The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-04-30

RED in a place which was afar off -
ll. SAM, 15-17.
Ear up and far back in the history
OF heaven there came period when
its most illustrious citizen was about
to absent himself. He was not going |
TO sail from beach to beach; we have
often done that. He was not gong
to put out from the hemisphere to an
other hemisphere; many Of us have
done that. But he was to sail from
world to world, the spaces rnexplored
and the immensities untraveled. No
heaven has never hailed any ether
world. I think the windows 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 I'M
pretending, 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 happened.
Who comes there? From what port
did he sail? Why wars this the place
of his destination? l question the
shepherds. / question the camel driv-
ers. 1 question the angels. have
found out. He was an exile. But the
world had plenty Of exiles. Abraham,
an exile from Haran; John, an exile
from Ephesus; Kosciusko, 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 speak to-day had
such resounding farewell and came
into scuh chilling reception-for not
even a hostler went out with his Ian
tern to light him in-that he is more to
be celebrated than any other expatri
ated exile of earth or heaven.
First, I remark that Christ was an
imperial exile. He got down off a
closed a palace gate behind him. His
| VaShti was turned out of the throne
room by Ahasuerus. David was de-
dethroned by Absalom's infamy. The
five kings were hurled into cavern
| by Joshua's courage. Some of the
Henrys of England and some Of the
Louises of France We're 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 suf-
fered severely, but Christ turned HIM
| self out from throne room into sheep
pen, and drove from the top to the
bottom. He was not pushed off. He
was not manacled for foreign trans
/ portation. He was not put out be-
cause they no more wanted him in ce-
lestial domain, but by choice depart
{! ing and descending into an exile five
times as long as that Of Napoleon at
! st. Helena, and thousand times
! worse; the one exile suffering for that
he had destroyed nations, the other ex-
lie suffering because he came to save
a world. An imperial exile. King
eternal blessing and honor and
! glory and power be unto him that sit
teth upon the throne"
But go further, 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
| stellar 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 OF cold,
| or hot-some Dry Tortugas of dis
agreeableness. Christ came as an
| exile to a world scorched with heat
and bitten with cold, to deserts simeon
swept, to bowling wilderness. 1t was
the back-door yard, seemingly, Of the
universe. Yea, Christ came to the
poorest part Of this barren island Of
World-Asia Minor, with it's intense
summers, unfit for the residence of
foreigner, and in the rainy season unfit
for the residence Of the native Christ
came not to such land as America,
or England, or France, or Germany,
but to land one-third of the year
drowned, another third of the year
just tolerable. Oh! it was the barren
island Of world. Barren enough for
Christ, for it gave such small worship
and such inadequate affection. and
such little gratitude. Imperial exile
on the barren island of a world.
l go further, 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 Germany, as this earth was
against Christ. 1t took him in through
the door Of a stable. 1t thrust him
out at the point of a spear. The Ro-
man government against him with
every weapon Of its army, and every
decision Of it's courts, and every beak
Of it's war eagles. For a year after
his arrival, the only question was how
best to put him out. Herod hated him,
the high priests hated him, the Phar-.
isees hated him, Judas Iscariot hated
him. Gestas. the dying thief, hated
him. The whole earth seemed turned
into a detective to watch his steps.
And yet he faced this ferocity. Notice
that most Of Christ's wounds were in
front. Some scouraging on the should
ers, but most of Christ's wounds in
front. He was not on retreat when
he expired. Face to face with the
worlds sin. Face to face with the
worlds woe. His eye on the "a ging
countenances of his foaming antagon-
lists when he expired. When the cav
airy officer roweled his ssteed so that
he might come nearer up and see the
tortured visage of the suffering exile,
Christ saw it. When the spear was
thrust at his side, and when the ham
mer was lifted for his feet, and when