St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-10-13

over thy lip when He babe thee be
still. Tell me. re dead who got up
TO nee him die. Tell me, thou sun
IN midheaveh, who for Him didst pull
down over thy face the veil Of dark
ness. Tell me, ye iepers who were
cleansed, We dead who were raised,
il He the Son Of God7 Aye, aye, re-
spends the universe. The flowers
breathe It, the stars chime 1t, the
redeemed celebrate 1t, the angels rise
| on their thrones to announce it. And
vet on that miserable malefactor's
III" how many shall be wrecked for
all eternity! That little "if'' has
enough venom in it's sting to cause
the end Of the soul. No ''if'' about it.
know it. Ecce Deusl feel it thor
oughly-through every muscle of the
body, and through every faculty Of
my mind, and through every energy
Of my soul. Living, ! will preach it;
dying, / will pillow my head upon
it's consolations-Jesn the God.
Away, then, from this right hand
cross. The red berries of the forest
are apt to be poisonous, and around
this tree of carnage grow the red, poi
sonous berries Of which many have
tasted and died. l can see no use
for this right hand cross, except it be
used as q lever with which to upturn
the unbelief Of the world.
Here from the right-hand cross go
to the left-hand cross. Pass clear to
the other side. That victim also twists
himself upon the nails to look at the
center cross. yet not to scoff. 1t is to
worship. He, too. would like to get
his hand loose, not to smite, but to de-
liver the sufferer of the middle
cross. He cries to the railer cursing
on the other sides "Silence! Between
us is innocence in agony. We suffer
for our crimes. Silence!" Gather
round this left-hand cross, o ye peo-
pie! Be not afraid. Bitter herbs are
sometimes . tonic for the body, and
the bitter aloes that grow on this tree
shall give strength and life to thy
soul. The left-hand cross IL a repent
ing cross. As men who have been
nearly drowned tell us that in one mo-
ment, while they were under the wa
ter. their whole life passed before
them, so suppose in one moment the
dying malefactor thought over all his
past 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 his heart; of that Gay when,
in the lonely pass, he met the way
farer, and, regardless of the cries and
prayers and tears and struggles Of
his victim, he flung the mangled
corpse into the dust OF the highway
or heaped upon it the stones.
He says: Il am a guilty wretch. l
deserve this. There is no need of my
cursing. That will not stop the pain.
There is no need Of disappearing
Christ, for He has done me no wrong.
And yet I cannot die SO. The tortures
Of my body are undone by the tor
lures of my soul. The past is scene
Of misdoing, the present a crucifixion,
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 I must
turn to my companion in sorrow, the
One on the middle cross. have heard
that He knows how to help a man
when he is in trouble. 1 have heard
that He can cure the wounded. / 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. Wilt
thou turn for the moment away from
Thy own pangs to pity me? Lord. it
II 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. I confess it all. Hear the cry
Of the dying thief: Lord. remember
me when Thou contest into Thy king
DOM ask no great things. I seek
for no throne in Heaven, no chariot
to take me to the skies. but inst think
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 welcome
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 must we repent. You say:
ST have stolen nothing" reply:
1--WE have all been guilty Of the
mightiest felony of the universe. for
we have robbed God-robbed Him Of
our talent, robbed Him Of our serv-
ices" 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 another firm. but
taking your salary, would you not at
once condemn him as dishonest? God
sent us into this world to serve Him.
He has given us wages all the time.
Yet how many Of us have been serv-
ing another master! When man is
convicted of treason he is brought
out; q regiment surrounds him. and
the command is given: Attention.
company! Take aim! Fire!" And the
man falls with a 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.
This left hand cross was believing
cross. There was no guesswork in that
PRAYER. no eff in that supplication.
The left hand cross flung itself at the
foot Of the middle cross, expecting
mercy. Faith is only just opening the
hand to take what Christ offers us.
The work il all done; the bridge is
built strong enough for us al to walk
over. Tap not At the door Of Gods
mercy with the tip OF your fingers, but
as . warrior with gauntleted fists at
the castle gate. So with all the aroused
energies Of our souls let us pound at the
gate OF Heaven. That gate is locked.
You 70 to it with bunch of keys. You
try philosophy. That will not open 1t.
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