crimson temples
TIE BURDEN OF CHRIST.
Men OF great physical endurance have
sometimes carried very heavy burdens-300
pounds, 400 pounds-and they have still
said, My strength is not yet tested Put
on more weight" But after awhile they
were compelled to cry out: stop. | can
carry no more" But the burden of Christ
was illimitabe. First, there was his own
burden of hunger and thirst and bereave-
ment and thousand outrages that have
been heaped upon him, and on top of that
burden We're the sorrows of his poor old
mother and on the top Of those burdens the
crimes Of the rutlians who We're executing
him.
stop You cry. at is enough. Christ
ran bear no more" And Christ says, "Roll
on more burdens Roll on me the sins of
this entire nation, and after that roll on me
the sins of the inhabited earth, and then
roll on me the sins of the 1000 years past,
SO far as those sins have been forgiven"
And the angels of God, seeing the awful
pressure cry: stop! He can bear no more"
And the blood rushing to the nostril and
lip seems to cry out: Enough! He can en-
dure no more But Christ says, Roll on
greater burden-roll on the sins of the
next 800 years. roll on me the sins Of al
the succeeding ages; roll on me the agones
of hell, ages on ages, the furnaces and the
prison houses and the tortures.n That is
what the Bible means when it says, "IIe
bore our sins and carried our sorrows"
Now" says Paul, II am free. That euf-
fering purchased my deliverance. God new
er collects debt twice. / have a receipt in
full If God is satisfied with me, then
what do all the threats OF earth ana hell
amount to? Bring on all your Witnesses"
says Paul. "Show ali your force. Do your
worst against my soul. defy you. | dare
you ! challenge You. Who is he that
condemneth? 1t is Christ that died" oh,
what strong argument that puts in the
hand Of every Christian mani Some day
all the past sins of his life come down on
him in fiery troop, and they pound away
at the gate of his soul, and they say: I'VE
have come for your arrest, Amy one of us
could overcome you We are 10000 strong
Surrender" And you open the door and
single handed and alone you contend
against that troop. You fling this divine
weapon into their midst You scatter
those sins as quick as you can think it.
ut is Christ that died" Why then bring
up to us the sins of our past life? What
have we to do with those obsolete things?
You know how hard it is for a wrecker to
bring up anything that is lost near the
thore of the sea, but suppose something be
lost half way between Liverpool and New
York. 1t cannot be found, it cannot be