The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1901-05-02

when the sun was eclipsed. The fowl
at MONDAY went to their perch, and
we felt a gloom as we looked at the
astronomical wonder. It was a dark
day in London when the plague was
at it's height, and the dead with uncov-
cred faces were taken in open carts
and dumped in the trenches. It was
a dark day when the earth opened and
Lisbon sank, but the darkest day since
the creation of the world was when the
carnage of Calvary was enacted.
II was about noon when the curtain
began to be drawn. 1t was the swing
ing of great gloom all around the
heavens. God hung it. AS when there
is dead one in the house you bow
the shutters or turn the lattice, so
God in the afternoon shut the windows
of the world. AS it is appropriate to
throw a black pail upon the coffin as
it passes along, so it was appropriate
that everything should be somber that
day as the great hearse of the earth
rolled on, bearing the corpse OF the
King. A mans last hours are ordi-
narily kept sacred. However you may
have hated or caricatured a man, when
you hear he is dying silence puts its
hands on your lips, and you would
have loathing for the man who could
stand by deathbed making faces and
scoffing. But Christ in His last hour
cannot be left alone. What, pursuing
Him yet after SO long pursuit? You
have been drinking His tears. Do you
want to drink His blood? They come
up closely, SO that notwithstanding the
darkness they can glut their revenge
with the contortions of His counte-
nance. They examine His feet. They
want to feel for themselves whether
those feet are really spiked. They put
out their hands and touch the spikes
and bring them back wet with blood
and wipe them on their. garments.
Women stand there and weep, but can
do no good. 1t is no place for the ten
der-hearted women. 1t wants heart
that crime has turned into granite.
The waves of mans S hatred and of helrs
| vengeance dash up against the man
gled feet, and the hands of sin and
pain and torture clutch for his holy
heart. Had he not been thoroughly
fastened to the cross they would have
| torn Him down and trampled Him
| with both feet. How the cavalry
| horses arched their necks and champed
their bits and reared and shifted at
| the blood! Had Roman officer called
out for light, his voice would not
have been heard in the tumult. but
louder than the crash of spears. and
the wailing of womanhood, and the
neighing of the chargers, and the bel
lowing of the crucifiers, there comes
voice crashing through--loud, clear,
overwhelming, terrific. 1t is the groan-
ing of the dying Son of God! Look,
what scene! Look, world, at what
you have done! -
1 lift the covering from the mall
treated Christ to let you count the
wounds and estimate the cost. Oh.
when the nails went through Christ's
right hand that bought your hands,
with all their power to work and lift
and write! When the nails went
through Christ's right foot and
Christ's left foot, that bought your
feet, with all their power to walk or
run or climb. When the thorn went in
to Christ's temple, that bought your
brain, with all it's power to think and
plan. When the spear cleft Christ's
side, that bought your heart, with all
its power to love and repent and pray.
When the Atlantic cable was lost in
1865, do you remember that the Great
Eastern and the Midway and the Al
bany went out to find it? Thirty times
they sank the grapnel 2ia miles deep
in water. After awhile they found the
cable and brought it to the surface.
No sooner had it been brought to the
surface than they lifted shout of ex-
ultation, but the cable slipped back
again into the water and was lost.
E Then for two weeks more they swept
the sea with the graphing hooks, and
q at last they found the cable, and they
I brought it up in silence. They fastened
y it this time. Then with great excite
e ment they took one end of the cable
i to the electricians s room to see if there
r were really any life in 1t, and when
s they saw spark and knew that mes
d sage could be sent then every hat was
S lifted, and the rockets few and the
$ guns sounded, until all the vessels on
r the expedition knew, and the CONT
e nents were lashed together. Well, my
S friends, Sabbath after Sabbath Gospe
= messengers have come searching dowI
It for your souls. We have swept the SCI
e with the graphing hook of Christ
)" Gospel. Again and again we hav'
t thought that you were at the surface
s and we began to rejoice over your re
% demption, but at the moment of ou
h gladness you sank back again into tn
world and back again into sin. To-da
n we come with the Gospel searching TO
ID your soul. We apply the cross O
lie Christ first to see whether there is an
lie life left in you, while all around tn
IS people stand. looking to see whethe
O the work will be done, and the angel
~ Of God bend down and witness, ant
r oh, if now we could see only one spar
Mt of love and hope and faith we woul
re send up shout that would be hear