The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-04

selected Tor The Advertiser.
And they that went before, and they
blessed Is He that eometh In the name
1t was the first Palm Sunday. and
Jesus was coming. to Jerusalem. A.
elir and tumult. The 'simple-minded
meet Hin. Those whom He had cured
blessed him anew as they heard of His
Him felt their faith deepen at the
sound of His triumph. Those who de-
spised Him sneered secretly at the peo-
pies Idol. The lordly Romans stalked
what these foolish Hebrews would do
next. Each man according to his ma
ture answered to the coming Christ. II
was like the judgment day.
in Jerusalem a picture of how the
world at large has always been judged
by the approach of Jesus. But such q
study. would be too general. Rather
Jerusalem. and how His Paim- sunday
offer Of Himself to His own city ts re-
peated in His offer. made to every
: Set your own soul on that. high and
rocky hill, and see Christ come TO 1t
Long heard OF, but not stranger, hav-
ing often passed befores in our sight.
at last He comes finally and formally
mand our final decision whether we
Will take Him for our King or not.
Such days do come to us all. when the
appeal must be either accepted or re-
Jected. and when the claim OF the new
spiritual life stands with peculiar so
lemnity- before our heart. Such days
are to us what that Palm Sunday was
to Jerusalem.
There is in every soul something
that spontaneously welcomes Christ. 1t
has always been so! There Is some =
thing of the child in every man. And
there is something. too. Of discomfort.
still. there is sense Of sin wanting
forgiveness. Every man who truly be-
comes Christian becomes also an
idealist. The dry man OF books. the
dusty man Of business, the old man
weary with the weight of years-they
all grow young again. and ready with
exultng shouts- to welcome Christ.
There Were skeptfcs in groups OF
Many and many time the child In us
prays, while the man in US stands by
aloof. Thus ever In the streets of our
inner Jerusalem stands the Sadducee
while with our ready and humble faith
we would welcome Christ. Thrice
blessed Ia he who in this simple faith
presses on undismayed (even by his
has brought the Lord into the central
temple of the heart, and made Him
Master there.
ao Many there we're that day who
others who hated Him. The Pharisee
said: III what this Teacher says Is
true, all that say must be false" The
mands is right. my life is horrible ;"
Between each Of these men and Jesus
there was war to the death. One or
the other Of them must yield or die.
in your heart, does any hard. proud.
Ing in any sin, which Is deliberate and
obstinate, byt which you do not mean
You which hates Christ. Hate is not
an excited emotion hate Is a moral
antagonism. Sin and goodness must
and, light. You may love Christ, even
while you hate Him, for you are this
mixed Jerusalem. The conflict, the
struggle Of such a divided nature no
member 1t; nay, even now some are In
the very mist Of 1t!
There is one other element which
we cannot leave out in the crowd in
coarse. ragged Roman soldiers walked
the streets with brutal insolence,
mingled with superb contempt for all
earth. Truth, spiritual, eternal life
all these meant worthy to them. Hard
earthly prudence; coarse terrested
nature TO WnlCn all spiritual truths
seem to make their appeal in vain: an
iron insensibility to all enthusiasm,
materalsm, selfshness, reaSou: bnast.
ing of its confinement to the tyranny
of understanding: oh! what an element
that is-in all OF us. And how terri
blel
These are the element Understand,
1 have been trying to describe not the
way in which many different men re-
ceive Christ; but how in one man all
these are united. SO Jesus came into
Jerusalem, as an intruder and q King.
There were shouts of welcome and
muttered curses. What a contrast!
The city was divided against itself
But through 1t all Jesus held on His
way, claiming It all for HIS own. And
so He claims of our hearts today.
But the struggle in the heart cannot
remain evenly balanced forever Every
heart has TO decided Jerusalem had
to decide. And before the week was
over she had made her choice on FRI
day she crucifed Christ. Around the
cross there was love and faith, and
iamentAtion; but they were crushed
and only heard in sobs. The hatred
had triumphed, and Jerusalem had
crucified her King. Every Jerusalem
must decide. SO must your heart say
finally to Jesus, come" or go. He
never will leave until you obstinately
bid Him go. he cannot come into your
Utmost temple until you welcome Him
there.
Minority Leaders.
Washington Herald.