Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1904-09-15
SCEPTRE OF THE KINGDOM
An Eloquent Sunday Discourse By the
Rev. A. B. Simpson.
The Manifestation Of the King-fhe Recogni.
tlon-Lord of the Temple.

New YORK CITY.-The following SER
mon was preached Sunday by the world
famous head of the Christian and Mission
airy Alliance, the Rev. A. B. Simpson. His
subject was "The Manifestation of the
King" and his text was: Tell We the
daughter of Zion, Behold thy King cometh
unto thee meek, and, sitting upon an ass,
and colt, the foal of an ass.-Mattnew
2l:5.
The time had now come when the Lord
Jesus was to be publicly manifested as the
son of David and the King of Israel. Hith-
erto He had refused the demands of the
multitude, who, after His Galilean mira
Giles, had tried "to take Him by force and
make Him king" but now as the end
draws near it is proper that He should lit
orally fulfil the announcements of ancient
prophecy, and for brief moment, at least,
appear as the heir to David's throne and
the answer to all the Messianic hopes of
Israel.
l. The Recognition OF the King. It was
strange that the first to recognize Him as
Israel's King should be two blind beggars::
That which the rulers of Israel, with all
their wisdom, failed to comprehend, was
discovered by poor old Bartimeus and his
blind companion. Calling Him by His Mes
sianic name, they cried, as the procession
pressed by, Jesus, Thou Son of David,
have mercy on us!' When Jesus heard
that name He instantly ordered the pro-
cession to halt, and, calling them to Him,
granted their petition like king, bidding
them receive their sight and follow Him
in the way.
So still it is ever true Chou hast hid
these things from the wise and prudent and
revealed them unto babes" The wisdom
of the world and even the culture of thco-
logical science have blinded men to the
vision of God, and It is the lowly and often
ilhterate to whom the Holy Ghost reveals
"the mysteries of the kingdom OF heaven
and the blessed hopes of the coming once
more of our glorious King.
How did these blind men know that
Jesus was the Son of David? With their
inner senses they felt after Him until they
found Him. 1t is so still that the hungry
heart finds the Saviour. Reaching out in
our darkness and sense of need, gropmg
for One who we feel can meet and satisfy
our need, we press our way toward the
light even as the blind man, who, while he
cannot discern the objects before him, cal
see vaguely at least the glare of the light
and press closer to it. Even so we can
press toward God, and He will meet the
seeking soul aud reveal Himself in the Wis
ion of light and love even as lie did to
them.
Seeker for Christ, follow the light YOU
have and He will give more as you follow
on, and you, too, will hear Him say, "Re-
ceive thy sight, thy faith hath made thee
whole"
II. The Manifestation of the King. An
cient prophecy had foretold the coming of
the King of meekness, truth and love, and
His triumphal entry into Jerusalem was
striking fuillment. Xechariah especially
had literally described the scenes por-
trayed in this chapter. "Rejoice greatly.
o daughter of Zion, shout, o daughter of
Jerusalem, behold thy King cometh unto
thee He is just and having salvation, low
ly and riding upon an ass and upon colt
the foal or an ass. (Zechariah 900.
For the first time in His earth " minis
try, our Lord permits Himself to be borne
by the beast of burden, which had always
been recognized as the bearer of kings.
Riding upon little colt never ridden be-
fore, draped with the garments of His dis
ciples as they walked beside, and accom-
panied by the mighty multitude surging
up from the city at this, the Passover time,
when the population of Jerusalem was
multiplied tenfod, He slowly descended
from Bethany toward the city. At every
step the enthusiasm of the crowd grew
higher. Cutting down branches from the
palm trees they strewed them in the way,
and even their garments they flung in hon.
age at His feet while their voices rose to a
mighty shout as they cried in the language
of an old prophetic Psalm, "Hosannah to
the Son of David, Hosannah in the high.
est"
But His own demeanor vas in strange
contrast to all these scenes Of .umutuous
excitement Truly, fie came as the klng
of meekncss, lowliness and love. This be-
came still more apparent when the city
suddenly burst upon their view, and the
sight of it drew from Him an outburst OF
SORROW and compassion, and amid all that
page mt of popular acCamatlon lie gave
way TO bitter tears and lamentations over
the certain doom which He saw impending
upon the scenes that lay spread before Him
in all their glorious beauty. But the pro-
cession swept on. and in little while he
entered the city and the Temple
Ills triumphal entry into Jerusalem was
the foreshadowing OF that glorious time
when He shall come again rs lsrael's long
expected Messiah and take His place upon
the throne of David, never again to leave
it.
1t is also typical of His entrance upon
the throne of the individual heart when
we receive Him as our Lord and King.
The little foal on whom no man had sat
before is the exquisite type of the heart
that gives Him its exclusive affection. He
comes to reign not as tyrant, but as
King of gentlencss and love in all the at.
tractivc attributes so finely set forth in
the ancient picture that we are consider.
ing. He does not come to rcpresS, but to
satisfy. He does not dominate us as a des-
pot, but He meets all the needs and long.
ings Of our being, and 20 blends with our
nature and orr will hat we become Ills
wiling subjects and the very partners OF
His kingdom and His throne. Have we
thus received Him and known Him as our
kiDUt