The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1896-05-01
CHRIST AS AN EXILE.
when the Son Of God Was Here
Among Men.
T5c Got Down ON Throne. Took ON
CLARA, Closed the Palace Gates
Behind Him. and Camo to
Suffor for Us.

~rr,rist as an Exile" was the subject
of a recent sermon by DIR. L. DeWltt
Talmage. He took for his text IL.
Samuel, XIV, II:
And the king went forth and tarried In
place which was far on,
Far up and far back in the history
of Heaven there came period when
its most illustrious citizen was about
10 absent Himself. He was not going
20 sail from beach to beach; we have
often done that. He was not going to
put out from one hemisphere to an
other hemisphere; many OF us have
done that. But He was to sail from
world to world, the spaces unexplored
and the hemispheres untraveled. NO
world has ever hailed heaven, ana
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 be-
yond. 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 unpre-
tending, 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? questions the shepherds.
Iquestion the camel drivers. question
the angels. have found out He was
an exile. But the world had plenty OF
exiles. Abraham, an exile from Har-
an; 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 Hungary. But this one OF whom
i speak to-day had such resounding
farewell and came into such chilling
reception for not even an hostler
went out with his lantern to light Him
ins-that He is more to be celebra ted
than any other expatriated exile OF
earth or Heaven.
First | remark that Christ was an
imperial exile. BE got down Off
throne. He took off tiara. He closed
a palace gate behind him. His family
were princes and princesses. Vashti
was turned out of the throne room by
Ahasuerus. David was dethroned by
Absalom's infamy. The five kings were
hurled into cavern by Joshua's cour-
age. Some of the Henrys of England
and some of the Louises of France
were jostled on their thrones by dis
contented subjects. But Christ was
never more honored, or more popular,
or more loved than the day Ke left
Heaven. Exiles have suffered severely,
but Christ turned Himself out from
throne room into sheep pen, and
down from the top to the bot
tom. He was 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 depart
ing and descending into an exil 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 exile suf-
fering because He came to save
world. An imperial exile. King eter-
nal. blessing and honor aud glory
and power be unto Him that sitteth
npon the throne"
But l 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
thousands times larger than this.
Christ came to this small Patmos of
world. When exiles are sent out they
are generally sent to regions that are
sandy or cold, or hot-some Dry Tor
tngas of disagreeableness. Christ
came as an exile to a world scorched
with heat and bitten with cold. to
deserts simoon-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 a world-Asia Minor, with
its intense summers, unfit for the
residence of native. Christ came
not to such land as America, or En-
gland, 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 JUS.
2olerable. Obi it was the barren island
of world. Barren enough for Christ,
for 1t gave such small worship and
snch inadequate affection, and such
little gratitude. Imperial exile on the
H. .-,-ax, ;e1a nd Of n world 1ts
4 go further, and tell you that He
was an exile in hostile country. Tur-
kew was never so much against Rus
sia. 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