The Yale expositor., 1894-09-28

the world tour, mas selecteu as Ihe
subject for to-day's sermon through
the press: The Tax Collectors Con-
version" the text being taken from
Luke NIX 8, This day is salvation
come to this house
Zaccheus was a politician and a tax
gatherer. He had an honest calling.
but the opportunity for ''stealings"
was so large, the temptation was too
much for him. The Bible says he
was n sinner"-that is, in the public
sense. How many fine men have been
ruined by official positionl 1t is an
awful thing for any man to seek Office
under government unless his princi-
pies of integrity are deeply fixed.
Many a man, upright in an insignif-
can't position, has made shipwreck in
great one. AS far as / can tell, in
the city of Jerico this Zaccheus be-
longed to what might be called the
Ring" They had things their
own way, successfully avoiding
exposure-If by no other way,
perhaps by hiring somebody to
break in and steal the vouchers. Not
withstanding his bad reputation, there
were streaks of good about him, as
there is about almost every man.
Gold is found in quartz, and some
times in very small percentage.
Jesus was coming to town. The
people turned out en- masse to sec him.
Here he comes-the Lord of Glory
on foot dust-covered aud road weary,
limping along the way, carrying the
griefs and woes of the world. He
looks to be sixty years of age when he
is only about thirty. Zaccheus was
short man, and could not see over the
peoples heads while standing on the
ground; so he got up into sycamore
tree that swung its arm clear over the
road Jesus advanced amid the wild
excitement of the surging crowd. The
most honorable and popular men of
the city are looking on, and trying to
gain his attention. Jesus, instead of
regarding them, looks up at the little
man in the tree, and says, "Zaccheus,
come down j am going home with
you" Every body was disgusted TO
think that Christ would go home with
so 6ishonorable a man.
Isee Christ entering the front door
of the house of Zaccheus The king
of heaven and earth sits down; and
as he looks around on the place and
the family, he pronouncos the bene-
diction of the text: This day is sal
vation come to this house"
Zaccheus had mounted the syca-
more tree out of mere inquisitiveness
lie wanted TO see how this stranger
looked-the color of his eyes, the
length of his hair, the contour OF his
features. the height of his stature.
"Come down." said Christ.
And so, many people, in 'his day,
get up into the tree of curiosity or
speculation to see Christ They ask n
thousand queer questions about his
divinity, about Gods sovereign ty, and
the eternal DEGREES They specu-
late, and criticize, and hang on to the
outside limb of a great sycamore. But
they must come down from tnat If
they want to be saved. We can not
be saved as philosophers, but as little
children You can not go to heaven
by way of Athens but by way of
bethlehem. Why be perplexed
about the way Dsin came into
the world, when the great ques-
tion is how we shall get sin driven
out of our hearts? How many spend
their time in criticism and religious
speculation! They take the Rose Of
Sharon, or the lily of the valley, pull
out the anther, scatter the corolla,
and say, 'Is that the beautiful flower
of religion that you are talking
about?" No flower is beautiful after
you have torn it all to pieces. The
path to heaven is so plain that fool
need not make a mistake about it,
and yet men stop and caviL Sup
pose that going toward the Pacific
slope, had resolved that l would
stop until could kill all the grizzly
bears and the panthers on either side
of the way. 1 would never have got
to the Pacific coast When l went
out to hunt the grizzly bear, the griz-
zly bear would have come out to hunt
me. Here is plain road to heaven.
Men say they will not take a step on
until they can make game of all the
theories that bark and growl
at them from the thickets They
forget the fact that as they go
out to hunt the theory, the theory
comes out to hunt them, and so they
perish We must receive the Kingdom
of heaven in simplicity. William
Pennington was one Of the wisest men
of this country-a governor Of his own
state, and afterward speaker Of the
house of representatives Yet when
God called him to be a Christian, he
went in, and sat down among some
children who were applying for church
mem bership, and he said to his pas
tor talk to me as you do TO these
children, for 1 know nothing about
it." There is no need of bothering
ourselves about my steries when there
are so many things that are plain.
DR.. Ludlow, my professor in the theo-
logical seminary, taught me lesson
1 have never forgotten. While
putting a variety of questions
to him that were perplexing he
turned upon me somewhat in stern
l...e L..