Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-02-11

once occupied in the sight of God and tn
church; the time was when we possessed tn
infalible sign of the Christian, a time whel
we sang with confidence and humility,
''My God is reconciled," DC;
time in our lives when we brought fortl
the genuine love of the Spirit, when we wer
heirs to Eternal Life, when we could reat
our title clear, to mansions in theskies
Such was our faith that we could pierce til,
thin veil and see the glories of the home VI
yonder.
If we had been called there we could Civ
up our account with joy. The church wal
willing to entrust us with any interest, ant
how high and exalted was our position. LIE
us remember what we once enjoyed, we wer'
happy in the love of God and the prospect O
happiness beyond the grave.
What was our experience then, and what il
it to-day? How earnest were we then, anl
how Indifferent to-day. You sang then:
''Oh happy day that fixed my choice, ETC.,
and we rejoiced to know that we had the evi
dence within us that our sins were forgiven
To-day we sing:
BY the rivers Of Babylon, there we sal
down." ETC.,
and we hanged our harps on the willows a.
we remembered Zion.
1t has been said that no man ought to con
slider himself happy in this life, because ht
did not know what this life was to be. The
Spirit filled our hearts with joy in the bright
prospects of eternal life; hatred and malice We
had not, our hearts were burdened with love
towards God and man, and we were jealous
i'll the cause. No obsticle was so great but
we could overcome it; no task too hard te
bear and no perils too great, and we were
even ready to run on errands of mercy.
1t is al evil thing to forsake the Lord, tc
put the hand on the pillow and then turn
back, to be led out of the city of destruction
and then to look back. But repent, for Goo
has not abandoned us, but declares that He
will save us if we will but return. If there
are any prodigals here to-day, return to the
Lord. Kneel at His table and renew thy
VOWS before Him.
EVENING SERVICE.
The pastor chose for his evening service
tho text, 'For God is love-" This, he said
is one of the grandest declarations in Gods
word. 1t is 50 full of consolation to man
he would have no hope but for it. It is this
that lifts him out of the pit of despair. Ii
this attribute our God differs from all others
Pagans look upon their god with awe, the,
are represented as gods whose mission seems
to be one of cruelty and vengeance, and love
does not come within the pale of its sup
posed attributes. Strange as it may seem
there are those calling themselves Christians
who would impress the world that our Goo
is God of vengeance, and the enemies OF
the church say it is the truth of the bible
but it is unfair and false. While it is tru,
our God is too pure to look upor
iniquity, at the same time God is love, Low,
in the abstract,-it's the essence of divine
nature. We must be careful and not drift
to the other extreme. This is not all Their,
is of God. We cannot do and act as W,
please and think, that God will overlook it
The bible does not say 80. He is God O
love and wisdom, justice and truth; and i
He lacks in any of these He is not perfec
and is not God. These attributes are al
the outcome of the declaration. '.God il
Love-
The truth is apparent when we look al
the benevolence and benifcence of God
How kindly He feels towards us and how
beautifully his benevolence and benifcenc
is set forth in His word. 1t is not mer,
matter of duty with Him. He gives to us a
we give to our children, no
as beggars. What we receive
from God is the out-growt]
of His loye to us. He says: ''And I will low
the and bless thee and multiply thee, etc.
The rains fall upon the just and the un
just. He clothes the hills with grass an,
the fields with corn, the flowers spring up il
the morning, and the dues fall to refres]
the earth.
In olden times they recognized this fact
when man took the grass and grain an
served themselves, as they acknowledged al
these things from the hands of God.
We find this spirit of gratitude in olde
times when they say 30 give thanks unto tn
Lord for He is God, for His mercies endul
eth forever"
The truth of this passage is to be seen i
the providence of God. The student of ma
ture must see the harmony that exists be
tween the creatures of nature and the SUI
roundings. In the arctic region
we find the animals adapte
to the extreme cold as we find the1
in the torrid adapted to the extreme hea
In all nations we find the adaptability bt
tween Gods creatures and their surround
ings. In man we find the d different member
and organs perfectly adapted to their fun,
tions,-all this we attribute to the love
God. All the purposes of God are for h
highest good, but we are guilty of attributin
too much to God.
If evil Overtakes man, no matter what tt
agency, we call it dispensation of Prov
dence. Men brutalize their natures, an
when overtaken by death or desease, we ca
| it dispensation of Providence. We fin
no warrant in the bible for these conclusion
Men die of their owl hands. God does n,
order it, and yet we attribute it to Him. "
have no warrant for this in His wor
1t is true He says our hairs are numbere
and the sparrows do not fall to the grou1
without His notice, and yet He is not to |
held responsible because men will persi
and going the downward road. We attrl
ute many things to Him for which He
not responsible and could not be and |
God. All the operations of God al
towards the we'll being of His creatures. v
are not always in a position to judge what
BEST All things work together for our goo
We see things look dark and dreary to I
business prospects are dark and we feel as
we could not get out of the deep waters, b
through it all God may lead us out into 3
light. King David lost his boy, but this W
Gods way of bringing him back.
From the teaching of Gods word we kns
that man is crual in his mind and ne &
serves the Indignation and wrath of Go
What would we think if oursons acted towar
usi in the manner we act towards, God. It "
not idle curiosity that brought Christ to Il
world. He came to be ransom for ma
that you and might be saved. That "
His mission. He took on the form
man. He suffered the insults of the rabbi
He was reviled and scoffed at and compel
to walk up Calvary's steep sides under I
heavy cross, and all for us. While we W.
1 vet sinners Christ died for us, The gift