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A
A Good
Friday Sermon
By REV. JAMES M. GRAY, D. D.
Uno U the Moody Bibb Iwtilule,
Chicago
TEXT—"Je»u«, when He had cried again
with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost”
Matthew xxvil, M.
In one of the
older commen
taries on the Bi
ble, we once met
the question, Why
did Jesus Christ
die? Which was
answered by a se
ries of reasons,
some of which
are remembered
and some forgot
ten, the whole
however, making
an Impression
which was never
lost. This im
pression was that
no other explana-
tlon of his death la satisfactory, or
even possible, than that he suffered
as a substitute for guilty men.
We have been trying to recall some
of these reasons while meditating on
the transcendent event commemorated
on Good Friday.
(1) His death occupies the fore
most place In the New Eestament.
There are, for example, twenty-eight
chapters in the Gospel of Matthew,
and eight of them, at least, or more
than one-quarter of the whole, Is ta
ken up with the story of his crucifix
ion and the events immediately lead
ing up to and following It. About the
same proportion is seen in John's
gospel, to say nothing of the emphasis
laid upon bls death in the epistles of
Paul and the book of Revelations.
(2) His death awakened the greatest
Interest In Heaven aa well as on earth,
since in Peter's first epistle. Chapter
], 12, he tells us that “these things
Ue angels desire to look Into.” More
over, when Moses and Elijah, brought
back to earth, were conversing with
Jesus on thS Mount of Transfiguration.
It was about, "His decease which he
should accomplish ,at Jerusalem."
(Luke lx. 31.)
(3) It was the central object ever
present in Christ’s own thought and
teaching. Men come into the world
to live, but he tells us that he came
into the world to die. “The son of
man. said he, came not to be minis
tered unto, but to minister, and to
give his life a ransom for many.”
(Matt, xx, 28.) In another place, with
application to himself, he says, “Ex
cept a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone, but
If it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
(John xll, 24.)
(4) His death was voluntary. In
John VII, 30, we read that at a cer
tain crisis, “no man laid hands on
him, because his hour was not yet
come.” And again he himself said, 'T
lay down my life that I might take it
again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay It down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to
take it again.” (John x, 17, 18.) Fur
thermore, It is specifically said that
in his death he "yielded up the ghost."
In other words, the passing out of his
spirit from his body was the act of
his own will.
(5) At the same time He died with
peculiar agony, not merely that of a
physical but a spiritual kind, crying
out, "My God! My God!, why hast
thou forsaken me 7” Whoever heard
of God forsaking a martyr to bls
truth? And if Jesus were forsaken in
any sense, must It not have been as
a substitute for us?
(8) There were wonderful pheno
mena accompanying his death as of no
CHRIST THE BURDEN BEARER
No Weight Greater Than Can Be
Borne Need Be Carried by the
Believer In Him.
There are bo many petty trial*, lit
tle failures, useless heartaches—if we
had wisdom to judge right—so many
that plie up mountain high and shut
out the sunshine, that we have not
the courage left to resist the on
slaught of the unavoidable troubles
that are a portion of every human
life. We are told so often that all of
these are God's means to a great end
—that, we may grow strong and cour
ageous. This may be so, yet may not
there be another view of life's often
multiplied—again and again—trials
and suffering? If It was God who sent
them all for a wise purpose, would
he let them fall of accomplishing
some measure of success always? If
■' knows, and know ho surely must,
thai * are souls too weak to bear
the heavier - '<ns. would he send
that one into a life '•* conditions
would prove it a failure ""rely
pot. Then may It not be that know-
other man, —"the veil of the temple
was rent in twain from the top to the
bottom; and the earth did quake, and
the rocks rent, and the graves were
opened, and many bodies of the saints
which slept arose, and came out of
the graves after bls resurrection, and
went unto the holy city and appeared
unto many.” (Matt xxvil, 51, 53.)
