The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1889-06-20

| at Jerusalem for that nationaetcast. You
must not think OF those region{ sis sparsely
| settled. The ancient historian Josephus says
| there were In Galilee two hundred cities, the
| smallest OF them containing fifteen thousand
people. No wonder that amid the crowds at
| the time spoken OF Jesus the boy was lost
! His parents, knowing that He was mature
enough and agile enough 70 take care OF
| Himself, are on their way home without any
| anxiety, supposing that their boy is coming
/ with some OF the groups. But after while
they suspect He i lost and with flushed cheek
and terrorized look they rush this way and
| that, saying: Have you seen anything OF
my boyp He Is twelve years Of age, Of fair
| complexion and has blue eyes and auburn hair
| Have you seen Him since we left the cityy'
| Back they go in hot haste, i'm and out the pri-
| vate houses and among the surrounding hills.
| For threa days thay search and inquire. won-
| dering II lie has been trampied under FOOT or
some Of the thrOngs or has ventured ON tho
| cliffs or fallen OIL a precipice Send through
| all the streets and lanes of the city
| and among all the surrounding hills that most
| dismal sound: "a lost child A lost child"
| Andlo, after three days they discover Him In
| the great Temple, seated among the mightest
| religionists of all the world. The walls of no
! other building ever looked down on such a
| scene A child twelve years old surrounded
| by septuagenarians, He asking His own ques-
| tions and answering theirs. Let mo introduce
| you to some of these ecclesiastics This Is the
| great Rabb!n Simeonl This is the venerable
Hnlc.i 49, is tie famous Shammai. These are
| the SONS ot the distinguished Betirah. What
| can this twelve year lad teach them or what
| questions can He ask worthy their cogitationg
An the first time in all their lives these re-
ligiOnlSts have found their match and more
than their match. Though ~ Young He
knew all about the famous Tenlple under
whose roof they held that most wonderful
discussion of all history. He knew
the meaning of every altar, Of every
sacrifice, OF every golden candlesticl,
Of every embroidered curtain, OF every
crumb of shew bread. of every drop OF
oil IN that sacred cditice. lie knew all about
God. He knew all about man. He knew all
about heaven for He came from IT, He knew
all about this world, for He made IL. He knew
all worlds. for they were only the sparkling
morning dewdrops on the lawn in front of His
heavenly palace. Put these seven Bible wSrds
in a wreath of emphasis /" Both hearing
them aud asking them questions"
am not 50 much interested in the questions
they asked Him as in the questions He asked
them. He asked the questions not to get In
formation from the doctors, for He knew IL
already, hut To humble them by showing
them the height and depth and length and
breadth Of their own ignorance. While the
radiant boy thrusts these self-conceited phil
osophcrs with the Interrogation point, they
put the foreiinger of the right hand TO the
temple as though TO start their thoughts into
more Vigor and then they would look upward
and then they would wrinkle their brows and
then by absolute silence or in positive words
confess their incapacity to answer the inter-
rogatory. With any one OF a hundred ques-,
tions about theology, about philosophy about
astronomy, about time, about eternity, He
may have halked them, Disconnected them
arng them flat Behold the boy Christ asking
questions and listen when your child asks
questions. He has the right to ask theih. Tho
more he asks the better. Alas for the stu
pidity Of the child without inquisitivenessl
IL is Christlke 20 ask questions. Answer
them IL you eau. Do not say; II can't be both
cred now IL is your place to be bothered with
questions. II you are not able TO answer,
surrender and confess your incapacity, as l
have no doubt did Rabbin Simeon and
Hillel and Shamnai and the sons Of Betirah
when that splendid boy, sitting or standing
there with u garment reaching from reck TO
ankle, and girdled Mt the waist, put them to
their very wits end. II is no disgrace losay:
81 don't know" Tho learned doctof who
did not know or they would not havohsked
Him any questions The only being 4 the
universe who mover needs to say: Y do
not know" is the Lord Almighty. THE
fact that they did not know sent KeIl her
and Cuvier and Columbus and Humboldthnd
Herschel and Morse and Sir William Hahil-
ton and all the other of the worlds pighhest
natures into their lifelong explbrati,sit \
Telescope and microscope aud stethos4ope
| and electric battery and all the scientific hp-
asked at the door of mystery Behold this
Nazarene lad asking questions, giving ever
lasting dignity to earnest interrogation.
But while | see the old theologians standing
around the boy Christ l am impressed as
never before with the fact that what theology
most wants is moro Of childish simplicity
The world and the church have built up inn
nense systems of theology. Half of them
try 20 tell what God thought. what God
planned, what God did five hundred million
years before the small star ON which we live
was created. | have had many "A sound sleep
under sermons about the DEGREES of God and
the eternal generation OF the Son and dis
courses showing who Alelchisedeli wasn't, hnd
| give fair warning that II any mintter
ever begins a sermon ON such "A subject iIImy
presence | will put my head down on the bew
in 'front.' and go into the deepest Slunbar | ,an
reach. Wicked waste of time. this tryini 10
scale the uu>ca'ablc and fathom the,ln-
tnthomublc while the nations want the bread
of lie and To be told how they can get rt of
their sins and their SORROWS. Why shIuld
You and perpleS ourselves about the ded'eeS
| of Gody Mind your own business and iod
will take care of His. In the conduct ofthe
universe ! think He viii somehow
manage 20 get along without us II
! you want 10 love and serve God. and be aood
aud uscful and get 10 heaven. ! warrant
| that nothing which occurred eight hundred
GuintilliOu oEvolrs n--.l will hinder YOU a .Aiu-
ute. IL Is not the DEGREES or God that do us
| any nhInl, " Is our own teHfeeS or SIN and
| folly. You need not 90 any further bach in
| history than about 1886 years You see his
is the year 1889. Christ died about thiity-
| three years of age. You subtract thirty-tlree
| from 1889 and that makes il only
1886 years. That is as far buck
as you need to 60 Something oc-
CURED on that day under an ecliTsed
| sun that sets us all forever free if with our
whole heart and life we accept the treuen-
dous proifer. Do not let the Presbyterian
Church or the Methodist Church or the
Lutheran Church or the Baptist Church or
any Of the other evangelical churshes
spend any time in trying 10 fix up old
creeds, all Of them imperfect, as everything
man does is imperfect. | move a new creed
for all the evangelical churches OF Girls
scndom, only three articles In tho
creed and no need of any more. IL lad
pll the consecrated people of all denomna-
tions Of the earth on one great plain, ard
had voice loud enough to put IL To n vota taat
rreeu ur three arJIcies would be adopted with
Il unanimous vote and n laundering aye that
would make the earth quake and the heavens
ring with hosanna. This is the creed pro-
pose for all Christendom:
Article First-"Cod so loved the void
that He gave His only begotten Son that
whosoever believeth in Him should not per-
u. - a