Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1900-07-06
FRUITS OF VICTORY.
Dr.. Talmage Discourses on the Re-
wards of Faithful Endeavor.
Lesson of Christ I'm Overcoming OH
stncles Which Beset His Followers
-satisfactiOn In Completion
of Good work.
copyright, 1900, by Louis Klopsch,]
NNagltnatAa


In an unusual way the antagonisms
that Christ overcame and finds a bal
sam for all wounded hearts; text,
John II: 4: II have finished the
work which Thou gavest Me to do
There is a profound satisfaction in
the completion of anything we have
undertaken. We lift the capstone
with exultation, while, on the. other
hand, there is nothing more disap-
pointing than after having toiled in
certain direction to find that our time
is wasted and our investment profit
less. Christ came TO throw up Il high
way on which the whole world might,
If it chose, mount into Heaven. He
did it. The foul-mouthed crew who at
tempted to tread on Him could not
extinguish the sublime satisfaction
which He expressed when He said: 81
have finished the work which Thou
gavest Me to do"
Alexander the Great was wounded,
and the doctors could not medicate
his wounds, and he seemed to be dy-
ing, and in his dream the sick man
saw a plant with peculiar flower,
and he dreamed that the plant was
put upon his wound and that imme-
diately IL was cured. And Alexander,
waking from his dream, told this to
the physician, and the physician wan
dered out until he found just the kind
of plant which the sick man had de-
scribed, brought it to him, and the
wound was healed. Well, the human,
race has been hurt with the ghast-
liest of all wounds-that of sin. 1t
was the business of Christ to bring a
balm for that wound-the balm of Di-
vine restoration. In carrying this
business to successful issue the diff
ficulties were stupendous.
In many Of our plans we have our
friends to help us; some to draw
sketch OF the plan, others to help us
in the execution. But Christ fought
every inch of His way against bitter
hostility and amid circumstances all
calculated to depress and defeat.
In the first place, His worldly oc-
cupation was against Him. find that
lie earned His livelihood by the car
penter's trade-an occupation always
20 be highly regarded and respected.
But you know as well as / do that in
order to succeed in any employment
one must give his entire time to it,
and l have to declare that the ia
tigues of carpentry were unfavorable
to THE execution OF mission which
required all mental and physical fac
ulties. Through high, hard, dry,
husky, insensate Judaism to hew a
way for new and glorious dispensa-
ton was a stupehdous undertaking
that was enough TO demand all the
concentrated energies even Of Christ.
We have agreat many romantic stor-
les about what men with physical toll
have accomplished in intellectual de-
partments, but you know that after n
man has been toiling all day with
duI anu paw anu hulhihtl, pldnc anu
ak, about all he can do is to rest.
A weary body is an unfavorable ad-
junct to a toiling mind. You, whose
life is purely mechanical, if you were
called to the upbuilding of king
dom, or the proclamation of new
code of morals, or the starting of a
revolution which should upturn all ma
tions, could get some idea of the in
conference of Christ's occupation with
His heavenly mission.
In His fathers shop no more inter-
course was necessary than is ordi-
narily necessary in bargaining with
men that have work to do; yet
Christ, with hands hard from use of
tools of trade, was called forth to be-
come public speaker, to preach in
the face of mobs, while some wept
and some shook their fists and some
gnashed upon Him with their teeth,
and many wanted Him out of the way.
To address orderly and respectful as
semblages is not so easy as it may
seem, but it requires more energy
and more force and more concentra-
ton to address an exasperated mob.
The village of Nazareth heard the
pounding of His hammer, but all the
wide reaches of eternity were to hear
the stroke of His spiritual upbuilding.
So also His habit of dress and diet
were against Him. The mighty men
Of Christ's time did not appear in ap-
parel without trinkets and adorn-
ments. None of the Caesars would
have appeared in citizens apparel.
Yet here was a man, here was a pro-
fessed king, who always wore the
same coat. Indeed, it was far from
shabby, for after He had worn 1t a
long while the gamblers thought It
worth rafting about, but still it was
far from being an imperial robe. 1t
was a coat that any ordinary man
might have worn on an ordinary oc-
casion.
Neither was there any pretense in
His diet. No cupbcarcr with golden
chalice brought Him wine to drink,
On the seashore He ate fish, first hav-
ing broiled it Himself No one
fetched Him water to drink: but
bending over the well in Samaria, he
begged a drink. He sat at only one
banquet and that not at all sumptu.
Gus, for to relieve the awkwardness
of the host one of the guests had to
prepare wine for the company.
Other kings rode in chariot; He
walked, Other kings as they advance
have heralds and applauding sub
jects behind; Christ's retinue was
made up of sunburned fishermen
Other kings sleep under embroidered
canopy; this one on shelterless hill
Riding but once, as far as l now re-