Connecticut western news., 1901-04-04

ness. oh, We tempted ones! CHRIST
was tempted. We are told that Napo-
leon ordered coat of mail made, but
was not quite certain that it was i'm
penetrable, so he said to the manufac-
turer of the coat of mail, Put 1t on
now yourself and let us try it," And
with shot after shot from his own pis-
toll the emperor found out that it was
just what it pretended to be-a good
coat of mail. Then the man received a
large reward.
l bless God that the same coat of
mail that struck back the weapons of
temptation from the head of Christ we
may now all wear, for Jesus comes and
says: Il have been tempted, and /
know what it is to be tempted. Take
this robe that defended me and wear 1t
for yourselves. 1 shall see you through
all trials, and 1 shall see you through
all temptation"
Triumph Over Satan.
But" says satan still further to Je-
sus, "come, and l will show you some
thing worth looking at and after half
days journey they came to Jerusalem
one might go up in the tower of Ant
werp and look off upon Belgium, so
satan brought Christ to the top of the
temple. Some people at great height
feel dizzy and strange disposition to
Jump, so satan comes to Christ in that
very crisis. Standing there at the top
of the temple, they looked off. A mag
nifcent reach of country. Grainfields,
vineyards, olive groves, forests and
streams, cattle in the valley, f1ocks on
the hills and villages and cities and
realms. "Now," says satan, "I'll make
bargain. Just jump off. 1 know it
is a great way from the top of the
temple to the valley, but if you are d.
vine you can fly. Jump off. 1t won't
hurt you. Angels will catch you.
Your Father will hold you. Besides,
I'll make you a large present If you
will. I'll give you Asia Minor, I'll give
you China, I'll give you Ethiopia, I'll
give you Italy, III give you Spain, I'll
give you Germany, I'll give you Brit
ain, I'll give you all the world" What
temptation it must have been!
Go tomorrow morning and get in an
alteration with some wretch crawling
up from gin cellar in the lowest part
of your city. NO" you say, 81 would
not bemean myself by getting into such
a contest" Then think of what the
King of heaven and earth endured
when he came down and fought the
great wretch of hell and fought him
in the wilderness and on top of the
temple. But / bless God that in the
triumph over temptation Christ gives
us the assurance that we also shall
triumph. Having himself been tempt
ed, he is able to succor all those who
are tempted.
In a violent storm at sea the mate
told a boy-for the rigging had become
entangled In the mast-to go up and
right it. A gentleman standing on the
deck said: Don't send that boy up.
He will be dashed to DEATH" The
mate said, 81 know what am about"
The boy raised his hat in recognition
of the order and then rose hand over
hand and went to work. And as he
swung In the storm the passengers
wrung their hands and expected to
see him fall. The work done, he
came down in safety, and a Christian
man said to him, "Why did you go
down in the forecastle before you
went upY' "Ahp' said the boy, 81
went down to pray. My mother al
ways taught me, before 1 undertook
anything great to pray" What is
that you have in your vest?" 'Oh,
| that is the New Testament" he said.
81 thought 1 would carry it with me if
| | really did go overheard" How well
| the boy was protected! 1 care not
| how great the height or how vast the
| depth, with Christ within us and
| Christ beneath US and Christ above us
| and Christ all around us, nothing can
| befall US in the way of harm. Christ
/ will deliver all those who put their
| trust in him. Blessed be his glorious
name forever!
The Prayer In Gethsemane.
| The third installment paid for our
| redemption was the agoniZing prayer
| in Gethsemane AS l sat in that gar
| den, at the foot Of an old gnarled and
| twisted olive tree, the historic scene
| came upon me overwhelmingly. These
/
| ants of those under which Christ stood
| and wept and knelt. Have the leaves
| of whole botanical generations told the
| story of our Lords agony to their sue
cessors? Next to Calvary, the solemn
est place in Palestine Is Gethsemane.
While sitting there it seemed as il 1
could hear our Lords prayer, laden
with sobs and groans. Can this be the
| Jesus who gathered fragrance from the
frankincense brought to his cradle and
| from the lilies that flung their sweet
ness into his sermons and from the box
| of alabaster that broke at his feet? Is
this Jesus the comforter of Bethany,
the resurrector at Main, the oculist at
Bethsaida? Is this the Christ whose
frown is the storm, whose smile is the
sunlight, the spring morning his breath,
the thunder his voice, the ocean a drop
on the tip of his finger, heaven a spar
kle on the bosom of his love, the uni
| verse the dust of his chariot wheel?
Is this the Christ who is able to heal a
heartbreak, or hush a tempest, or
drown a world or flood immensely with
his glory? Behold him in prayer, the
globules of blood by sorrow pressed
through the skin of his forehead! What
an installment in part payment Of the
greatest price that was ever paid!
The fourth installment paid for our
redemption was the Saviour's sham
trial. I call 1t a sham trial-there has
never been anything so indecent or I'M
fair in any criminal court as was wit
messed at the trial of Christ. Why,
they hustled him into the courtroom at
2 o'clock in the morning. They gave
him no time for counsel. They gave
him no opportunity for subppnaing
witnesses. The ruffians who were wan
dering around through the midnight,
of course they saw the arrest and went
into the courtroom. But Jesus friends
were sober men, were respectable men,
and at that hour 2 o'clock in the morn
ing, of course they were at home