(7) it was a predicted death. A
way back In the Garden of Eden It
was pointed to in the words addressed
to the serpent, “I will put enmity be
tween thee and the woman and be
tween thy seed and her seed; it shall
bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise
his heel. (Gen. 111, 15.) Isaiah, the
prophet, spake of Christ seven or
eight centuries before his birth, say
ing, “He was wounded for our trans
gressions, he was bruised for our Ini
quities; the chastisement of our peace
was upon him; and with bls stripes
we are healed." (53, 5.) And Daniel
said he should be cut off, but not for
himself. (9, 26.)
(8) It was a predestined death,
since Peter says, “Yet are not re
deemed with corruptible things as sil
ver and gold . . . but with the pre
cious blood of Christ, as of a lamb with
out blemish and without spot; who
verily was foreordained before the
foundation of the world.”
(9) Finally, It was a death which
has been commemorated by an obser
vance that never can be hid or ex
plained away, namely, the communion
of the Lord’s supper, in which Chris
tians eat the bread and drink the wine
tn remembrance of his dying love.
Putting all these things together. Is
there any other reasonable explana
tion of the deathtof Jesus Christ than
that already Indicated, and which is
expressed with such childlike simplici
ty in Dr. Bethune's noble hymn, begin
ning.
"I read God’s Holy Word and And.
Great truths which far transcend my
mind:
And little do I know beside,
Os thought so high, and deep and wide;
This 1* my best theology,
I know the Savior died for mo.”
This Is the reason an inspired apos
tle Is able to say. "Whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord, shall
be saved." (Rom. x, 13.>
Gladness Out of Sorrow.
Sorrows come to every life, disap
pointments and trials trouble every
heart., but God never Intended that
they should make us gloomy. We
must learn to get strength out of sor
row and gladness out of gloom. No
one can do this without the sublime
confidence which God's revelation to
man inspires In the heart. A definite
faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and
Master will change our entire view
point of earthly experiences. There
is commercial value in cheerfulness.
The Christian view furnishes a far
nobler motive for the culture of cheer
fulness and suggests the ‘effective
means for its culture. If unhappiness
has become an unworthy habit, the
best way to overcome that habit, as
well as all bad habits, is by a per
sonal appropriation of the promise of
him who said. "Come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you and learn of me; for 1 am
meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. For my
yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Path Is Plain.
The true, plain path is welldoing.
Not brilliant doing, but well-doing.
Doing the work of life with a willing
mind, a loving heart, with both hands,
earnestly—-diligence in getting good,
being good, doing good. . In this
world all the grand prizes go to a few
brilliant people. But what a blessing
It is to ua, the dim million, to know
that God recognizes patient merit, and
that the grandest prizes of all arc not
kep't for the brilliant, but for the
faithful. —Rev. W. I* Watkinson, D. D.
Habits are scon assumed; but
where we would strip them off It is
like flaying alive.—Cowper.
ing life's possfbflitites. the burdens
wilfully assumed, or forced upon us,
knowing that few would be wise
enough to guard themselves, so well
that they would escape just the
unnecesary things that work such
havoc with happiness, he loved man
kind too well to leave them alone in
the struggle. So he calls to them all
down the centuries, "Cast your burden
on me;” ''Come” —"and I will "give
you rest”—not from what has been all
of his ordering, but from your own
weaknesses, your own ignorance, and
the effects that come from associa
tions you could not well be freed
from. We may never be certain in
this life as to just where our individ
ual responsibility began, for the con
ditions that have made our lives
what they are, but of one thing we
may be sure, if he pities us as we are
taught to believe, the Christ will ever
pity those who are troubled, and so
we can “lay our burden at his feet,
and bear a song away."
The first sure symptoms of a mind
in health are rest of heart and pleas
cr® found at homo. —Young.
PLANTING NUT TREES
Forests Have Been Cut Down
For the Best Timber.
Black Walnut, Moat Valuable for
Wood Used In Manufacture of Fine
Furniture, Also Bears Oily Nut
of Fine Flavor.
(By J. M. W. SMITH, Oklahoma.)
Among the great natural resources
of the United States, our native nut
bearing trees occupy a place of no
mean importance; but they have been
treated like other natural resoaurces
of the country—exploited, wasted and
destroyed until the outcome is getting
to be alarming.
