The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-04-12
DIR, .TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE eYTHE NOTED
DIVINE.


TEXT: "When Jesus therefore had re-
,eived the vinegar. xix, 80.
The brigands OF Jerusalem had done their
work. It was almost sundown, and Jesus
was dying. Persons in crucifxion often
fingered on from day to day, crying, beg
zing, cursing, but Christ had been ex-
hausted by years Of fmaltreatment. Pillow
less, poorly fed, fogRed-as bent over and
| tied to low post His bare back was in
| famed with the scourgas intensified with
pieces OF lead and bone-and now for whole
| hours the weight Of His body hung on deli
cate tendons, and. according to custom, q
| violent stroke under the armpits had been
given by the executioner. Dizzy, nausea
| ted, fevertsh-a world OF agony Is com
| crossed In the two words, II thirst" o
skies OF Judea, let drop OF rain strike on
his burning tonguel world, with rolling
rivers and sparkling lakes and spraying
fountains, give Jesus something to drink
II there be any pity in earth or heaven or
| hell, let 1t now be demonstrated in behalf
Of this royal sufferer.
The wealthy women OF Jerusalem used
| 70 have fund Of money with which they
provided wine for those people who died
In cruciaxlon, q powerful opiate to deaden
The pain, but Christ would not take 1t. He
wanted to die sober, and so He refused the
vinegar and soak sponge In 1t and put 1t
On stick OF hyssop and then" press It
against the hot lips Of Christ. You say the
| wine was IN anesthetic and intended to re-
Ileve or deaden the pain. But the vinegar
was an insult.
In some lives the saccharlne seems to
| predominate. Life is sunshine on bank
Of flowers. Athousand hands to clap ap-
proval. In December or in January, look
Ing across their table, they see all their
family present. Health rubicund. Skies
hamboyant. Days resilient. But in a
great many cases there are not 80 many
ve1ations and the disappointments Of life
overpower the successes. There Is q
gravel in almost every shoe. An Arabian
legend says that there was O worm in
Solomon's staff, gnawing its strength
away, and there Is weak spot in every
earthly support that q man leans on. King
George Of England forgot all the graudeurs
OF his throne because one day, IN an inter.
view, Beau Brummel called him by his first
Ing, "George, ring the bell!" Miss Lang
Ion, honored all the world over for
her poetic genius, is so worried over the
evil reports set afloat regarding her that
she Is found dead, with an empty bottle OF
prussic acid In her hand. Goldsmith said
that his life was a wretched being and that
all that want and contempt could bring to
1t had been brought and cries out: "What,
then, is there formidable in a Ja!l?" Cor
reggio's fine painting is hung up for a
tavern sigl. Hogarth cannot sell hfs best
del Sarto makes the great fresco In the
Church Of the Annunciata at Florence and
gets for pay a sack Of corn, and there are
annoyances and vexations in high places
as we'll as In low places, showing that In a
great many lives are the sours greater than
the sweets. "When Jesus therefore had re-
ceived the vinegarP'
It Is absurd to suppose that man who
has always been we'll can sympathizs with
those who are sick, or that one who has al
ways been he nored can appreciate the sor-
who has been born to great fortune can
understand the distress and the straits OF
those who are destitute. The fact that
Christ Himself TOOK the vinegar makes Him
able to sympathize to-day and forever WITT
the sharp acids Of this life. he took the
vinegar.
In the first place, there was the sourness
of betrayal. The treachery OF Judas hurt
Cbrist'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
feasted him. You loaned him money. You
befriended him In the dark passes of life,
when lie especially needed friend. After
ward he turned upon you, and he took ad-
vantage of your former intimacies. He
wrote against you. He talked against you.
He microscopizsd your faults. He flung
contempt at you, when you ought to have
received nothing but gratitude. At first,
you could not sleep at nights. Then you
went about with sense Of having been
stung. That difficulty will never be healed,
for. though mutual friends may arbitrate
in the matter until you shall shake hacds,
the old cordiality will never come back.
Now commend to all such the sympathy
for less tba- our s20! They all forsook Him
and fed. They cut Him TO the quick. He
drank that cup to tie dregs. He took the
vinegar.
There Is also the sourness Of pain. There
are some OF you who have not seen we'll
day for many years. By keeping out OF
drafts and by carefully studying dietetics
you continue to this time, but, oh. the
headaches, and the side aches, and the
back aches, and the heartaches wbich1have
been your accompaniment all the way
through! You have struggled under u
heavy mortgage OF physical disabilities,
and instead Of the placidity that once
characterized you it Is now only with
great effort that you keep away from II
ritabiIity and sharp reto-s. Difficulties ot
respiration, OF digestion, Of locomotion,
make up the great obstacle In your life,
and you tug and swea: along the pathway
and wonder when the exhaustion will
end. My friends, the brightest crowns In
heaven will not be given to those who in
stirrups dashed to the cavalry charge,
while the General applauded and the sound
Of clashins saber5 rang through the land,
but the brightest crowns In heaven, I be-
lieve, will be given to those who trudged
on amid chronic ailments which unnerved
their strength, yet all the time maintain
ing their faith il God. It Is comparative
ly easy to fight n regiment OF q thousand
men, charging up tie parapets to the
sound OF martial music, but 1t Is not so
easy to endure when no one but the nurse
aid the doctor are the witnesses OF the
Christian fortitude. All the panSs OF all
the nations Of ull the ages comprtsssd jn-
to one SOUR cup. He took the vim
eGarl
There is also tho scur2ess CT poverty.
Your income does not meet your outgoings,
and that always gives an honest man anS-
iety. There is no sign OF destitution about
you-peasant appearance and cheeriui
home for you-but God only knows what
time YOU have had to manage your private
finances. Just as the bills run up tie
wages seem to run down. You may say
nothing, but life to you Is hard push, and
when YOU sit down with your wife and tax
over the>expenses you both rise U? dis
couraged. You abridge here, and you
abrldge there, and you get things snug for
smooth sailing. ard. 10, suddenly there IS Il
large doctors bill to pay, or you have lost
Your pocketbook, or some debtor has failed,
and you nre thrown abeam end. Well, broth
er, you are in glorious company. Christ
owned not the house iu which He stopped,
or the colt On which He rode. or the boat
in which He sailed. He lived Ii bor-
rowed house. lie was huric1 in bor-