The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1883-07-18
The Wrath OF God.

Men think that, if you preach tn at God
is love, you take away all possible spring
of fear. Not at all. There is nowhere a
mere powerful and righteous administra-
ton of pain and penalty, than in the
government of wise parent who loves
the child so that it will not suffer wrong
in him. There is the whole of Mount
Sinai in the hand of the weeping mother,
and whole Mount Calvary in her heart
and the child gets them both. The idea
that love will not put to pain is as absurd
as that surgeon will not cut. Love will
not pain men2 1t is as absurd as that
medicine is not bitter and distasteful. A
surgeon who will not cut is no surgeon,
and physician who will not prescribe
drugs, bitter things, is no proper physi-
clan. A parent who loves and will suffer
the child to go down to piggish animalism
is not fit to be parent. | say that the
mothers eye sees the wickedness in
child much quicker than anybody else.
The more powerfully and heroically, and
nobly you love, the more resentful you are
to everything in the loved one that is dis
cordant and the administration of God
in Jesus Christ is not an administration
which takes away pain and penalty. God
will not suffer men to be unrighteous, if
he loves them. "What child is he whom
the father chasteneth not?" saith the
word of revelation. What child is he2
No child he is a bastard. I" If ye suffer
chastisement of God, ye are the sons of
God" Love Furnishes. There is no pun
ishment like that of love. When, in the
Apocalypticyision, the terror of men is
described, IL is not described simply as
the terror of the lion, but the most terri
BILE sentence that sounds out from the
New Testament is, To hide us from the
wrath of the Lamb" Infinite tender
ness, infinite self-sacrifce, infinite pity,
purity unalloyed, looking down upon men,
Judging them and condemning them
that is awful. If man is coarse-browed,
and is angry with me- very well; / do
not care for him. If man is devoted to
the interests of selfshness here and there,
sometimes up and down, his judgments
of me worth just what they are-very
little at any time-are inconvenient, but
of no moral validity. But if man of the
most scrupulous honor and truth looks
me in the eye and says, " You are dishon-
orable," it is an arrow in my heart. If a
lovely matron says to me, al cannot
endure the vulgarity of your presence,
heaven shield me from the judgment Of
love and purity God, as represented
upon Sinai, is thousand times easier to
be borne. 1t is an argument of fear
and dread more to have the Lamb your
judge, than to be judged by the Lion Of
the Tribe of Judah. Let no man, there
fore, when he says, Our Father which
art in heaven" suppose that he addresses
God without any color of strength, oil
equity, or of penalty. He is God who
loves you SO that he will not suffer wick
edness in you; and that, if it be needfu
to purge wickedness out from you by
exquisite pains, will employ the pains tc
purge it out. A God of love and Justice
will do that which is necessary to be don'
in order to redeem a soul from death ane
whether pain and penalty will be now o.
hereafter, it will be averaged to thu
measure of necessity. To preach thu
love of God is not to take away tn
motive of fear, but to augment it. 1t i
higher fear. 1t is more generous feal
When once mems minds are opened t.
this generous conception of the fear o
love, it is fear that works with them
not only more quietly, but more effectu
ally, than the old fear.-Beecher.