The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-03-03
rEsPAkAIIoS ZOE cMEIsT.

Rev. 4. w. Reads Dfsreurse ~ the MAJ
kes street Baptist Church.
Rev. 1. ". Read. 1t the Market street
baptist church. yesterday morning took
for his text:
Galatians is. 4-ssWhen she fuJn1ss Of Tire tlrse
Was come God sent forth His soz.
His subject vas, The Preparation Of the
World for Chrissn Every age. be said.
has hsd its contentious over certain doc
tyines Of Christianity. The causes for this
have varied With the changes in the differ
emf conditions of men. The channels Of
thought have been different The modes
Of thought today are not what they were
century ago. The doctrines upon which
men differ today are moi what they were in
the Seventeenth century. Through all
the centuries men, unaided by revelation.
have had bat crude ideas as 10 God in his
immediate concern for the world. They
could mol come face to face with Him in
his pyovidentiai government of men. Plato
-. In his introduction 10 hts discourse
upon the gods, that ell that could be done
was 10 advance likely conjecture. and not
anything beyond that.
Cicero said that all these things were
involved In deep obscurity, an indeed
edge OF God. We may see how men were
seeking after God and yet how far they
were from Him, when we remember That
Grecian philosophy, ~ one OF its later acts.
had erected nm altar 10 ''the unknown
God.
Men vii ever remain in the mists OF I'M
certainty until they open the book. when
ignorance viii give place to knowledge and
darkness will be superseded by light
With the lamp OF truth in oar hand. and
careful scrutiny OF the history OF ma
tons. We may be led TO God. who created
all and who governs in the affairs OF all.
Upon this matter revelation is not silent
In Psalm xxxvi: 8. we read: 20 Lcrd.
thou preservcst man and beast" Gods
power IL 10 imminent in the world that il is
declared in Acts xvii: y that I'm Him we
live. move and have our being" He Is so
intimately connected with as that we are
governed by Him. We may not always
know 1t. and Jet his hand il on the helm.
II Is related that IN a certain battle the
commanding general had his headquarters
some distance from the scene 81 activity.
Conveniently near him was q photographic
instrument. and from this went out wires
10 every division OF the army, and sitting
there with his map before him he gave di-
rection In every detail The common
soldier heard no voices but those about
him. hat In oil Of his movements he was
controlled by m unseen mind. So God
sits rs our commander. We may be con-
troiled by forces which we can see, bat
these arc under control Of the infinite mind.
Men frequently ask Why was il that man
had 70 wait 30 long for the Christ. the
savior Of men. when il Was SO essential 70
his bappiness7 We must remember that
with God "A thousand years are as one
day." There are four things which must
take place before the fulness Of time should
come and the advent OF Christ heralded.
I. The world must have time to be
convinced Of its own inability 70 elevate IT.
self morally and spiritually.
Just a. long q men had lingering idea
that they could heal themselves they wor Id
not seek help elsewhere. A man who is
sick viii not seek the aid OF physician un-
al be believes aid Is more certain with such
aid. Let man be convinced of the made
auacy oil his own exer,ions and then be
win be ready TO accept help from other
sources While men felt able 10 cope with
the mslady Of evil they would not have re-
ceived the great ply stefan, and this being
true they were given 1000 years la which
TO experiment In various WAYS.
The result al such experimenting proved
futile. as IL was proven that man by his
own energies could not save himself. but
rather the longer he tried the worse he
grew. tii God came in the Judgment OF the
flood. Then, again. men multiplied upon
the earth. but again sin and human ef-
fort are seen; bat ~ before. these efforts
were very unsatisfactory, for men grew
better In nothing, but worse in everything
ldolatry became a prevailing vice. SO that
the sun. moon and stars were worshiped,
and finally beasts. birds and reptiles.
Standing &c We do nj a period 80 remote
from tho time Of which we speak. and
being surrounded by the blessings of the
gospel, we can scarcely realize the degra-
dation inso which the people had fallen.
Along the lire of these centuries God be-
gan TO show himself through various opera
lions. and the method OF works which he
Instituted. 10 turn the minds of men from
themselves TO their Greater. for until this
task was accomplished the Savior could
not come.
For long time men knew hut little Of
God, save that He was al powerful and
visited Hts enemies with sore chAssise-
mena Then the Jews began to realize that
the Lori rosscsssd the attribute of love
and vas worthy of their hearts affections
slowly t.sis surely, aud as rapidly a. the
race would permit. God anfolded to men
his nature sud attributes. preparing in this
Way men for the coming of the Redeemer
la the fact that centuries we're taken Ia
disclose the real will OF God ne see prin-
eipie which was a necessity hen are coz
shisr mans state
On account OF SINS controlling rover and
consequent upon that. mans rcrverSen esx.
thc revelation Of tsoa must necessarily he
siow, fer nsind perverted By evil cannot
grasp great spiritual truth aFs st once. bat The
rrocess must he gradual and the labor that
el patient visiting
IL Before ghrsxt came there must be
suitable Language ey which 20 coavsy bis
teachings to the popular ear. II you viii
but fmpsFfecsly look into the language OF
she world hssore the advent OF Chrtst voa
wisl see bow inadequate IL WAS 10 aceern-
irish the work So essential - the end in
view
Mea hare existed whose language vas
such that ID wanla have been wsll nigh ina.
passiale a. hssc conveyed tAs whole doc
sriae cs thirst 10 tksEa. Aanng those
s,sses 81 glasses sn Whose language there il
ue word 30 correspond wish oar wa.d
thank. ~ N others no serd 10 coayey
cur meaning Of love. Il wcasd he ina
raSSasss to deliver she whose message Of
Jesus Christ IL Is said thai in Holland
there is $ class ct nsea ~he have no wora