The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1900-09-20

other side. lhdJ Nlctlii aioO -
| self unon the nails to look at the centre
oul w vet not to scott. 1t is to worship.
He Too, would like to get his hand loose,
~ IN smite but to deliver the sufferer
| Of the middle cross. He cries to the rail-
or cursing on the other side: Silence!
Between us innocence in agony, we
suffer for our crimes. SILENCE! 1aCIef
ronr This left hand cross, o We people!
Re not afraid Bitter herbs are some
times a tonic for the brain, and the bitter
aloes that grow on this tree shall give
/ strength and life to thy soul. This lett
Inland cross is a repenting cross.
As men who have been nearly drowned
tell us that in one moment, Whiie they
were under water, their whole lite passed
before them, so I suppose IN one moment
| the diving malefactor thought over all his
mast life-of that night when he went
| into an unguarded door and took all the
silver. the gold, the jewels and as the
| sleeper stirred he put knife through MS
heart: of that day when, in the lonely
pass. he met the wayfarer and regardless
of the cries and prayers and tears ana
struggles of his victim ne flung the man.
cled corpse into the dust of the highway
or heaped upon it the stones. he says:
81 am a guilty wretch; I deserve this,
There is no need of nv cursng. That Will
not stop the pain. There is no need OF
blaspheming Christ, for He has done me
no wrong, and yet l cannot die so. The
fortunes of my body are undone by the
of misdoing. The present cruclflxlon.
The future an everlasting undoing.- Come
back thou hiding midday sun! Kiss. my
cheek with one bright ray Of comfort.
What no help from above-no help from
beneath? Then l must turn to my com
nanion in sorrow the One on the MD
die cross. I have heard that He knows
how to help 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 down the earth He never saw one
more in need of His forgiveness; Blessed
One! I turn to Thee! Wilt Thou turn
for the moment away from Thy own
pangs to pity me? Lord. it is not to have
my hands relieved or my feet taken from
the torture. I 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- ! confess it all. Hear the cry OF the
diving thief, Lord remember me when
Thou CONTEST into Thy kingdom l ask
no great things | seek for no throne In
heaven, no chariot to take me to the
skies, but just think of me when this days
horrors have passed. Think of me little
of me, the one now hanging at Thy SIDE
|
takes Thee back into Thy glory. Thou
wilt not forget me, wilt Thou? Lord,
remember me when Thou contest into
Thy kingdom Only Just remember me-.
Likewise AUST we repent. You say, Il
have stolen nothing" / reply: We have
all been guilty of the mghtiest felony OF
the universe, for we have robbed Cod
robbed Him of our time, robbed Him Of
our talent, robbed Him of our services"
! Suppose you send a man out as an agent
of your firm and every month you pay
him his salary. and 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-
est? 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; a
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 a time in a mans history when the
| Lord calls up the troop of his iniquities,
and at Gods command they pour into
him concentrated volley of torture.
To this middle cross look that your
souls may live. | showed you the right
hand cross in order that you might see
what an awful thing it is 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 to save
your soul. Poets have sung its praise,
sculptors have attempted to commemor-
ate it in marble, martyrs have chung to it
| in the fire and Christians dying quietly
in their beds have leaned their heads
against it.
This Aour may all our souls embrace it
with an ecstasy of affection. Lay hold of
that cross. Everything else will fail you.
| Without strong grip on that you perish.
| Put your hand on that and you are safe,
though a world swing from beneath your
feet.
Oh, that I might engrave on your souls
ineffaceably the three crosses, so that if
in your waking moments you will 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 unbelief, dying without Christ;
the left hand showing what it is to be
| pardoned, while the central cross pours
upon your soul the sunburst of heaven as
it says: "By all these wounds | plead for
thy heart. | have loved thee with an
everlasting love. Rivers cannot quench it.
Floods cannot drown it."
But, no; we will not wait for such a
| dream. In this our most aroused mood
we throw down at the foot of that mid
die cross sin, sorrow, life, death-every-
thing. We are slaves; Christ give deliv-
erance to the captive. We are thirsty;
Christ is the river OF salvation to slake
our thirst. We are hungry; Jesus says,
Il am, the bread Of life" We are con
demhed to die; Christ says, "Save that
man from going down to the pit; l am the
ransom" We are. tossed ON the sea OF
| trouble; Jesus comes over it, saying, at
is /; be not afraid" We are in darkness;
JESUS Says, 81 am the bright and morning
star" We are sick; Jesus is the balm
of Gilead." II
We are dead; hear the shrouds rend
and the grave hillocks heave, as He cries,
II am the resurrection and the life; he
that believeth in Me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live" We want justif.
cation: 'EBeing justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ" We want to exercise
faith; Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved" want to get
from under condemnation; There is now,
therefore, no condemnation to them who
are in Christ Jesus" The cross-He car
ried it, The flames of hell-He suffered
them. The shame-He endured it. The
| III - r