Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-04-03

washed crowd then he will forget you
and me ia the injustices Of life that may
be inflicted upon us.
Further | remark The last great in
stallment paid for our redemption wa;
the demise Of Christ. The world has
seen mary dark days Many summers
ago there was very dark day wien the
sun was etlipsed The fowl at MONDAY
went TO their perch. and we felt Il
gloom as we looked al the astronomical
wonder. II was 4 dark day in London
when the plague was at its height, aud
the dead with uncovered faces were TAX
en- in open carts and dumped IN the
trenches. 1t 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 be-
gan TO be drawn. Il was not the coming
on Of Il night that soothes and refreshes.
Ii WAS the swinging OF great gloom all
around the heavens God hung ii. AS
when there is 1; 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
Il black pail upon TIE coffin as it passes
along, so it was appropriate that every
thing should he somher tlat day as the
great hearse OF the earth rolled on. bear
ing the corpse of the King. a mans last
hours are ordinarily kept suc,~d. How
ever you may have hated or caricatured
a man. when You hear he is dying silence
puts It's hands on your lips. and you
would have a ioathing for the man who
could stand by dcathbed making faces
and sc0iiing. But Christ in his last hour
cannot be left alone What. pursuing
him yet after so long pursuitE You
have been drinking his tears. Do you
want to drink his blood? They come up
closely, so that Notwithstanding the dark
ness they ran glut their revenge with the
contortions Of his countcnance. They
examine his feet They want to feel for
themselves whether those feet al : really
spiked. They put out their hands and
touch the spikes and bring them back wet
with blood and wipe them on their gar
ments. Women stand there and weep,
but can do no good. II is no place for the
tender hearted women. II wants heart
that crime has turned into granite. The
vengeance dash up against he manglc,
feet. and the hands of sin and pain an
torture clutch for his holy heart Had he
not been thoroughly fastened to the cross
they would have torn him down anf'
trampled him with both feet How the
cavalry horses arched their necks and
champed their bits and reared and snuff
ed at the blood. Had a Roman officer
called oGt for q light. his voice would not
have been heard in the tumult, but loud
er than the clash of spears, and the wall
ing of womanhood, and the neighing of
the chargers, and the believing of the
crucifiers, there comes a voice crashing
through--ioud, clear, overwhelming. ter
rife. 1t is the groaning Of the dying Son
of God! Look, what scene. Look,
world, at what you nave done,
Christ on the Cross.
/ lift the covering from the maltreated
Christ to let you count the wounds and
estimate the cost. Oh. when the nails
went through Christ's right hand and
through Christ left 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 into Christ's tenn
ple thaI bought your brain. with all its
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.
To-day we come with the gospel search
ing for your soul. We apply the cross of
Christ first to see whether there is any
life left in you. while all around the
people stand. looking to see whether the
work will be done. and the angels of
God bend down and witness, and. oh, if
now we could see only one spark of love
and hope and faith we Wont! send up Il
shout that would be heard on the battle
ments of heaven, and two worlds would
keep jubilee because communication is
open between Christ and the soul, and
your nature that has been sunken in sin
has been lifted into the light and the joy
of the gospel.