The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1900-09-14

silver, the gold, the Jewels, and as the
sleeper stirred he put a knife through his
pass, he met the wayfarer and regardless
Of the cries and prayers and tears and
struggles OF his victim he flung the man
gled corpse into the dust of the highway
or heaped upon II the stones. lie says:
Il am guilty wretch; deserve this,
There is no need OF my eursing. That viii
not stop the pain. There is no need Of
blaspheming Christ, for He has done me
no wrong, and vet i cannot die so. The
tortures OF my body are undone by the
tortures of my soul. The past is scene
OF mlsdoing. The present crueitxion.
The future an everlasting undong. Come
back. thou hiding midday SUM- Kiss my
cheek with one bright ray of comfort.
What, no help from above-no help from
beneath Then / must turn 10 my com
panion in sorrow, the One on the mid
die cross. | have heard that He knows
how to help a man when he is in trouble.
have heard that He can cure the wound
ed. have heard that He can pardon the
sinner. Surely, in all His wanderings up
and dowr the earth He never saw one
more in need OF His forgiveness, Blessed
One turn 20 Thee, Wilt Thou turn
for the moment away from Thy own
pangs to pity me? Lord, IL is not TO have
my hands relieved or my feet taken from
the torture. l can stand all this, but, oh,
my sins, my sins, my sins, they pierce me
through and through They tell me /
must die forever They will push me out
into the darkness unless Thou wilt help
me. l confess II all. Hear the cry of the
diving thief, Lord, remember me when
Thou comest into Thy kingdom. l ask
no great things. / seek for no throne IN
heaven, no chariot to take me TO the
skies, but Just thi~k OF me when this days
horrors have passed. Think of me little
of me, the one now hanging at Thy side
when the shout of heavenly welcomes
takes Thee back into Thy glory. Thou
wilt not forget me, wilt Thou Lord,
remember me when Thou comest into
Thy kingdom Only just remember me"
Likewise .au-t we repent. You say, II
have stolen nothing i reply: We have
all been guilty. of the ,mightlest felony OF
the universe, for we have robbed God
robbed Him OF our time, robbed Him of
our talent, robbed Him OF our services
Suppose YOU send man out as an agent
of your firm and every month you pay
him his salary, an at the end OF ten years
you find out that he has been serving an.
other firm, but taking your salary, would
you not at once condemn HIM as dlshon-
esty God sent us into this world TO serve
Him He has given US wages all the time.
Yet how many of us have been serving
another master! When a man is con
victed OF treason he is brought out;
regiment surrounds him and the command
is given: Attention, company! Take
aim Fire" And the man falls with
hundred bullets through his heart. There
comes time in a mans history when the
Lord calls up the troop of his inlqulties.
and at Gods command they pour into
him concentrated volley OF torture.
You say, II don't feel myself to be
sinner" That may be. Walk, along 10y
the cliffs, and you see sunlight and flow
ers at the mouth of the cave, but take a
torch and 20 in. and before you have gone
far you see the flashing eye OF a wild beast
or hear the hiss OF serpent. 50 the
heart seems in the sunlight of worldhness,
but as | wave the torch of Gods truth
and 90 down into the dep cavern of the
hoart-aDas, for the bristling horrors and
the rattilng fangs! Have YOU ever no.
ticed the climax IN this passage of Scrip
ture, THE heart is deceitful." That
seems enough. But the passage goes on
and says, The heart is decetful above all
things.' Will you not say that ~ enough!
But the passage goes on further and says,
"'rhe heart is deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked If we could
see the true condition of the unpardoned
before God, what wringing OF hands there
would be, What a thousand voiced shrek
Of supplication and despair! But you are
a sinner, sinner. i speak not TO the per
son who sits next TO you, but TO you. You
are a sinner. All the transgressions of a
lifetime have been gathered up into an
avalanche. AZ any moment 1T may slip
from the cliffs and crush you forever.
May the Lord Almighty by His grace,
help US TO repent OF our sins while re-
pentance is possible.
To this middle cross look, that your
souls may live. j showed you the right
hand cross IN order that you might see
what an wful thing IT II to be unbeliev-
ing ] showed you the left hand cross
that YOU might see what IT is TO repent.
Now ! show you the middle cross that
you may see what Christ has done 20 save
your soul. Poets have sung It's praise,
sculptors have attempted to commemor-
ate it in marble, martyrs have clung 10 1t
in the fire and Christians dying quietly
in their beds have leaned their heads
against il.
This .our may all our souls embrace it
with an ecstasy of affection Lay hold OF
that cross. Everything else will fail you.
Without a strong grip on that you perish.
Oh, that | might engrave on your souls
ineiiaceably the three crosses, so that II
in your waking moments you viii not
heed, then IN your dreams at night you
may see on the hill back of Jerusalem the
three spectacles -- the right hand cross
showing unbelef, dying without Christ;
the left hand showing what 1t IL TO be
pardoned, while the central cross pours
upon your soul the sunburst OF heaven as
il says: by al these, wounds | plead for
thy heart ! have loved thee with an
everlasting love. Rivers cannot quench IT
Floods cannot drown It,"
And while you look, the right hand
cross will fade out Of sight, and then the
Ieft will be gone and nothing will remain
but the middle cross, and even that IN
your dream will begin 10 change until II
becomes a throne, and the worn face OF
Calvary will become radiant with glad
ness, and instead OF the mad mob at the
foot Of the cross will be worshpful null
titude, kneeling. And you and ] viii be
among them.
But. no: we will not wait for such
dream. In this our most aroused mood
we throw down al the foot Of that mid
die cross sin sorrow, life, death--eveTy-
thing We are slaves; Christ give deliv-
erance 10 the captive. We are thirsty;
Christ s the river OF salvation % slake
our thirst. We are hpngy Jesus says,
Il am the bread Of life" We are con-
demned 20 die; Christ says. Save that
man from going down to the pit; am the
We are tossed on the sea Of
trouble; jesus comes O,cr u, saying, 1t
IL I be not afraid" We are in darkness;
Jesus says, Il am the bright and morning
star We are SICK; Jesus u the balm
Of G. lead"
We are dead hear the shrouds rcnd
and the grave hIllocks heave, az lie cries,
Il am the resurrection ana the lite; he
that believeth IN Ne, though he were
dead. vet shall be live" We want justifi.
cation: Being justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ" We want 90 exercise
faith: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt he saved" want 20 get
from under condemnation; There is nov,
therefore. no condemnation 20 them who
are IN Christ Jesus" The crOss-He car.