Our fertile lands have been robbed
of their productivity by the one-crop
system; the forests have been cut
down for the best timber and no pro
vision made for a future supply.
The walnut, the chestnut and the
hickory, also the pecan have fallen
before the woodman’s axe, with their
fellows, the elm, ash and oak —in the
effort to make room for more grain
crops, cotton and tobacco. Thousands
of acres of valuable timber and nut
trees have been destroyed in this man
ner, in many places it will be genera
tions before the average yield per
acre will again attain unto that which
was destroyed.
But it is too late to grieve over the
errors of the past, but it is pot too lote
to quit the wasteful habits, to begin to
repair the damage done and save and
Improve that which Is left.
The black walnut, the most valu
able tree in the world for its timber,
which is used in the manufacture of
the finest furniture and cabinet ma
king, bears a large, oily nut of fine
flavor, which finds a ready sale at a
fair price.
The shell bark hickory is another
native tree of sturdy and lofty growth,
the wood of which, on account of its
great strength and elasticity is highly
prized for the manufacture of agrlcul-
CONCRETE WATERING TROUGHS ARE CHEAP
—
ft —e» ai—. _
—Li IJ ~~ |f ' ~~TT —
,■ Ji
Concrete Water Trough for Two Fields.
Concrete is the cheapest material:
with which an everlasting watering I
trough can be made, and a large:
ridge placed In the bottom will, in the ;
northern climates, prevent Injury to
the trough from freezing when filled j
with water. This frost-proof ridge
need not be as long as the Interor of
the trough by several inches at each
end and in localities below the frost;
line need not be used.
The Size of the trough is a matter j
cf choice, but the entire trough must
have a foundation of gravel or stone
to a depth below the frost line, after
which the wood form is placed for the :
outside, and the bottom filled to a
depth of four or six inches with con
crete. Large troughs require a six-!
Inch bottom, while for troughs less
than seven feet long a four-Inch bot
tom Is sufficient.
The overflow and supply pipes
should be placed before the concrete
GOOD FILTER FOR CISTERNS
Illustration and Explanation of Device
That Has Been Used With Satis
factory Result*.
In reply to a query for a filter for
a cistern, a writer in the Rural New
Yorker makes the following reply:
"The accompanying diagram shows
a simple filter much used, and one
that gives good results The water
enters through pipe a, settles in set
tling chamber b, passes through per
forated bottom c, through filtering
chamber d, where it is clarified, then
out of discharge pipe e, to the cistern.
The overflow f. should be connected to
the overflow from the cistern. The
bottom is Inclined so settlement will
collect at g. Make the bottom, sides
and partition of concrete; proportion
one of cement to two of sand, well
tamped to make it as near water-proof
as possible. If reinforcing is used, the
sides may be three Inches and the par
tition two inches thick. For the fil
tering chamber, get any convenient
screen, having an abundance of one
quarter or three eighths-inch holes, for
turai Implements and is unsurpassed
for fuel.
The American sweet chestnut, the
butternut and the pecan are all trees
of fast growth and are valuable for
both timber and nuts.
Our native nuts have already made
a respectable beginning in forming
the body of various food products
whose marketable value is growing
rapidly—such as butter, oils, confec
tions and concentrated food stuffs that
are meeting an increased demand.
There is no diet more nutritious and
easier to digest than our native nuts.
There are thousands of farmers who
have no nut trees of their own, but
whose land is highly suitable for the
growing of these trees. Such farmers
should plant a few nut trees, such as
are adaptable to their climate and
soil, every year, and not be deterred
from planting on the grounds that
they would have to wait so long tor
results.
The planting of nut trees is elevat
ing, profitable and pleasing and in
harmony with the laws of nature.
The planting, propagating and grow,
ing of nut trees has a great future be
fore it, owing to the natural adapta
bility and the rapidly increasing de
mand for nuts to use in the various
food products.
lAkHNOTrA
Above all, don't count your turkeys
before they are hatched.
