The Penn's Grove record., 1897-01-08

Prince must put His lips to the bucket Of
the well by the roadside after He had begged
for q drink. Poor2 Born In another
mans barn, and eating at another name
table, and cruising the lake In another mans
fishing smack, and buried in another mans
tomb. Four inspired authors wrote BIS BIZ
ography, and innumerabie lives OF Christ
have been published, but He composed His
autobiography in a most compressed way.
He said, II have troddon the wt1o press
alone"
Poor in the estimation of nearly all the
prosperous classes. They called Him Sab
bath breaker, vino bibber. traitor, bias
phemer and ransacked the dictionary Of OPP
probrium from cover to cover 10 express
their detestation. I can think now Of only
two well to do men who espoused His cause
.-Nicodemus and Joseph OF Arimathea. His
friends for the most part were people who, 10
that climate where ophthalmia or infiamma-
tion of the eyeball sweeps ever and anon
as q scourge, had become blind, sick
people who were anxious to get well, and
troubled people In whose family there was
some one dead or dying. II He had q purse
at all, Il was empty, or We would have heard
what the soldiers did with the contents.
Poor2f The pigeon In the doyecot, the rab-
bit 10 Its burrow, the silkworm In its cocoon,
the bee In its hive Is better provided for,
better OF. better sheltered. Aye. tho brute
creation has a home on earth, which Christ
had not. A poet snys:
II on windy days the raven
Gambol like a dancing skill,
Not the less he loves bis haven
On tho bosom OF the cliff.
II almost with eagle pinion
Der the Alps the chamois roam,
Yet he has some small dominion
Which no doubt he calls his home.
Only those who study this text in two
places can fully realize its power-the holy
Land of Asia Minor and the holy land OF
heaven. l wish that some day you might go
to the Holy Land and take o drink out of
jacobs well, and take a sail on Galilee,
and read the sermon OF the noun while
standing on Olivet, and see the Wilderness
where Christ was tempted, and be some
afternoon On Calvary at about 8 o'clock
the hour at which closed the crucihxion-
and sit Under the sycanores aud by the side
OF brooks, n think and dream and pray
about the poverty Of Him who AMI our
souls to save. But you may be denied
that, and so here, In another continent
and In another hemisphere, and In scenes
as different as possible, we recount as well
we may how poor was our heaveniy Prince.
But In the other holy land above we may all
study the riches that He left behind when He
started for earthly expedition. Come, let us
bargain to meet each other at the door Of
the Fathers mansion, or on the bank OF the
AiNoI JuSt WuCiOr IL Lott1 " tliC
throne, or at the outside gate. Jesus got the
contrast by excbangingthat world forthis; we
will get 1t by exchanging this world for that.
There and then you will understand more OF
the wonders Of the grace Of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who, Though He was rich, yet for
your sakes became poor"
Yes, grace, free grace, sovereign grace,
omnipotent graceI Among the Thousands
OF words in the language there is no more
queenly word. 1t means free and unmerited
kindness. My text has no monopoly of the
word. One hundred and twenty-nine times
does the Bible eulogize grace. 1t Is q door
swung wide open to let into the pardon OF
God all the millions who choose to enter It.
John Newton sang OF 1t when he wrote:
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me-.
Philip Doddridge put itintoa oil hymuology
when he wrote:
Grace, It's a charming sound
Harmonious to the ear.
Heaven with echo shall resound,
And all the earth shall hear.
One Of John Bunyan's great books Is en-.
titled .Grace Astounding" att is oil OF
grace that I am saved as has been on the
lips Of hundreds Of dying Christians. The
boy Sammy was right when, being EXAM
ined for admission into church membership,
he was asked, "Whose work was your saliva
tion?" And he answered, 'Part mine and
part Gods" Then the examiner asked,
''what part did you do. Sammy" And the
He did the restr' Oh. the height Of 1t, the
depth of II. the length of 1t. the breadth Of
1t, the grace OF Godl Mr.. Fletcher hav-
ing written g pamphlet that pleased
the king, the king offered to CON-
pensate him, and Fletcher answered,
.'There is only one thing I want, and that
haa ro 90 nruna 20 lfua hu aud erruno Ia 1ia hp
Grace that saved the publican; that saved
Lydia; that saved the dying thief; that
saved the jailer; that saved me. But the
riches OF that grace will not be fully under
stood until heaven breaks in upon the
soul. An old Scotohman who had been
a soldier In one OF the European wars was
sick and dying In n Of our American
hospitals. His one desire was to see Scotland
and his old home and once again walk
the heather OF the highlands and hear
the bagpipes OF the Scotch regiments. The
night that tho old Scotch soldier died
a young man, somewhat reckless, but
kind-hearted. got q company OF musicians
to come aud play under the old soldiers
window, and among the Instruments there
was a bagpige. The instant that the mu-
sicians began the dying old man In delir-
ium said: .sWhat's that? What's that?
Why, it's the regiments coming home.
That's the tune-yes, that's the tune.
Thank God, I have got home once more.'
"Bonnie Scotland and Bonnie Donn!'
were the last words he uttered as he passed
up to the highlands Of the better country,
and there are hundreds homesick for heay-
en-, some because o have SO nan be-
reavements, ONE because you have so many
some because o have 80
many aiiments-honesick, very homesick
for the fatherlaud Of heaven, and the music
that you want to hear is the song OF
free grace, and the music that you want to
hear when you die is free grace, and
forever before the throne OF God you will
sing of the "grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who, though He was rich, for your sakes be-
came poor"
Yes, yes, for your sakesl 1t was not on a
pleasure excursion that He came, for 1t was
all pain. It was not on an astronomical ex-
ploration, for He knew this world as we'll
before He alIghted as afterward. II was not
because He was compelled to come, for He
volunteered. It was not because it was easy,
for BE knew that It would bethorn and spike
and hunger n thirst and voeiferation of
angry mobs. 'For your sakesr" To wipe
away your tears, to forgive our wrongdo-
ing to companionship your loneliness, 10
soc 10 your sorrows, to sit with you by the
new made grave, to bind up your wounds
in the ugly battle with the world
bring you home at last, kindling
dying vision with the sunlight Of a glorious
morn. ''For your sakesl" No; l will change
that. Paul will not care and Christ will not
care il I change 1t, for 1 must get into the
blessedness OF the text myself, and SO l say,
'For our sakesF' For we all have our
and bereavements and conflicts.
our sakes. We who deserve for our sins
to be expatriated into a world as much
poorer than this, than this earth Is poorer
heaven. For our sakes! But what a
frlghtful coming Down to take US g~loriously
upl
When Artaxerxes was hunting, Tirebazus,
who was attsneing him. showed the king a
rent in his garments. The king said, "How
shall I mend it2" "By giving It TO me-"
said TIrebazus. Then the king gave him the
robe, but commanded him never to wear it,
as 1t would be Inappropriate.
But see the startling Ind comforting fact
our Prince throws of the robe He
only allows US 10 wear 1t, but commands
us to wear IT, and 1t will become us we'll, and
for the poverties OF our spiritual state we
put on the splendors OF heavenly regale-
ment. For our sakesi Oh, the personality
of this religionl Not an abstraction, not an
under which we walk to behold elabo-