The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-11-18

sion OF life; and Christ gave up His life thai We
mlght i've; The brazen serpent was made
unot the plague, and cured it. Christ in diving
was elevated on the cross, that he who seeinp
might live. The dying Israelite looked upon The
pIazfn serpent, and lived; and the dying sin.
ner, looking by faith on Jesus lives sinners
look and live They may be yerv imperfect..
they may be very far Off; their vision NAV be
very indistinct; they may be very badly bitten bv
me seIpenti they may be the chief Of sinners;
they may utterly despair of cure. Yet. never.
iheless, If they look to Jesus, they are saved
"For God so loved the worldD-nrecious
words which the Christian Church has ever
treasured up as the most precious of the qems of
Ler precious casket; words to which we turn
with more than ordinary delight, as TO a more
lovely flower where all are lovely; as to a brill
liant star where all are bright. Words which
the Christian mother taught her child as the
first TO lisp, as expressive of the chief truth of
the Bible; and words which the aged saint Is
the very last to utter as the best expression of
the foundation OF his hope; words which ever
light up the dungeon Of despair; words which,
in the thick tempests, have often
proved an anchor to the souls words
fight the good bght,' when otherwise be
would have yielded Words which should thrill
the hearts, not of Americans or Englishmen,
but the Chinaman and Hottentot and Green.
lapder-tbe savage as well as civilized man
Words which Satan bates and words which
angels ponder, admire, and adore-which
Heaven re-echoes - which eternity will cele-
brate "God so loved the world that He gave
HIS only begotteu Son, that whoever believeth
In HIM shall not perish, but have everlasting
life :" These are precious, precious words
God loved the world. The great, the glorious,
loved little mel God loved the wor d. The
infinite, pure, and holy, He loyeth sinful me
We love Him, because He first loved us. How
much did He love us! SO much as to supply all
our daily wants; surround us with comforts; to
cause so many beautiful flowers TO grow around
the, e homes OF earth, which make us cling to
them so much In spite of its sorrows and pains
of our present condition. Yes, more than this
He gave us His son; the son of whom He speaks
in terms of such endearment, "His well-beloved
son. And He gave that son not 10 come and
visit us simply, but TO come as man; not as a
rich man, with everything contributed to His
pleasure, but as poor and sorrowful man. God
gave up His son TO die, and not death quiet
and serene, such as we hope for, but death em-
bittered by the d6sertion of His friends; by
treachery anI betrayal; by scorn and contempt;
by the agony Of the crown and the nail; and by
the bitterness of spirit which caused Him to
eXclaim, "My God, my Cod why hast thou for.
saken men Yet il pleased the Lord to bruise
Him. Not that the sufieIings OF the Son could
give any pleasure to the Father. but since this
was the method necessary for the salvation of
mankind, the precious sacrifice was not withheld.
How has He loved mel Oh the length, the
breadth, the heghth, and the depth of His love:
it is love that passeth knowledge! Eternity
will never reach the extent of it. We shall
never know the full meaning of this little word
"So.' "God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son ~
But, some one says, fear God does not love
me. God Is full of love, but He does not love
every body, and am one of those He does not
love. Jesus died for sinners, but am afraid
that He did not die for me. Oh that could
hope He died for m me !, -, How @ happy would it be
1t is to such would speak tonight. Think
| who said these words. 1t is not simply phi
lesopher or theologlan who gives the informa-
| ton. This opinion may be right or may be
| wrong. 1t is not even an apostle who brings
| this message to you. 1t is Jesus Himselfl 1t
| was He who was in the bosom of the Father;
L. L, Ill -, kLA1A IL.
Lord, my Father, so loved the world that He
| gave His only begotten Son." You say, the
world What is meant by the world? Why,
| it is plain and obvious. The first plain meaning
is-1'hat the world means everybody. If il
does not mean everybody, it means part of
everybody. II means people; not all mankind,
but some. II world means q portion of man
kind, what portion is meantg 1t cannot mean
the elect portion, for the world, in
restrictive sense, means the bad portion;
and then, II the world does not
and if He died for the world it does not mean
that He died for the good people, cut He died
for the non-elect, and, sinner, you are one of
them. Let us see the arguments 10 convince
any despondiDg brother or sister that there is
a Saviour for them. The first argument derive
from the divinity Of Christ. We believe Christ
l. God. God is infinite; and, therefore, Christ
has infinite power and capacity. If Christ is
not the Saviour of all the world He has a
limited power, because He can only save some.
and yet He is God and infinite. If we believe
cAnn0k
for everyone. The second is this, that
the Gospel is ''good neWsp and the good
news is TO be proclaimed to every creature It
was proclaimed as good news from our Lord
Jesus Christ and His Apostles were adjured to
preach 1t to every creature. Wel then, if it is
to be proclaimed to every creature, Ii is evil
IDENTIFY good news that all should know. II
would be strange il person should say y:-"Here
is good news TO be told to ALL something for
ALL" and invite a hundred people to hear the
good news, and they say that it was for only
ten of them. Some say 1t is good news
for the elect. How do you know who the elect
aret Rowland Hill was about to preach one
Sunday, when he was told that they only
preached 10 the elect there. Very WE'LL" said
he, mark out the elect, and will preach to
them alone.r
The third argument is this:-Redemptiou is
co-extensive with ruin. If you are ruined then
you are pure and need no redemption. II is the
ruined only who need to be redeemed.
The fourth argument Is this:-That salvation
is actually offered to every body. Does not our
Lord proclaim throughout that salvation is free
to all who will parlake? Does not our Lord
invite the orld-eVerybody-to the feast, and
would IL not be mockery to say that, after
having invited all, He should say that it was for
only a certain number?
The fifth argument is:-That repentance is
eDjoned on everybody, You will admit that
everybody is invited, that that means the world
Here what the Bible says:-"Let the wicked
torsake his way, and the unrghteous man his
thoughts ana let him return unto the Lord and
He will have mercy upon him." Aud in the
New Testament we have:-"God commandeth
all men everywhere to repent"
The sixth argument ls:-All people are called
upon 10 pray-both in the Ola and New Testa-
iE a Hv- ExTar