Towanda daily review. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1879-1921, 1880-01-29
FEBRUARY l.
TRUE DISCIPLES.
MATT. 5: :1-16.

-MuU. OH.
Central Truth The blessedness of be-
levers.
More than year had now passed since
our Lord began his public ministry. Du-
ring that time he had wrought his first
miracle in Cana of Gallee had celebrated
his first Passover at Jerusalem, and had
held his remarkable interview with Mic
odemus, who sought his counsel at night;
had held the striking conversation with
the woman of Samaria at Jacobs well;
had gone through many parts of Galilee;
had miraculously healed the nobleman's
son; had been rejected by the people at
Nazareth, and removed to Capernium;
had worked the miracle of the draught of
fishes, and called Peter, James, John, and
Levi, the publican, to be disciples; had
worked many other miracles, among them
that at Bethesda, and the healing of the
paryletics hand Capernium and had
called the twelve Apostles, to whom the
famous ''Sermon on the Mount" was
preached.
This discourse may be called sort of
inaugural sermon for the twelve, to whom
in company with other disciples, it was
first preached.
The place where it was delivered was a
hill little west of the Sea of Galilee, less
than hundred feet in heighth with two
SUBMITS called the ''hornS Of Hattin,'
from tfe village Of Hattin, which was near
by. 1t had a smoothe and level spot on
the top, where company could be easily
Accommodated, and stood in the midst of a
fertile and beautiful region.
The discourse was spoken for the speci-
al instruction of the twelve Apostles,
though many others probably listened to
it's teachings, Our Lord had spent the
preceding night in prayer, and in the
morning he called, each by name, the
twelve humble Galileans who were to be
his companions and friends, the preach
ers of his gospel and the chief counsellors
in his kingdom.
The Church has immortaized these
men as ''the glorious company of the Ap-
ostles," and they well deserve such hon
orable remembrance. But at this time
they were only company Of simple-mind-
ed believers, with crude ideas of that
kingdom OF which they were to be the
leaders, and to human eyes poorly equip
ped for the great work which was now to
be committed to them. But God has al
ways chosen the foolish things of the world
to ,onfound the mighty, committing the
treasures Of the gospels to ''earthen YES
sells, that the excelency Of the power"
might be his alone.
To those chosen ones gathered before
him on the hill of Hattin the Great
Teacher proceeded to address his match
less discourse. 1t was his first public
manifesto: the first announcement of the
principles of the new kingdom which he
was to set up on the earth. He declares
what are the orders of nobility in that
kingdom, and a glance at these convinces
Us that his kingdom is indeed "not of
this world" The blessed ones. the hon
ored ones in that kingdom, are not the
rich, the mighty, the prosperous, and the
complacent, but they are the poor, the
sorrowful, the meek, the hungering and
thirsting after goodness, the merciful,
the pure, the peacemakers, the perSecu-
ted for righteousness sake.
These are not the signs of popularity
with the world They describe character
rather than condition. They mark the de-