The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-05-06
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
EDAY'S DISCOURSE BY THE
NOTED DIVINE.
Subject: "Christ's Exile"
TEXT: "And the king went forth and tar.
red In place which was far ."-uSamueL
xY.. IL

1L1T: AND the King went forth and tar
red In place which was far of" ."-uiSamue
xv., II.
Far up and far back In the history O
heaven there came period when its mos
fllustrious Citizen was about to absent Him
SELF. He was not going to sail from beach t
beach; we have often done that. He was no
going to put out from one hemisphere to an
other hemisphere; many Of us have dom
that. But He was to sail from world t.
world, the spaces unexplorod and the i'm
mensities untraveled. No world has eve
hailed heaven, and heaven has never hailed
any other world. 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 sal
out OF the harbor OF light into the ocean
beyond. Out and out and out, and or
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 dis
embarkation 80 unpretendinS. so quiet that
1t was not known on earth until the excite.
ment in the cloud gave iutimation to the
Bethlehem rustics that something grand and
glorious had happened. Who comes therei
From what port did He sail? Why was thi:
the place Of His destination? I Iquestion the
shepherds. Iquestion the camel drivers.
question the angels. Ihave 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 e1-
lie from Hungary. But this one OF whom !
speak to-day had such resounding farewell
and came into such chilling reception-for
not even hostler went out with his lantern
to light Him in--that He Is more to be cele.
brated than any other eIpatriated exile OF
earth or heaven.
First, remark that Christ was an i'm
perial exile. He got down off throne. He
took off tiara He closed q palace gate be-
hind. Him. His family were princes and
princessess. Vashti was turned out OF the
throneroem by Ahnsuerus. David was de-
throned by Absalom's infamy, The five
kings were hurled into cavern by Joshua 8
courage. Some of the Henrys OF England
and some of the Louis Of France were jostled
on their thrones by discontented 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 bottom. He was not pushed of. 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 al
exile five times as long as that OF Napoleon
at st. Helena, aud thousand times worse
the one exile suffering for that he had de-
stroyed Nations, the other exile suffering be-
cause He came to save world. An imperial
exile. King eternal. "Blessing and honor
and glory and power be unto Him that sit
teth upon the throne"
d. kalI q yrn On
exile on barren island. This world Is one
Of the smallest islands Of light in the ocean
of immensity. Other stellar kingdoms are
many thousand times larger than this.
Christ came to this small Patmos OF world.
When e1iles ore 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 q world scorched
with heat and bitten with cold. to deserts ST.
moon swept, to a bowling wilderness. It was
the back dooryard seemingly OF the universe.
Yea. Christ came to the poorest part OF this
barren island Of q world-Asia Minor, with
its intense summers. unit Tor the residence
of foreigner, and In the rainy season unfit
for the residence of native. Christ came
not to such land as America or England or
France or Germany, bat to land one-third
of the year drowned, another third OF the
year burned up, and only one-third OF the
year Just tolerable. Oh,tt was the barren
island OF world! Barren enough for Christ,
for II gave such small worship and such In
adequate affection, and such little gratitude.
Imperial exile on the barren island Of q
world. The earth against Him.
I 20 further and tell you that he was all
exile In hostile country. Turkey was never
30 much against Russia, France was never so
much against Germany, as this earth was
k.io $Nn IN oh
door OF stable. It thrust Him out at the
point of 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 Pharlsees hated Him,
Judas Iscariot hated Him, Gestas. the dying
thief, hated Him. The whole earth SEEM
ingly turned into detective to watch His
steps And yet He faced this ferocity. Notice
that most OF Christ's wounds were In front.
Some scourging on the shoulders, but most
OF Christ's wounds in front. He was not on
retreat when He expired. Face to face with
the worlds ferocity. Face to face with the
world'ssln. Face to face with the worlds
woe. His eyes on the raging counte-
nances Of His foaming antagonists when
He expired. When the cavalry officer
roweled his steed 80 that he might
come nearer up and see the tortured visage
of the suffering exile, Christ saw 1t. When
the spear was thrust mt His side, and when
the hammer was lifted for His feet. and when
the reed was raised to strike deeper down
the spikes Of thorn, Christ watched the whole
procedure. When His hands were fastened
to the cross they were wide open still with
benedic:ion. Mind you, His head was no:
ua ~ hn oh n n
BE could look to the left, He could look up
and He could look down. He saw when the
spikes had been driven home, and the hard,
round, iron heads were In the palms OF His
hands He saw them as plainly as you ever
saw anything in the palms OF your hands.
No ether, no chloroform, no merciful anRs-
thetic to dull or stupefy, but, wide awake,
He saw the obscuration Of the heavens, the
unba!s ncing OF the rocks, the countenances
quivering with rage and the cachinnation
diabolic. Oh, it was the hostile as we'll as
the barren island Of world.
90 farther and tell you that this exile
was far from home. It is 95.00O,OOO miles
from here to the sun, and all astronomers
agree in saving that our solar system is only
one OF the smaller wheels OF the great ma
chinery Of the universe turning around some
one great center, the center so far distant il
Is beyond all imagination and calculation
and II, as some think, that great center in
the distance is heaven, Christ came far from
home when He came here Have you erei
thought Of the homesickness OF CHRISTI Some
of you know what homesickness Is when yor
have been only few weeks absent from the
domestic circle. Christ was thirty-thret
wears away from home. Some OF you fee
homesickness when you are hundred or 6
thousand miles away from the domestic
circle. Christ was more million miles away
from home than you could count II all youl
life you did nothing but count. You know
what It is to be homestck even amid pleasan
surroundings, but Christ slept In huts. anC
He was athirst, and He was a-hungered. AM
he was on the way from being born IL
ann4har nnan,a harm 70 being hurled II