The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1896-04-22
A HEAVENLY EXILE.
To Save the World Christ Left
His Home Above.
He Beckens Us to Follow Him Through
the Pearly Gates Which He Has
Left Ajar- There is Room In
Heaven for All.

The Rev. DR.. Talmage in his latest
sermon tells the story of the Royal
Exile from Heaven and urges his
hearers to follow the Saviour to His
glorious home which he invites us to
share. The text he selected was 2
Samuel 1917: "And the king went
forth and tarried in a place which was
far off,"
Far up and far back in the. history
of Heaven there came period when it's
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. l 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 un-
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 was this the place Of
His destination? question the shep-
herds. 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; Kosciusco, 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 to-day had
such resounding farewell and came in
to such chilling reception-not even a
hostler went out with his lantern to
light Him in-that He is more to be
celebrated than any other eXpatriated
exile Of earth or Heaven.
First, remark that Christ was an
imperial exile. He got down off a
throne. He took off a tiara. He closed
a palace gate behind Him. His family
were princes and princesses. Vashti
was turned out of the thronefoom by
Ahasuerus. David was dethroned by
| Absalom's infamy. The five kings
were hurled into cavern by Joshua S
courage. Some of the Henrys Of En-
gland and some of the Louises OF
France were jostled on their thrones
by discontented subjects. But Christ
was Eever more honored, or more popu.
lar, or more loved than the day lie left
Heaven. Exiles have suffered severely
buts Christ turned Himself out from
throne room into sheep pen, and down
from the top to the bottom. 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 thousand time:
worse; the one exile suffering for that
he had destroyed nations, the other
exile suffering because He came tC
save world. An imperial exile King
eternal. Blessing and honor and
glory and power be unto Him that sit
teth upon the throne"
But l go further, and tell you H,
was an exile on barren island. This
world is one of the smallest islands O.
light in the ocean of immensity. Othel
stellar kingdoms are many Thousand
times larger than this. Christ came tt
this small Patmos of world. Whe1
exiles are sent out they are generally
sent to regions that are sandy or cold
or hot-some Dry Tortugas of disa
greeableness. Christ came as an eXil'
to world scorched with heat and bit
ten with cold, to deserts simoon-swept
to bowling wilderness. 1t was tn,
back dooryard, seemingly, of the uni
verse. Yea, Christ came to the poores
part of this barren island of world
Asia Minor, with its intense summers
unfit for the residence of foreigner
and in the rainy season unfit for tn
residence of native. Christ came no
to such land as America, or England
or France, or Germany, but to LAM
one-third of the year drowned, anothe
third of the year burned up, and onl.
one-third of the year just tolerable. Oh
it was the barren island of world
Barren enough for Christ, for it CAV
such small worship and such inadequat
affection, and such little gratitude
Imperial exile on the barren island O
Il world.
go further, and tell you that He wa
an exile in a hostile country. Turke,
was never so muSh against Russia
France was never so much agains
Germany, as this earth was agains
Christ 1t took Him in through tn
door of a stable. 1t thrust Him out a
the point of spear. The Roman GOV
ernment against Him with every weaI
on of it's arms, and every decision Q
its courts, and every beak of its wa
eagles. For years after His arrival tn
only question was how best toput Hir
out Herod hated Him, the high priest
hated Him, the Pharisees hated Hin
. Judas Iscariot hated Him, Gestas, tn
dying thief, hated Him. The Who'll
earth seemingly turned into a detect
i've to watch His steps. And yet H