The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1902-07-24
BENTON, LOUISIANA, THURSDAY, JULY a. 1902

their fragrance and beauty to such
scene as the world had never before
seen and never again will see until the
One who on that day was the center
Of that joy-intoxicated throng shall
again come in the triumph and rejoic-
ing Of Heaven to be received as King
by the nation which then rejected Him.
Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Does His successive journeys run;
His Kingdom stretch from shore to shore
TIL moons shall wax and wane no more"
Sounds of Joy and of Weeping
While the multitudes rejoiced, and
hailed Jesus as King, the heart of our
Lord was being wrung with the agony
of His rejection and the coming de-
struction of His beloved city. As He
reached the summit of the Mount of
Olives "He beheld the city and wept
over it" Jesus knew that many in
that throng who were now praising
Him would in a few short days be cry
ing for His blood. With that infinite
wisdom of His Divine nature He was
able to penetrate the shallowness of
the passing emotion, and see beneath
the germ of unbelief and the pas
sion born of hell. If Jesus had
turned to that multitude that day
and plainly told them that their song
of praise was only the prelude to the
tragic strains of the crucifxion, that
the same hands that were scattering
branches and flowers in His path would
ere long be frantically throwing dust
into the air and crying: Cruelty
Him! cruelty Him!" they would have
been as emphatic in their protesta-
tions that such thing could not be, as
was Peter when His Lord told him that
before the cock should crow twice he
would deny Him thrice.
We rejoice in the present moment of
ease and satisfaction and superficial
pleasure, while our Lord may be just
at hand viewing us with tear-dimmed
eye as He realizes what the next mo-
ments, or days or years may bring
forth. Now, we may be with the
throng which is praising Him, our
voices may be raised in helping to swell
the hymn which floats out on the
breeze from church window and
steeple, our feet and hands may be
busy with the externalities of church
life and Christian service, and to-mor-
row, when the day of testing comes
and we must come out and be sepa-
rate, we may be numbered with those
whose cry is: eve will not have this
Man rule over u.s." Unless the will be-
longs to God, un1essYit has been sur
rendered to His control man knows not
at wnat instant there may flash out in
his life that which win identify him
with the enemies Of Jesus Christ.
Teach me, Lord. my true condition.
Bring me childlike to Thy knee;
Stripped of every low ambition,
Willing to be led by Thee"
The Motley Throng.-Three ele-
ments are markedly noticeable in the
multitudes which surrounded our Lord
during His triumphal entry into Jeru-
salem and the proclaiming Him as
King. There were the few true believ-
ers in Christ as the Saviour of the world
and the promised Messiah; there were
the greater number of curious, un-
thinking spectators who were quick to
catch the spirit and enthusiasm of the
moment and lend their voices to the
popular cry; and lastly there were the
avowed enemies of Christ, who contest
ed every foot of ground which Jesus
trod. and endeavored to thwart His
every move.
The crowd that surrounded our Lord
that day represented in miniature the
people of the world to-day in their re-
lation to God and His Christ. IT you
had been there on the side of Mount
OIivet that momentous day, in which
class would you have been found? Not
| many to-day would be found. it is true,
among the avowed enemies of Jesus
Christ, for this is day of popular re-
ligion and common recognition of
Jesus Christ as great leader, if not
as the Saviour of the world. But twould
you have been numbered with the few
| believing disciples, or would your
heart have deceived You, and while to-
day you were hailing Him as King,
tomorrow you would yield to the
popular cry, and shout with the
frenzied crowd: "Away with Him ?''
Self estimates are dangerous and un-
Ireliable. It is easy to look at our
selves with the natural eye and judge
that we would have stood with the
| few faithful ones. 1t was easy to be.
/ long to that rejoicing throng as il
hailed the Lord as King, but in the
dark hour on Calvary,
"If we had been among the throng that saw
/ the lowly Saviour die.
/ five had heard the cruel song, the heart.
/ less jest, the mockery.
Would we who now His triumph sing,
Have hailed him then as Lord and King
Would you or I?''
Thorns Instead of the Beiewelet
Crown.-After the magnificent pa
eeant has ended and King Edward
has passed in regal state into th-
halls of Westminster abbey, tn.
sparkling golden crown will be placed
upon his brow, and the brilliant roy
al assemblage will greet him as theil
| crowned king, fitting climax to th,
| magnificent scene. How differen
was the climax which marked tn,
| days following Jesus triumphal en-
| 49,, ;rto Ierusa1emi How the ccon,