The axle of the universe
 

“The cross is never old. The wood, and nails, and inscription have indeed perished long ago; but the cross in which Paul gloried stands for ever.

That cross is the axle of the universe, and cannot snap asunder. That cross is the foundation on which the universe rests, and cannot give way. The cross of Golgotha is, in this sense, everlasting; and each one who glories in it becomes partaker of its immortality.

In itself blood is the symbol of death; in connection with the cross of Christ, it is the emblem and the pledge of life.

It is by blood that all that is feeble, and corruptible, and unclean is purged out of creaturehood. It is by blood that this race of ours is preserved against the possibility of a second fall, and this earth against the contingency of a second curse. Take away that blood, and the security of the universe is gone.”
— Horatius Bonar
The Rent Veil