The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-10-01
TIE VISION OF THE CHRIST.
CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK.

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robes, its splended palaces but Jesus,
they had heard of Him in that far off
land, and a yearning, strong purpose
10 see Him had arisen within them.
May these words arouse in some
today the same longing desire, the
same conquoring purpose, how and
when shall you see Him ? Now, and
here. In the Bible "It is the Revela
ton of Gods will. Yea in it dwells
the living word and Him we shall be
hold. The emancipation proclama-
ton has been SO written that by .he
shading of the letters the sad, scared
face of Abraham Lincoln is visible
upon the page. $50 he will read the
Bible to little advantage who does not
see from Genesis to Revelation, chief
est and supremest there, the scared
visage Of the Man of Sorrows. See
him as the preacher portrays Him /;
but the preacher must get out Of the
way.
1t is said of Michael Angelo that while
working at his great paintings he placed
a candle in his cap lest his shadow
should be thrown upon his work. So
the spiritual painter must keep self out.
The picture must be SO plain that all
can understand it. A sculptor worked
a long time upon piece of marble to
bring out the image of the Great
Shepherd then he called in little
child and said "who is this, )" she shook
her head All he thought my labor
is in vain, but he spent another season
in careful work upon itand then again
called in the little child and repeated
the question. "Suffer the little ones
to come unto me-" The victory was
complete. Nay more than this, God
must picture that blessed Jesus by
His Divine Spirit
An artist of Greece stepped out of
his studio leaving an unfinished picture
there. Appelles, one of the most re-
nowned painters of that day, came in
and seeing the unfinished picture made
free to take up the brush and complete
it in his own matchless style. When
the artist returned and saw the work
done he exclaimed with JOY, "Apelles
must have been here "
The important qualifications of a
preacher must be to be able to i'm
pressively say "Come; and thus bear
witness powerfully to the saving grace
and mercy of God in His own soul.
But whether the preacher brings Him
or not you must see him within youl
own soul; see him before you as men
see faces in TIE rocks of the noun,
tains, crosses in its SHOWS, towers and
pinnacles in its peaks. Forms in the
clouds, as over the face of nature
shimmers, the light of human visage'
and forms, and pictures and likenesse:
flash upon you from all the panorama
of nature about you. So the face o
the Man of Sorrows with its divine
compassion and its terrible and ever
lasting rebuke of sin must be seen anC
grow in distinctness as you gaze, anC
90 you wiz AotSh YOU VIII lSdl lHS
voice 81 that speak unto thee an
He" But you must be willing to see
Him; you must want to; you mus
feel that If you do not see Him now
and His voice is allowed to contro
and guide your lives in all their mo
tions and doings, the hope to see hin
yonder will be vain and Elusive. He
must be discerned amid the forms ant
faces; the hurryings and rushings anC
tumults of this worlds throngs anc
activities and the ability to discern Hin
must arise out of the uncomfortable
desire in your own soul, divinely i'm
planted, of the firm purpose wrough
out upon the forge of daily trials ano
troubles and the hard knocks of lif,
by the hammer of determination anC
perseverance, &c We must see Jesus,
The language of both man and WON
an-how it had thrilled with greate
earnestness had they dreamed Of th'
value of that sight.
You must remember, dear friends
the inherent beauty and attractivenes.
of Jesus. Our love brightens tn,
beauty of the object of our affections
Men and women stand in rooms o.
galleries by wonderful pictures anc
gaze and admire, but has any one
conceived the raptures of gazing upor
the divine, the surprising lovliness o
Him ''who is the chiefest among ter
thousand and the one altogether love
ly." Men travel very far to look upor
he sublimity of Niagara, the startling
depths of the Yosemite, or the won
ders OF the Yellowstone Park. How
a husband will speed away as upor
the wings of the wind to look into the
closing eyes of her who is dearest tc
him. But do we hasten to gaze upor
the face of earth's best friend, the
Redeemer of our souls
Tesus ought to be more dear be.