The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-08-16
PAUL's CHALLENGE.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Discourses on a
Text From Romans.
why Tender-Hearted Paul ReJoiced Mt ths
Death Scene of Calvary-He Saw in
That Tragedy the Deliverance
of Race From Still
Worse Disaster.

At the Brooklyn tabernacle recently,
Rev. DIR. Talmage chose for his subject,
"a Bold Challenge" the text being
Romans, viii, "a:
"Who is he that condemnethf 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 u.s."
''This is the last sermon / shall ever
preach" said Christmas Evans on the
18th of June, 1888. Three days after
ward he expired. do not know what
his text was, but know that no man
could choose a better theme-though
he knew 1t was the last time. he should
ever preach-than the subject found in
this text.
Paul flung the challenge of the text
to the feet of all ecclesiastical and civil
authority. he feared neither swords
nor lions, earth nor hell. Diocletian
slew uncounted thousands under his
administration, and the world has been
full of persecution; but all the perse-
cutors of the world could not alright
Paul. Was it because he was physic-
ally strongP o, no. ! suppose he was
very much weakened by exposure and
lnaltreatment. Was it because he was
lacking in sensitiveness? No; you find
the most delicate shades of feeling
in and out his letters and sermons.
Some of his communication burst into
tears. Whatwas it that lifted Paul into
this triumphant mood2 The thought
OF Saviour dead Saviour risen, a
Saviour exalted, a Saviour interced-
ing.
All the world has sung the praise Of
Princess Alice. One child having, died Of
a contagious disease-she was in the
room where another was dying, and
the court physician said to her: "You
must not breathe the breath of this
child, or you yourself will die" But
seeing the child mourning because Of
the death of her brother, the mother
stopped down, and in sympathy kissed
the little one, caught the disease and
perished. All the world sang the hero
ism and the self-sacrifice of Princess
Alice, but have to tell you that when
our race was dying the Lord Jesus
stopped down and gave us the kiss Of
of His everlasting love, and perished
that we might live. "It is Christ that
died"
Can you tell me how tender-hearted
Paul could find anything to rejoice at
in the horrible death scene of Calvary?
We weep at funerals, we are sympa-
thetic when we see stranger die,
when murderer steps upon the scaf.
fold we pray for his departing spirit;
and how could Paul-the greathesrted
Paul-fnd anything to be pleased with
at the funeral of God? Besides that,
Christ had only recently died, and the
sorrow was fresh in the memory of the
world, and how in the fresh memory Of
Saviour's death could Paul be exult
tant?
1t was because Paul saw in that
death his own deliverance, and the de.
liverance Of race, from still worse dis.
aster; he saw the gap into which the
race must plunge, and he saw the bleed.
ing hands of Christ close it. The gilt
tering steel on the top of the execu.
toner's spear in sight kindled into a
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 word-"expiationp
He heard in the dying groan of Christ
his own groan of eternal torture taken
by another. Paul said to himself:
Had II not been that Christ volun-
teered in my behalf those would have
been my mauled hands and feet, my
gashed side, my crimson temple"
Men Of great physical endurance have
sometimes carried very heavy burdens
three hundred pounds, four hundred
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: "Stopl can
carry no more" But the burden of
Christ was illimitable. First, there
was His own burden Of hunger and
thirst and bereavement, and thou
sand outrages that have been heaped
upon Him, and on top of that burden
were the sorrows of His poor old
mother, and on the top Of those bur
dens the crimes of the ruffiians who
were executing Him. "Stopl'' you cry,
ut is enough; Christ can bear no
more" And Christ says: "Roll on
your burdens; roll on Ne 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 four
thousand years past, SO far as those
sins have not been forgiven" And the
angels OF God, seeing the awful pres
sure, cry, "Stopl He can bear no
more" And the blood rushing to the
nostril and lip, seems TO cry out,
Enough He can endure no more"
But Christ says: "Roll on greater
burden-roll on the sins of the next
nineteen hundred years, roll on Me the
sins Of all the succeeding ages, roll on
Me the agonies Of hell, ages on ages,
the furnaces and the prison houses and
the tortures." That is what the Bible
means when 1t says: HE bore our sins,
and carried our sorrows"
"Now," says Paul, 81 am free; that
suffering purchased my deliverance;
God never collects debt twice; have
a receipt in full; II God is satisfied with
me, then what do all the threats OF
earth and hell amount to9 Bring on
all your Witnesses" says Paul; "show
all your force; do your worst against
my soul; defy you; dare you; chal.
lenge you. Who is he, that condemneth9