The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-09-03

| trouble me with these leprOsiesR' No,
no there was kind look, there was a
/ gentle word. there was a healing touch.
I They could not keep away from him.
| In addition to this sOftness of charac-
| ter there was a fiery momentum. How
/ the kings Of the earth turned pale. Here
1 is plain man with few sailors at his
back, coming of the sea Of Galilee, going
up to the palace of the CGsars, making
I that palace quake to the foundations, and
uttering a word Of mercy and kindness
which thrOts through all the earth, and
through all the heavens, and through all
ages. On, he was loving Christ. But
il was not efeminacy or insipldity of
character; il was accompanied with
I majesty, infinite and omnipotent. Lest
the world should not realize his earnest
ness this Christ mounts the cross.
You say: If Christ has TO die, why
not let him take some deadly potion and
lie on a couch in some bright and beauti-
full home. If he must die, let him expire
amid all kindly attentions" No, the
world must hear the hammers on the
heads of the spikes The world must
listen to the death-rattle of the sufferer.
The world must feel mis- warm blood drop
ping on each cheek, while it looks up into
the face of his anguish. And so the cross
must be lifted, and hole is dug on the
top of Calvary.
it must be dug three feet deep, and
Jltu blt ClOSS ID ldlu Oh Tue EIOuuus anu
the sufferer is stretched upon it, and the
nails are pounded through nerve and mus
Gle and bone, through the right hand,
through the left hand; and then they
shake his right hand to see if it is fast,
and they heaVe up the wood, half dozen
shoulders under the weight, and they put
the end of the cross TO the mouth of the
hole, and they plunge it in, all the weight
of his body coming down for the first time
on the spikes; and while some hold the
cross upright, others throw in the dirt
and trample IL down, and trample it hard.
Oh, plant that tree well and thoroughly,
for it is TO bear fruit such as no other
tree ever bore. Why did Christ endure
it, He could have taken those rocks and
with them crushed his crucitiers. He
could have reached up and grasped the
sword of the Omnipotent God and with
one clean cut have tumbled them into
perdition. But no; he was to die. He
must die. His life for your life. In
European city a young man died on the
scaffold for the crime of murder. Some
time after the mother of this young man
was dying, and the priest came
in, and she made confession to
the priest that she was the
murderer, and not her son; in a
moment of anger she had struck her huS-
band a blow that slew him. The son
came suddenly into the room and was
WdSu1IB away Lu6 NNOuuuS anu trying 10
reSuscitate his father, when some one
looked through the window and saw him,
and supposed him to be the criminal.
That young man died for his own mother.
You say, 1T was wonderful that he never
exposed her" But l tell you of a grander
thing Christ, the Son of God, died not
for his mother, not for his father, but for
his sworn enemies. Oh, such Christ as
that-so loving, so patient, so self-sacri-
ticinp-can Won not truSt hlm2
| think there are many under the int1u-
ence of the Spirit of God who are saying,
Il will trust him if you will only tell me
how and the great question asked by
many is, How howe" And while l an
swer your question l look up and utter
the prayer which Rowland Hill so often
uttered in the midst of his sermons,
Master, help" How are you to trust in
Christi
just as you trust any one. You trust
your partner in business with important
things. If a commercial house gives you
a note payable three months hence, you
expect the payment of that note at
the end Of three months. You have
perfect confidence in their word
and in their ability. Or again, you
go home to-day. You expect there will
be food on the table. You have confidence
in that. Now, ask you to have the same
confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. He
says, You believe take away your
sins; and they are all taken away.
''Whatn you say, before l pray any
morel before 1 read my Bible any more9
before CRY over my sins any moreH"
Yes, this moment Believe with all your
heart and you are saved. Why, Christ is
only waiting to get from you what you
give to scores of people every day. What
is thatl Confidence. If these people
whom you trust day by day are more
yuOrrhNv let If fhAyy
faithful than Christ, if they have done
more than Christ ever did, then give
them the preference; but if you really
think that Christ is as trustworthy as
they are, then deal with Him as fairly.
"Oh, " says some one in light way, 81
believe that Christ was born in Bethle-
hem, and believe that he died on the
cross" Do you believe it with your head
or your hearth will illustrate the diff
ference. You are in your own house. In
| the morning you open newspaper aud
you read how Capt. BraVeheart on the
sea risked his life for the salvation of his
passengers. You say, What a grand
fellow he must have been His family
deserves very well of the country" You
fold the newspaper and sit down at the
table, and perhaps do not think of that
incident again. That is historical faith.
But now you are on the sea, and it is
night, and you are asleep, and you are
awakened by the Shrek of Fire" You
rush ont on the deck. You hear, amid
the wringing of the hands and the faint
ing the cry mo hope. No hopeu' We
are lost we are lost. The sail puts out
| its wing of fire, the ropes make burning
ladder in the night heavens, the spirit of
wrecks Kisses in the wave. and Oh the
hurricane deck shakes out its banner of
smoke and darkness. Down with the
! life boatsu' cries the captain. Down
| with the life boats! - People rush into
them. The boats are about full. Room
! only for one more man. You are standing
on the deck beside the captain.
| Who shall it be? You or the captains
/ The captain says, you" You jump and
are saved. He stands there and dies.
/ Now, you believe that Capt. Braveheart
! sacrificed himself for his passengers, but
/ YOU believe ii with love, with tears, with
! hot and long-continued explanations;
/ with grief at his loss and Joy at your de-
/ llverance That is saving faith. In other
/ words, what you believe with all the
/ heart and believe in regard 10 yourself.
! On this hinge turns my sermon, aye, the
/ salvation of your immortal soul. You
/ often go across bridge you know nothing
about. You do not know who built the
bridge, you do not know what material
it is made of; but you come
/ TO it, and walk over it,, and ask no ques-
tions. And here is an arched bridge
] hA - I'd