Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1884-01-20

rhilippl, he asksd Pstss, "who do men
ssy that ], the son Of man. amr He Was
lot content to be recognised - John the
Bsptist, nor % Elijah, nor Jeremiah,
nor spy Of the prophets. These we're
among the most henored nasnes that had
been called by God ~ deliver His connsels
TO men. he. himself. had said that oil
men born Of Wenen. there had been none
greater than John. Yet He demanded for
himself q dignity and . rank-a nature
above them ell. II Was only when Peter
On, wered, Thou art the Christ, the Son Of
the living Coo" that Hs accepted the re-
eosnition n ... .r.-
Adequate 70 His High Claims
upon the hith Of men. And Why vas
thisH What maitered il to this imperial
person what men thought Of Him. Was
He not conscious OF His own infinite power
and divine dignityi Did He not know
that He bad come forth from the bosom OF
The Father with whom he had slarSd III
equal glory before the world vas? Had
He not power to lay down HIS life
and power to take Il up again, and
could He not Withdraw from this sickening
battle with sin, and dwell apart in eternal
pace! Could he not svenge himself on He
prosecutors and call forth His body guard o.
ange to wither them from his presence
No, This would not safety the dlyins phi
snthropy. He must WIN his way through
q tn to the hearts of men. that He might
rave them, To this eud came be into ths
world and 10 the hour and agony OF his
dreadful suffering. At all costs, the world
must know and acknowledge Him in
His divine person, because nothing short
Of this could save them. 1t Is not 3 matter
Of iDel ference what We think OF Him. Tns
nj faif nn haP than
the power Of Him in whom We trust, ami
the faith that looks without fear into the face
Uf death, must trust To Him who has power
10 destroy death. The faith that steps
i6eIlt Ssly into the dark river, must see
hard outstretched from the other side that
can lead il safely over the pillows. The
Isith that sspires To life eternal, must lay
hold of Him who alone has power TO give
it. Has lie not Himself said. "rnis is life
eternal TO know Thee, the only true God,
and Je sus Christ whom Thou has sent
But we have said, that what was thussu
pernsturally proclaimed concerning
Christ was not At the first fully understood
or conceded by the people. And we can
readily see that had these high pretentiOns
rested alone on these teachings they never
could have won the confidence OF the
World. They must be sustained by dem.
nnstrstions OF power in harmony with
them. A supernatural being must show
supernatural gifts. The Son of Mao must
10 works and Manifest Ristiom
worthy of His nature.
The people Of His country, regarding
Him simply as the carpenters sDn aud
nearing Him teach and witnessing His mir
aclss, were astonished, and asked Whence
hath this man this wisdom aud these
mighty works2"-Matt. xiii So. How could
the carpenters son DO capable OF SUCH
jhIngs? On the other hand. the Saviour
.pesking Of Himself said: If ! hsd not
done among them the works which none
other did, they had not had Sin." Juo.
xv., 81 He would have been justly dispissd
{ He had not sustained bis preteusious by
works worthy Of His high claims. We can
conceive of nothing more justly worthy of
The popular derisiOn, than one who was
rOtbIng more than q Jewi~h peas mt,
claiming 10 be ths Son Of God and the
Saviour OF the world, with no light Uf us
dom or power sf works TO back up HIS
pletensi0us and authenticate Hts clam
But there is a divine harmony IN the
rbsracter of Christ, aud tue pro2a-t 10.
reduces Him to the worli under majestic
names, indicative vi HIS uoer natural pow
arg. He shall be called Wonderfully"
Counsellor" because He shall peri Irn
mighty works AMI manifest divine wis
uum. By mighty works, We uuderst ind
ching less .hsn miracles in the true aud
supernatural sense Of the word: not tn ugs
marvellous only, because strange and ia
sxplirsb.e, but things wrought by 40
sgenCy
Distinct from the Forces OF Nature
and beyond their operations and laws. As
4 man, He had grown up through the
stages of natnTe-a perfect child-a perfect
boy, to perfect manhood, aud like Us In
-. -. D. SA.aF In
human maturity, He is tit for His work,
He begins to manifest the fulloess also
Of HIS diyins nature, and hence.
forth HIS ws!k in the world Is
marked with WORK wort. y of his name.
Miracles. not one here and there wrought
under special circumstances, aud by pre-
Niuus arrangements of ccIlusion; not in
dark sesnces and with iugslery OF deceP
zion, but miracles by the thousand, IN the
light Of day, ON the streets. III the high
Wsys, in company With his friends and in
the lace of his enemies, upnn the sick, the
MANNED, the blind, the halt the dead;
upCn the lsper crying "unclean, uuclean,'
and the raging demOnisc CRASHING upon
b chains; upon ths winds. and the waves,
,,sd the laws of gravity. Upon the TO
If nature On earth, and the poEer of de-
mems in hell the. touch Of his hand or the
sOLuU OF his voice tails,
Aud They Obey.
What shall We say OF THESE things What
did his enemies say at the time? Did tney
DEFY the facLp Ii the subtle but so2histl
cal Hume had been there, and cried out:
TX is impossible 10 prove irscie, what
think you the people would have SAID
Mat would lazarus, standing up in the
yigor of his new life, have answered.
Impossible to prove 8 miracle, Why
Look at me-" What would the widow VI
Main nave said Snstching up her child
from the bier and pushing aside the
mUurners and the psll-oearers, "Bsbold
my boy" What would the man, blind
from his birth have said? Impossible to
prove it or not, this know, that whereas
Vas blind, now | see" M. this Was not
the argument then. Il would have been
bouy saw TO he sctusl fact. Bat some said:
HE hath demon and is msd" Otner'
answered. Can a demon open the eyes o.
the hlindr' Others said: He ci,tsih
out De mons by the power Of Btelzebub:
buf sgsin The refuTst:on came fTom the
-, Tor himself: II cast on dsmont
the power OF Satan, then il his kinSdo
Divided Against Itself,
and must fall"
|; has been asked "what proof is there in
4 miracle of q moral proposition and We
n r,cle. Simply and OF itself, miracle
orly proves the presencs Of supernatural
power; bot the nature of the miracle
truvss the nature of the sgant exercising
the power. In The miracles of the Saviour,
II is not the power that attracts US Sd mucn
rs the divine benedcrnce manifested in it
His miracles were all in helpfulness to hu
msnity, wrought in the interests OF
n,sp, They were acts of relief froT suf
tsriug with tsnderest brotherly sympathy
with the sufferer. Assume il you please
that there are other powers in the universe
cspable of working miracles: We have no
INFER. st in them il they are not wrought in
our behslf. These miracles are barren fac 9,
unless in soIue way related to my
self We study the Saviour's mirac
ulous deeds, and We find them all go)i.
We can look over them all and witnessing
tie freshness aud the sweetness OF the life
and Joy which sprsug up everywhere
uuder His supernatural touch, We can
say as God SAID Of the original creation,
they are very good" Aud 1t needs no
inference OF logic 10 satisfy my heart that
their author is good, and also my friend.
IL is this aspect Of the supernatural
,ovsr Of Christ that the Christian delights