The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-12


 rropriate to the day, the preacher pre- sents vivid picture of the trumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem amid the acclamatons of the common people, whose plaudts were so soon to give way to execration. The text Is John xii, 13 Took branches of palm trees and went forth to meet him and cried hosanna."
 This is Palm Sunday. In the ecclesi- astical year 1t is the day on which we commemorate the strange scene on the Judaean road which constituted the ono sole pageant of our Lords life. It Is the day that ushers in holy week, the beginning of which saw him riding into Jerusalem in triumph and the end lying in Joseph of Arimatheas tomb. This is the time when the same surging crowds which, few days later, will cry: "Cru- cify him! Cruelty him." now. make the Judaean hills echo and re-echo with their exutant shouts of 'Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna to the <ing!"
 Appropriate. also Is my subject in refer ence to the audience to which I speak. I know not of any class of people to whom the significant lessons of Palm Sunday can be better applied than to ourselves. Christ among the waving palms ought to have for us gospel teach ings as we'll as Christ in Pilates judg- ment hali. Christ among the yoclferating multitudes should appeal to us suggest ively as well as Jesus carrying his cross, Jesus resurrected from the grave, Jesus appearing unto his disciples after the crucifxion or Jesus ascending from Mount Olivet.
 Palm Sunday emphasizes the truth that a false and selfish adoration of Jesus Christ never results In triumphant and lasting worship. Why did that great concourse Of people, which came forth to welcome Jesus into the Davidc capi- tal soon turn upon Christ and become his taunting executioners? Why did they one day throw under his feet the branches of palm, which have always been the symbol of victory, and within a week be eager to mock his dying agonies upon Calvary? They were not welcoming Christ their spiritual Saviour. They were merely greeting him as a temporal king. who would lead them on to national victories. as Napoleon did the French, Frederick. the Great the Prus- sians. Alexander the Greeks, as Rameses II. the Egyptians or Saladln the Sara cens when he totally defeated the cru- saders near Tiberias and captured their leader, Guy de Lusignan in 11s7 They were not welcoming a Messiah for whom they must if necessary suffer and die, but they were greeting one whom they believed to be about to drive the Roman tyrants off the Hebrew soil; one who would restore the Solomonic grandeur, when the national treasury would be full of gold and the kings and the queens of the north, east. south and west would make pilgrlmages to Jerusalem as the queen of Sheba came, bringing her pres ents of spices and precious stones Thus when Christ allowed himself to be ar rested as a common criminal the rabble wanted to destroy him because they had cherished in their breasts the false hope of a temporal champion.
 Do We Worship selflshIy?
 My friends Is our faith in Jesus un- satisfactory? Are we, too. worshiping Christ from selfish and not from spir- itual motives? Do we attend the fash ionable church in our neighborhood mere ly to win social prestige rather than with the desire to fit us to help the troubled and the lost? I once had physician bluntly tell me that he joined the church with the same purpose for which he joined the club-he went to both places so that he could be brought into contact with people and win as many patients as he could. wonder how many of us are kind to our friends solely from the selfish motive to make our friends kind to us 1t Is possible to even feed the hungry with the most mercenary of desires. Christ stated this when he said, when thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy ldnsmen, nor thy rich nelghbors lest they also bid thee again and recompense can be made thee" In other words we should not make our Christian engagements mere ly a case of eciprocity-you do so much for me and will do so much for you. But when you make a gospel feast ask that young man to your home who has no friends and Is alone in great city Ask that young girl who has no chance of coming in touch with refined fam ily circle unless you give her an invita- tion Gall the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind and thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee" Are we, this Palm Sunday, hon bring Christ with the unseltish purpose of his disciples, who were accompanying Him from Bethany and who not only threw the palm branches in his way, but who were also ready to die for Him, or are we worshiping Jesus with the selfish adoration of the great host that came out from Jerusalem to welcome him as a temporal king?
 If we are selfishly worshiping Christ for what we can get out of Him, may we not here and now change that pur- pose as did Dr. Bonar, through the in fiuence of an inspired dream which he had in his Edinburgh parsonage? For many years he had been popular preacher, but his ministry bore but little spiritual fruit. He himself had but little spiritual faith. One night, as he slept, he, thought an angel came and stood by his bed and said, "Horatius, what is troubling thee?' "Oh," answered the minister, Fl do not seem to derive any happiness from my Christian belief. and I have practi- cally no spiritual results!' That is easily accounted for" said the angel. Let LIS analyze your ministerial ambition. We shall say the whole represents 100 per cent How large a percentage of that represents your selfish pride In preach ing to big audience? Fifteen per cent. How large percentage represents the de- sire to live In fine house? Fifteen per cent How large percentage represents desire to bring In large addition to your church, so that your brother minis ters will speak we'll of you? Forty per cent How large q percentage represents the desire to be intellectual and to have the brainy men of Edinburgh praise your sermons? Ten per cent. How large a