Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1900-09-19
SERMON
Rev.. Dr.. calnlaa:

Wv. Df. CaImaa''
Subject: Lessons to BE Learned From the
Three Crosses-On Right Unbelief and
Romorse. on Left Penitenoe and Con-
tent, In tho Centre Everlasting Love.
loopyriaht lsoaI
WASHINGTON, D. G. = The famous
paintings in the picture galleries OF Mu.
Mich seem to have suggested the topic OF
.his discourse, which DR.. Talmage sends
from the quaint Bavarian town, but the
theme which inspired the painters awak
ems in the great preacher. thoughts OF
the redemption of the human race, which
was the supreme design Of that scene OF
suffering and. death. The text is Luke
the malefactors, one on the right hand
and the other on the left.
Just outside of Jerusalem is swell of
ground, toward which a crowd are ascend
ing, for it is the day of execution. What
a mighty assemblage! Some for curiosity
to see how they will act. The three per
sons to be executed are already there.
Some of the spectators are vile of lip and
bloated of cheek. Some look up with re-
venge,. hardly able to keep, their hands
off the sufferers: Some tear their. own
fsilent horror. Some break out into un7
controllable weeping. Some clap their
hands in delight that the offenders are to
be punished at last The soldiers with
drawn swords drive back the mob, which
presses on 30 hard. There is fear that the
proceedings. may be interrupted. Let the
legion. now stationed at Jerusalem, on
horseback, dash fIong the line and force
back the surging multitude. Back with
you!" is the cry. Have you never before
seen a man dfey
Three crosses in rowan upright
piece and two transverse pieces, one at
the top, on which the hands are nailed,
and one at the middle, on which the vic
tim sat. Three trees just planted, yet
bearing fruit-the one at the right bear
ing poison, and the one at the left bitter
aloes; the one in the middle, apples of
: love. Norway pine and tropical orange
and Lebanon cedar would not make so
strange a grove as this orchard of Cal
; vary. Stand back and give a look at the
three crosses.
, Just look at the cross on the right. Its
victim dies scofing. More awful than his
physical anguish is his scorn and hatred
of Him on the middle cross. This wrctched
: man turns half around on the spikes to
hiss at the One in the middle. If the scot
, fer could get one hand loose. and he were
within reach, he would smite the middle
sufferer in the face. He hates Him with
| a perfect hatred. / think he wishes he
/ were down on the ground that he might
. spear Him. He envisS the mechanics who
Amid the settling darkness and louder
than the crash of the rocks hear him Jeel
out these words: "Ah, you poor wretch
l knew you were an imposter. You pre-
= tended to be God. and yet you let thes,
j legions master you" 1t was in some SUD
!, cause lie thought he saw Christ in his bed
. room, got up on his elbow and cried ont
+ Crush that wretch" What had th
q middle cross done to arouse up this righ
!, hand cross? Nothing. Oh, the enmit,
Y of the natural heart against Christ! Tn
' lanthropic Christ, but Christ who come
= to snatch men away from their sins-awa
= with Him! On this right hand cross to
day l see typified the unbelief OF tn
d world. Men say: Back with Him fror
J. the heart! l will not let Him take m
sins. If He will die. let Him die for Him
8 self, not for me-" There has always bee
e a war between this right hand cross an
n the middle cross, and wherever there
l. an unbelieving heart, there the fight goe
y perished, the faithlessness of man ha
e persisted, then that tree which yields po
:. son would have budded and blossome
:, with life for all the world.
y Look up into that disturbed count
q nance of the sufferer and see what
=. hold IN that awful face, in that pitif'
look, in that unblessed death hour, I'll
e stings of that sinners departure, WI;
lr plunge into darkness! Standing hig
j. upon the cross on the top OF the hill, )
:, that all the world may look at him, |
u says, Here 1 go out OF a miserable Ii
n into wretched eternity" One, tw
three! Listen to the crash of the fall. a
a We ages! So Hobbies, dying after he ha
, seventy years in which to prepare ft
o, world would give it all to live one da
-e longer" Sir Francis Newport. hoverir
over the brink, cried out: wretch that
=, am, whittier shall fly from this breast
ID What will become of me: Oh, that
So were to lie upon the fire that never
:; the favor of God and to be reconciled {
~ Him again! Oh, eternity; oh, eternit,
Who can discover the abyss of eternity
Who can parsphrase these words, 'Fo
ever and fpreyer?"
:. That right hand cross-thousands ha,
u persisted on it in worse agonies. FL
X what is physical pain compared to r
j. morse at the last, that life has bee
NJ wasted and only 6eeting moment stant
v throw? % God, let me die. .anywhei
a rather than at the foot of that right han
I'd cross! Let not one drop of that bloc
- ~ fall upon my cheek. ,Rend not my e'
g fore-the loathsomeness and horror of n
es unbelief. That dying malefactor was NJ
II. 30 much to blame as l. Christianity WI
- not established, and perhaps not unit
r. But after Christ had stood almost 10
he years, working the wonders OF His grac
~. you reject Him.
40 That right hand. cross, with it's foI
I'd beam. overshadows all the earth. 1t
he planted in the heart of the race. W.ht
as will the time come when the spirit OF &c
no shall, with its AK, hew down that rigl
- hand cross until it shall fall at the foot
that middle cross and unbelief, the Ia
ing malefactOr of the world, shall peri.
from all our hearts? Away from me. th'
,, spirit of unbelief! | hate thee. WI
C. thrust thee through! Down to hel
.r- Down, most accursed monster of Il
-. earth and talk to those thou hast alreac
" damned. Talk no longer to these sons
ne God, these heirs of heaven.
ad "If Thou be the Son of God" W
ih star, that in robe Of light did run
'ir point out His birthplace Tell me, tn,
sea, that didst put thy hand over thy
when He bade thee be still. Tell me,
dead who got nR Il him wbe d,e fas ae
re didst pull down over thy face the veil
nx darkness. Tell me, ye lepers who we
"a cleansed, We dead who were raised, is
the Son of God? Aye, ayei responds {
ty universe The flowers breathe it; t
90 stars chime it; the redeemed celebrate
f. the angels rise on their thrones to a
nounce it. And yet on that miserat
malefactor's "if' how many shall
wrecked for all eternity! That little 81
has enough venom in its sting to cause t
oil death of the soul. No if about it.
., know it. Ecce Deus l feel it thorough
through every muscle of the body al
en- through every faculty of my mind al
fic through every energy of my soul. Livir
nd l will preach it; dying, | will pillow I
-. head upon it's consolations-Jesus Il
- God.
Away. then, from this right hand GRO
The red berries of the forest are apt
be poisonous, and around this tree of CT
mage grow the red, poisonous berries
which MANY have tasted and died C