The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-01-17

ihto 0erfneny anu ~ would DO the same. IL
Is solemp statement, but II is never-the-
less true. YOU doubt the statement many
ofyou; will come little nearer home,
right into your own churches, ,--and
will tell you that there are q good many
churches that don't want Him. hate to
make this statement, but 1t is true, they
want fashionable man, an orator, and
the result is that many OF our churches are
whited sepulchres having no spiritual
power-no boom for Christ.
We read in one place that He looked
towards heaven and sighed. i can i'm
imagine Him looking into the world
on high where He was Lonored
where all loved Him and just
longing for the smile of that loving
father. Around Him was sickness, pesti-
lence and disease and death. He came to
heal the sick, give life to the dead, raise
those who were fallen, and they didn't
want.His pity and His help. have often
thought that would like to
have met Him in Jerusalem when He
was on earth, but suppose that II had
lived In that city my home would have
been closed against Him. Jesus, before
whom the morning stars sang together,
who had power given Him In heaven and
earth came down into thi, dark earth and
although He was rich the only cradle He
had was borrowed one, His
grave was borrowed one and
the only time He ever rode IL was on bor-
rowed beast. And He became poor that
He might get into sympathy with people
like you and me; and yet when He got
through with His ministry, there were
not more than 800 that were really
loyal to Him, after all His years OF
preaching and ministry. No wonder that
He looked toward heaven and sighed.
Did you ever have the feeling that no one
cared for you and that the world didn't
want you-and you felt like putting an
end to your life? The son OF God had
many such hours down here, hours that
His disciples could not enter. into, and it
must have crushed the very life out of Him
at times.
1t has always been mystery to me that
a woman can turn against the Son OF God
for there is not country today where
Christ is not preached where women
either slave or toy.
In India, where Buddha taught, in
China, where Confucius taught. said
when was in Jerusalem that IL had my
choice in a Mohammedan country of
being born woman or donkey
would be donkey, for it is better treated
than a woman. See what Christ has done
for woman in Christian lands and yet
women sit down and talk against Christ.
/ want to say in passing
that 1t In not recorded that
the daughters of Jerusalem lifted up their
voices against the son of God, and some
of those women were loyal to Him, but /
am sorry to say fear they were very few
but in the storm that was gathering
around Him and which grew blacker and
and b!acker, there is star that comes out
in the darkness that shines like diamond
and that star rose over the Mount of
Olives that slept over that little town of
Bethany. We, learn that there was a
woman by the name Of Martha that recei-
we'd him into her home. When univer-
sal hiss was going up against him, there
was little family there iu Bethany who
had the moral courage to make room
for him in their home. There was dark
cloud hanging over them then, but Martha
and Mary did not know it. can imagine
that Martha went to Jerusalem and seeing
the great crowd in the temple
asked what it was and they
told her it was the prophet of Galilee.
She couldn't get near but she probably
stood on the edge of the crowd and
listened to Christ. Perhaps He preached
from the text, "Come unto me, all We
that labor and are heavy laden and j will
give you rest" Oh, says Martha, that is
what / want, i have been longing for
rest for weeks and months,
rest to my soul, | never heard any
one speak OF giving rest before and
although her heart was filled and with
bitterness and prejudice before, as she
stood there and heard those beautiful
words, she thought would like to hear
Him again. wonder il He wouldn't come
to my home. Then the thought came, II
He did,, many of my fashionable
acquaintance in Jerusalem would cut my
Bear i'm mind, it must have
cost Martha good deal to receive Jesus
into her home. He was very unpopular
But Martha asks Him to go and be her
guest; and I will say that il you want
Jesus to 60 to your home and help you
train those children for eternity, He will
come there.
1t may be that Mary and Lazarus were
both opposed to Christ when she asked
Him into her home, but He hadn't been
there great while before they both were
taken captive and we find Christ hereaf-
ter going often to Bethany where there
was always welcome for Him, where Mary
sat at His feet and Martha was glad to
serve. Tell me that they were not pleas
ant hours, filled with Joy and gladness for
those two sisters. And / can imagine one
day when Lazarus comes in with his
hand on his head he has o
headache, feels 'feverish,-it may be only
a few months before that the father and
mother had died with some fever-and
now Lazarus IL coming down with the
same disease. They perhaps send over to
Jerusalem to the leading physician there,
everything Is done that can be done to
break up the fever, but he grows worse
until at last the fatal hour
comes. Some OF you know what
il is TO have the doctor come out
from the sick room and tell you there is
no hope and the loved one must go, that
all that you can do cannot keep that
loved one. Now that storm was going to
burst upon that home and want TO say to
every woman in this audience that the