Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1899-03-25
CHRIST'S LAST HOUR.
on rALMAeG FINDS LESSONS or ecM.
FORT IN A SAD SCENE.

on rAIMAeg FINDS LESSONS or ccM.
FORT IN A SAD SCENE,
The 0pea, ~, ine says rhat ucas.
ea's nVtnhtes, trawHs shau Admra
che uVaws ~ those " ha Hear t,ite's
Fsaraeas with thsis,ian rorti,1,ts,
tcorsFieht iSp, by American rroHH sos
citation
WARRINGTON. Marh % From the pa
thcilo scene ~ ChFlsl'a last hour of suffer
ins Dr, Talmagc IN this sermon draws
lessons ~ comfort tor ITople Ia troubles
text, John xix, 10, "whon Jesus there.
fore had rsceivcd the vinegar "
Tho hrigands Of Ierusalcm had dons
their work II was almost shutdown, aud
Jesus was dying Persons In eruciis lon
often lingerd on from day "a day, cry ng,
begging, eursinR, but Christ had hevn ex
haustcd by years ~ maltralment. Pin aw-
less. poorly fed, logged, ~ bent over and
tied o. n low post his harr back was In
famed with the scourges intensified with
pieces " lead and hone, and now for whole
hours the weight ~ his body hung on ,eli
cate tendons. and. according 90 custona, n
violent stroke under the armpits had lcen
given by the exccutioncr. Dizzy, nauseat-
ed, fevcrish, world Of agony Is compress.
cd IN the two words, II thirst" oh,
skies 81 Judea. let drop Of rain strika ON
his burning tOnguel oh, world, with roll
ing rivers and sparkling lakes and SPRAY
ing fountains, give Jesus something To
drink II there be any pity In earth or
heaven or hell. lot IL now be- demonstrated
In behalf Of this royal sufferer.
The wealthy women 81 Jerusalem Used
% have u fund OF money with which they
provided wine for those people who lied
In cruciilxion-a powerful opiate Ia dead
On the pain-but Christ would not take H.
He wanted 60 die sober, and so he refused
the wine. But afterward they 20 10 a
cup Of vinegar and soak sponge In 1t and
put IL ON a stick of hyssop and then lircss
IL against the hot lips Of Christ. You say
the wine was an anesthetic and intended
20 relieve or deaden the pain. But the
vinegar was an insult.
Life's Weak spots.
In some lives the saccharine seems TO
predomlnate. Life il sunshine on hank
Of flowers. A thousand hands Ia clal ap-
prevail In December or in January, lDok-
ing across their table, they see all heir
family present Health rubicund, nkies
fiamboyant, days resilient But in great
many cases there are not so many ugars
as acids. The annoyanccs, and the Vexa-
tions, and the disappointmcnts OF life over
power the Successes There Is "A gravel in
almost every shoe An Arabian legend
says that there was a worm In Solon ON :
stan gnawing its strength away, and shcre
is a weak spot in every earthly support
that n man leans on King George OF
England forgot all the grandcurs o.. his
throne because one day in an interview
Beau Brummel called him by his first
name and addressed him as servant. cry
ing, George, ring the bell!" Miss Lang
don, honored all the world over FOR her
poetic genius, is so worried over thu evil
reports set afoat regarding her thai she
IL found dead with an empty bottle Of
prussic acid in her hand. Goldsmith said
that his life was "A wrctched being and
that oil that want and contempt could
bring 90 II had been brought, and cries
out. What. then, Is there formidhl lie in
q jail" Correggio's fine painting Is hung
up for n tavern sign. Hogarth cannot sell
his best painting except through rattle.
Andrea del Sarto makes the great fre.co in
the Church OF the Annunciata at Flor
ence and gets for pay a sack Of corn, and
there are annoyanccs and vexatiors in
high places as well as In low places .lhow-
ing that in a great many lives ase the
eours greater than the sweets. when
Jesus therefore had received the vine gar .
II Is absurd 90 suppose that man who
has always been well can sympathize with
those who are sick, or that one who has
always been honored can appreciate the
-
one who has been born 10 a great fortune
can understand the distress and the straits
Of those who are destitute. The faca that
Christ himself took the vinegar makes
him able 10 sympathize today and forever
with all those whose cup is filleo with
the sharp acids Of this life lie tO'k the
vinegar
The Treachexous Friend.
In the first place, there was the solrness
OF betrayal. The treachery Of Juda. hurt
Christ's feelings more than all the friend
ship OF his disciples did him good You
have had many friends, but there was one
friend upon whom you put especial stress
You toasted him. You loaned him money
You bcfriendcd him in the dark passes OF
life. when he especially needed friend.
Afterward. he turned upon you, and h,
took advantage Of your former intinacics
He wrote against you. He talked against
you. He microscopized your faults. II,
flung contempt Mt you, when you ought q
have received nothing but gratitud. AZ
first you could not sleep at night. Then
you went about with a sense Of having
been stung That difficulty will never bs
healed, for though mutual friends may ar
bitrate I'm the matter until you shall shaks
10. lt.ff
back. Now I commend 10 all su,sh the
sympathy ~ a betrayed Christ. Why, they
sold him for less than our SEQ They all
forsook him and fed. They cut him u
the quick. He drank that cup to the drcgs
He took the vinegar
There is also the sourness OF pain Their
are some of you who have not seen a well
day for many years BY keeping out ol
drafts. and by carefully studying dictetics
you continue 20 this time but oh, the
headaches. and the side aches. ard tn,
backaches, and the heartaches which
have been your accompaniment all the
way through You have struggled un
der n heavy mortgage OF physical dis
abilities, and instead Of the placidity that
once characterized you IL Is now only
with great effort that you keep away from
irritability and sharp retort Difiicultie.
Of respiration. OF digestion, Of locomotion,
make up the great obstacle in your life
and you tug and sweat along the pathway
and wonder when the exhaustion viii end.
My friends. the brightest crowns In heaven
will not be given to those who. in stirrups,
dashed 90 the cavalry charge, while the
general applauded. and the sound OF clash
ing sabcrs rang through the land, hut the
brightest crowns In heaven, believe. will
be given 90 those who trudged on amid
chronic ailments which unncrvel their
strength, yet all the time maintaining
their faith in God. IL Is comparatively
easy TO fight In n regiment Of thousand
men. charging up the parapcts TO the
sound Of martial music, but 10 Is not 50
easy TO endure when no one but the nurse
and the doctor are the witnesses OF the
Christian fortitude Besides that, you
never had any pains worse than Christ =.
The sharpness that stung through his
brain. through his hands, through his feet,
through his heart, were as great as yours