Semi-weekly independent., 1896-04-25
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ON
CHRIST'S ExPATRIATION.
The King Who Left a Throne, Closed
Palace and Went Forth TO Die in
Hostile Country America the
Home of the Voluntary Exile.
An Imperial Exile.

ence of our Lord is set forth. His text
was H. Samuel xv.. II, 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 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 going 10 put out from one
| hemisphere TO another hemisphere. Many
Of us have done that But he was to sail
| from world to world. the spaces uneX-
| plored and the immenSities untravcled.
No world hats ever hailed heaven. and
heaven has never hailed any other world.
l think that the windows and the balco-
nies 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
| unprctending. 50 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
shepherds. l question the camel drivers.
l question the angels | have found out
He was an exile. But the world had
plenty Of exilcs. Abraham. an exile from
Haran; John. an exile from Ephesus: Kos
ciuskO 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 i speak to-day had
such resounding farewell and came into
such chilling reception-for not even
nostler 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.
An Imperial Exile.
First l remark that Christ was an i'm
perial exile. He got down off a throne.
He took off tiara. He closed palace
gate behind him. His family were princes
and princesses. Nashti was turned out of
the throneroom by Ahasuerus. David was
dethroned by Absalom's infamy. The five
kings were hurled into a cavern by
Joshua's courage. Some of the Henrys of
England and some of the Louis of France
were jostled on their thrones by dscon-
tented subjects. But Christ was never
more honored, or more popular, or more
loved than the day he left heaven Ex-
lies 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 off. He was
not manac.ed for foreign transportation.
lie 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 Napo-
leon at st. Helena and 1000 times worse:
the one exile suffering for that he had
destroyed nations, the other exile suffer
Ing because he came TO save n world An
Imperial exile. King eternal. Blessing
and honor and glory and power be unto
him that sitteth upon the throne"
But 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 immensity. Other stellar king
doms are many thousand times larger
than this. Christ came to this small Pat
mos of a world. When exles are sent out
they are generally sent to regions that
are sandy or cold or hOt-sOme Dry Tor
tugas Of disagreeableness. Christ came
as an exile to world scorched with heat
and bitten with cold, to deserts simeon
swept. to n bowling wilderness. 1t was
the back dooryard, seemingly, Of the uni
verse. Yea, Christ came to the poorest
part OF this barren island of a world
Asia Minor, with its intense summers,
unit for the residence of n foreigner and
In the rainy season unfit for the residence
OF native. Christ came not to such n
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 isl
and of world. Barren enough for Christ.
for it gave such small worship and such
Inadequate affection and such little graft
tude. Imperial exile on the barren island
Of world.
In n Hostile Country.
i go farther and tell you that he was an
exile in n hostile country. Turkey was
never so much against Russia. France
was never 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
Roman Government against him. with ey
cry weapon of its army, and every decis-
lon 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. In
das lscariot hated him; Gestas, the dying
thief hated him. The whole earth seem
lngly 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 scourging on the shoulder.
but most of Christs 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 eve on
the raging c0untenances Of his foaming
antagonists when he expired. When the
cavalry officer roweled his steed so that
ne might come nearer up and see the tor
tured visage of the suffering exile Christ
saw it. When the spear was thrust at his
side, End 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 |