Raising of fowls has made gigantic
strides in the past few years.
The thermometer is an absolute ne
cessity In any well equipped dairy.
A dairy herd that is really profit
able is never made up of nondescript
cows.
There are two things that go band
in hand in the poultry yard, and
these are care and profit.
Cheap pasture lands, good fences
and a flock of sheep will solve the la
bor problem in away that makes the
dairy farmer stare and the profits are
not very much less
Is put in and when they are connect
ed underground, says Modern Farmer
in describing the building of cement
troughs. After the bottom is complet
ed place the form for the ridge and
fill. Then place the Inside trough
form and fill with concrete made up
of one part Portland cement three
parts sand and three parts aggregates
The placing of an iron rod. two in
ches below the top, adds much more
strength and at little expense. Keep
wet for two days and then al! but the
outside form should be removed and
the Interior slushed with cement and
water, mixed to the consistency of
thick paint. Apply with whitewash
brush This will make it nearly wa
ter-tight, at least more so than a stone
trough. The outside form should not
be removed for four weeks, but the
trough may be used a few days after
the Interior has been slushed as
above.
the perforated bottom. Fasten secure
' ly, putting supports under it so weight]
of filtering matter will not press it |
down. Next bottom put a four-inch ;
layer of coarse gravel, then a six-inch
i layer of fine gravel, then fill nearly !
Ij 7 —2 ft J 1 j
yp i
•—/6 m— ' c;
I
a ^...-5 * $
! < >
X —
Cistern Filter.
■to bottom of discharge pipe with
! clean, coarse sand. To clean the filter
stop up discharge pipe e, and pour
i clean water in filtering chamber d,
and pump mud and water out of cham
I ber b
1^ FOLEY’S
STOPS COUGHS - CURES COLDS
ContaiEdß No Opiates b Safe For Children
t>ARggRS~
HAIR BALSAM
Clmzuhm awl beaatifiet the halt.
Promotes a luxuriant growth.
Never Fails to BeStore Gray
Hair to its Youthful Color.
Prevents hair foiling.
SOO, and SI.OO at Druggiata,
nUlllj wUnl <5 irritation caused
AfVE lUATED by turn or
£ WAI til wind. Booklet free
JOHN L.THOMPSON SONS*CO.,Troy,N.Y.
•••••••••••••
• A Pinch |
* of medicine goes farther
* than a bushel of food, for
f sickness in stock and poul- *
r try. When you need a med- J
• icine to act quickly and Jr
* work thoroughly, try V
Bee Dee
STOCK & POULTRY MEDICINE
♦ It is all medicine, no ♦
* food. Made from pure con- *
A centrated medicinal herbs, *
* of true curative merit It *
2 acts quickly and drives out *
J disease poisons. Try it J
J Price 25c, 50c and 31.00 per can. •
• "It is excellent to prevent disease and *
as a tonic for poultry."—Ella Burroughs, W
*R.F. D. X Scottsboro, Ala. p p
HER ONE WISH.
flrr
gßßal 11,
| i L
w
“Mammy, let me show you some
self-raising umbrellas.”
"No use, man, no use.”
“How about self-raising window’
shades?”
“No good to me; but, mister, if
you'll tell me how to tuhn dese heah
fohteen bad ehillun into self-raising
pickaninnies ah’ll be yo' friend foh
life.”
A Wise Plan.
"The French have the right idea.
They protect the woman,”
"How?”
“Draw up a marriage contract.”
"I see. Fix the alimony while th®
groom is still in love.”
It’s Always
A Good Thing
To have a
Clear Horizon
at both ends of the day.
A dish of
Post
Toasties
for breakfast and again at the
evening meal opens and closes the
day with a dash of sunsliine.
Toasties are bits of hard, white
Indian Com, first carefully cooked,
then rolled thin and crinkly, and
toasted to a delicate, appetizing
brown.
Not a hand touches the food in
manufacture, and it is ready to
serve direct from the package —to
be eaten with cream or milk —and
sugar, if desired.
Post Toasties taste deliciously
good and are richly nourbhing.
