Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-08-12

Jesus advancing TO the rescue. want
to show that when Isaiah called Christ
the Wonderful, he spoke wisely.
In most houses there is a picture OF
Christ. Sometimes it represents him
with face effeminate; sometimes with a
face despotic. i have seen Vests
grand sketch of the rejection of Christ
/ have seen the face Of Christ as cut
on an emerald. said to be by command
OF Tiberius Caesar; and yet / am con-
WINGED that | shall never know how
Jesus looked until, on that sweet Sab
bath morning, | shall wash the last
sleep from my eyes in the cool river OF
heaven. take up this book of divine
photographs, and l look at Lukes
sketch, at Marks sketch, at Johns
sketch, and at Paul's sketch, and say.
with Isaiah, Wonderful"
l think that you are all interested In
the story of Christ. You feel that he
is the only one who can help you. You
have unbounded admiration for the
commander who helped his passengers
! ashore while he himself persisted, but
have you no admiration for him who
rescued our souls, himself falling back
into the waters from which he had
saved us?
Christ was wonderful in the mag
netism of his person.
After the battle of Antietam, when
a general rode along the lines, although
the soldiers were lying down exhausted,
! they rose with great enthusiasm and
huzzaed. AS Napoleon returned from
his captivity, his first step on the wharf
shook all the kingdoms, and two hun
dred and fifty thousand men joined his
standard. 1t took three thousand
troops to watch him in his exile. So
there have been men of wonderful mag
netism of person. But hear me while
tell you Of a poor young man who
came up from Nazareth to produce a
thrill such as has never been excited
by any other. Napoleon had around
him the memories of Austerlitz and Je-
ma, and Badajos; but here was a man
who had fought no battles; who wore
no epaulettes; who brandished no
sword. He is no titled man of the
schools. for he never went to school.
He had probably never seen prince,
or shaken hands with a nobleman. The
only extraordinary person we know OF
as being in his company was his own
mother, and she was so poor that in
the most delicate and solemn hour that
ever comes to a woman's soul she was
obliged to lie down amid camel drivers
grooming the beasts of burden.
imagine Christ one day standing in
the streets of Jerusalem. A man de-
scended from high lineage is standing
beside him, and says, "My father was
merchant prince; he had castle on
the beach at Galilee. Who was your
father?" Christ answers, Joseph, the
carpenter" A man from Athens is
standing there unrolling his parchment
of graduation, and says to Christ,
Where did you go to SCHOOL," Christ
answers, Il never graduated" Aha!
the idea of such an unheralded young
man attempting to command the at
tention of the world! AS well some
little fishing village on Long Island
shore attempt to arraign New York
Yet no sooner does he set his foot in
the towns or cities Of Judea than every
thing is in commotion. The people
go out on a picnic, taking only food
enough for the day, yet are so fascinat-
ed with Christ that, at the risk of starv-
ing, they follow him out into the will
derness. A nobleman falls down fiat
before him, and says, my daughter is
dead" A beggar tries to rub the dim
ness from his eyes and says, Lord, that
my eyes may be opened" A poor, sick
painting woman pressing through the
crowd. says, 81 must touch the hem Of
his garment" Children, who love
their mother better than any one else.
struggle to get into his arms, and to
kiss his cheek, and to run their fingers
through his hair, and for all time put
ting Jesus so in love with the little ones
that there is hardly nursery in Chris
tendon from which he does not take
one. saying, 81 must have them; will
fill heaven with these; for every cedar
that plant in heaven l will have fifty
white lilies. In the hour when was
a poor man in Judea they were not
ashamed of me. and now that I have
come to throne l do not despise
them. Hold II not back, oh. weeping
mother; lay 1t on my warm heart. OF
such is the kingdom of heaven"
What is this coming down the road
A triumphal procession. He is seated
not in a chariot. but on an ass; and
yet the people take off their coats and
throw them in the way. oh, what
time Jesus made among the children,
among the beggars among the fisher
men, among the philosophers! You
may boast OF self-control. but IL you
had seen him you would have put your
arms around his neck and said, Thou
art altogether lovely"
Jesus was wonderful in the oppostes
and seeming antagonisms of his nature.