The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1896-04-24
fCHRIST'S SAD EXILE.
THE LONG REPATRIATION WAS DR..
TALMAGE'S SUNDAY THEME.

Great Homesiczness-F From the Throne
room to the Sheep Pen.
WASHINGTON, April 19.-It is won
aerful to how many tunes the gospel
may be set Dr. Talmage's sermon to-
day shows another way in which the
earthly experience of our Lord is set
forth. His text was II Samuel XIV, II,
''And the king went forth and tarried
in a place which was far off.
Far up and far back i'll the history of
heaven there came a period when its
most illustrious citizen was about to alb
sent himself He was not going to sail
from beach to beach; we have often
done that. He was not going to put out
from one hemisphere to another hemi-
sphere; many of us have done that. But
he was to sail from world to world, the
spaces unexplored and the immensities
untraveled. No world has ever hailed
heaven, and heaven has never hailed
any other world. I think that the win
dows and the balconies were thronged,
and that the pearly beach was crowded
with those who had come to see him sail
out of the harbor of light into the ocean
beyond. Out and out and out, and on
and on and on, and down and down and
down he sped, until one night, with
only one to greet him when he arrived,
his Decentralization so unpretending, so
quiet that it was not known on earth
until the excitement in the cloud gave
intimation to the Bethlehem rustics that
something grand and glorious had hap
pened. Who comes there? From what
port did he sail? Why was this the place
of his destination? l question the shep-
herds question the camel drivers. l
question the angels I have found out.
He was an exile. But the world had
plenty of exiles. Abraham, an exile
from Haran; John, an exile from Ephe-
sus; Kosciuslzo, an exile from Poland;
Mazzini, an exile from Rome; Emmett,
an exile from Ireland Victor Hugo an
exile from France; Kossuth, an exile
from Hungary. But this one of whom
l speak today had such resounding fare
well and came into such chilling recep-
tion--for not even a hostler went out
with his lantern to light him in-that
he is more to be celebrated than any 9th
er expatriated exile of earth Or heaven.
From Throneroom to Sheep Pen.
First, | remark that Christ was an
imperial exile. He got down off
throne. He took off tiara. He closed
palace gate behind him. His family
were princes and princesses. Vashti was
turned out Of the thronoroom by Alias
uerus. David was dethrOned by Absa-
Ions infamy. The five kings were
hurled into cavern by Joshua S cour-
age. Some Of the Henrys of England
and some Of the Louis Of France were
jostled on their thrones by discontinued
subjects. But Christ was never more
honored or,more popular or more loved
than the day he left heaven. EXiles
have suffered severely, but Christ turned
himself out from throneroOm into sheep
pen, and down from the top to the bot
tom. He was not pushed off He was
not manacled for foreign transportation.
He was not put out because they no
more wanted him in celestial domain,
but by choice, departing and descending
into an exile five times as long as that
of Napoleon at St Helena, and thou
sand times WOrse-the one exile suffering
for that he had destroyed nations the
other exile suffering because he came to
save a world. An imperial exile. King
eternal. Blessing and honor and glory
and power be unto him that stitch up
on the throne "
But l go farther and tell you he was
an exile ON barren island. This world
is one Of the smallest islands of light
in the ocean of immensely. Other stel-
lar Kingdoms are many thousand times
larger than this. Christ came to this
small PatmOs Of a world. When exiles
are sent out, they are generally sent to
regions that are sandy or cold or hot
some Dry Tortugas of disagreeableness
Christ came as an exile to a world
scorched with heat and bitten with
cold, to deserts simoom swept, to a
bowling wilderness. 1t was the back
dooryard seemingly of the universe.
Yea Christ came to the poorest part Of
this barren island of a world-Asia
Minor, with its intense summers, unfit
for the residence of a foreigner, and in
the rainy season unfit for the residence
of native. Christ came not to such a
land as America or England or France
or Germany, but to a land one third of
the year drowned another third Of the
year burned up and only one-third Of
the year just tolerable. Oh, it was the
barren island of world! Barren enough
for Christ, for it gave such small wor-
ship and such inadequate affection, and
such little gratitude. Imperial exile ON
the barren island of a world.
The Earth Against Him.
/ go farther and tell you that he was
an exile in a hostile country. Turkey
was never so much against Russia,
France was never so much against Ger
many, as this earth was against Christ.
1t took him in through the door Of
stable. 1t thrust him out at the point Of
a spear. The Roman government against
him with every weapon Of its arm, and
every decision Of its courts and every
beak of its war eagles. For years after
his arrival the only question was how
best to put him out Herod hated him,
the high priests hated him, the Pharisees
hated him, Judas Iscariot hated him.
Gactac tho dx-iuo, thief bato6 him The