The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-31
THE YOKE OF CHRIST
TT IS NOT THE YOKE OF sLAv- FRY.
Rev. stewart McQueen Preaches on the Sane and True View of the
 Religious Life.


 At the Church of the Holy Comforter yesterday. Rev. stewart Mcqueen preached a strong sermon from the text. Take My yoke upon you ana learn of Me-"
 Mir. Mcqueen said:
 These words of Christ are few and simple, but none the less striking ana suggestive. Does the Master mean Christian life Is to be hindranee 70 Everything joyous and pleasant in the world: that it is to be but another weight added to the already numer- ous and heavy burdens of humanity; in word, that it's only purpose is to fasten another cruel yoke upon usg To be sure. this Is just the very view of the Christian life held by multitudes of people. They would make it austere. forbidding. hard and gloomy. They would rob it Of all good cheer, sunshine and enjoyment. This Idea is quite common among elderly men and women--who have lost their youth. and I fear envy others who stiii have it--or who are selhshly absorbed in money making or domestic cares, and who look upon religion largely as fire escape. 1t is also the idea of many preachers of the day. whose stock in trade seems to be denuncia- tion solely of dancing, card-playing. theatre going. drinking-withou re- gard to whether 1t be moderate or otherwise-wllo seem to think religion consists chiefly in not doing those things. where people-and. Indeed, this is the case with the vast bulk of Christians--may never dance. play cards attend the theatre or drink, and yet their hearts be eaten up with covetousness and ayarice. or their tongues continually wagging islander, engendering strife and bitterness. pr their souls the abiding places of foul At.- 4H..I 4 tPAG Tlxa4 things seem. in the estimation of the average Christian, to be quite small matters and not worth our concern. And yet as anybody at all familiar with life, must know. these are the very sins to which all of us are most Sins in which iif most most effectiveiy destroy all spiritual life eating 1t away like canker worm: the very sins which cut us off from Christ infinitely more and we can do nothing apart from Him--than the worldly pleasures just mentioned tnot one of which is sin in ftself), for the reason, if no other, that they are confined to comparatively few persons In each generation.
 The Master says. Take My yoke upon you" Now, before we can take His yoke upon us, we must know what 1t is we are to take, it's purpose; know what it means. Therefore we need to understand the figure. the word, Christ used when He said Take My yoke upon you" Why, 1t was simply the "ox-collar." or harness" of the East. the land where He lived. It was not the harsh and severe "jugum" of the Roman soldier which we are apt to think of in connection with the word ''yoke," Doubtless, Jesus had aoften made. with His own hands, as a carpenter in GaliIee, the wooden yoke of whdch He speaks in the text, and He 1H sf~v,n T7a the difference between rough and e smooth yoke, and also knew the effect upon the animal wearing the one or the other. In the one case. it was painful and made the burden heavier. Tn the other case 1t was painless and the yoke of which the Master spoke was not intended to be q burden to the animal a hindrance; but to make the burden itself light, to be. indeed a help. Why, 1t was really necessary for the blow to be attached to the animal by means of the yoke in order to make the blow itself bearable and the work easy. Tn a word, the yoke Is an instrument of mercy, device for making labor light. saving from pain; yet contriyance for torture. or for making work hard and infiicting pain. Understanding all this. we should rid ourselves of the common misconceptiop of the yoke on Christ g lips, as if 1t were the same as in the expressions. Bear the yoke in his youth" and under the yoke"
 The yoke of Christ, then, you see ts to help us bear our burden and not to add to its weight. The supreme fact of life is that we have to bear the burden. The great question of life is, how to bear 1t. We wrestle with that problem always and sverywners. as long as life lasts. Now what ts that burden. Is it some burden pecu- liar to Christians and belongs only to themY Is 1t some wanton and arbt- trary ahiiction which God imposes upon them alone? Not at all, It is what all men alike must bear, because It belongs to all alike, for 1t is life. with all that 1t involves. it's mystery and its vacarious suffering,) human life itself. Remember, Christ lived this rfe-en- tered into It's deepest depths, climbed It's highest heiEhts--and. therefore, He heart yearns for us in boundIess sym pathy. As He looks over the turnultu- ous sea of life He beholds vast num- bers of the children of men take life rebelliously, bearing it's burden in sorrow and tears. To some, life Is q tragedy. To others. 1t Is q farce, and without purpose or meaning. To some 1t is but a long stretch of weary years beginning in mystery and ending in darkness. To all, it is a ceaseless struggle. characterized by more or less hardships and wrongs. How life's 3 burden shall be borne, has been--and is still--a puzzle to humanity since the creation of the race. Only from Christ can we learn how to bear the burden of life. We must take life as He took 1t. We must regard life from His point of view. We must interpret if according to His principles. We must apply faithfully and continually those principles to life'y duties and privileges, to it's responsibilities and problems To this end, we should ways, hear it fin the silence of the night, hear it In the noise of the day, hear 1t as He bids us: Take My yoke and learn of Me. and you will find 1t easy. For My yoke is easy. It fas right upon the shoulders. Therefore, My burden is light"
 Of course, this Is not saying we are