Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1892-01-18

or Jesus, Savior, all are In beautiful ac-
cord, not alone with the inspired record,
but also with the traditions of the hu-
man race, and even the dictates of right
reason. He who believes in a divine
Creator, cannot believe that man is
now, in his present condition, such as
the All-wise and All-holy God created
him. No theory Of human invention
can explain.
THE GREAT ENIGMA
which man presents to himself. While
he has evident traces of high nobility,
raising him above all other orders Of
visible beings, yet he bears about him
also signs of some fearful upturning of
his highest faculties-signs as plain and
convincing as are the scattered broken
columns which tell the story Of per-
ished greatness. Faith alone unravels
the mystery of mans existence. 1t re-
yeals the perfection Of natural gifts be-
slowed on the primitive man and the
still higher gifts of the supernatural or
der with which the bounty Of loving
| father freely enriched his earthly child
as means to fit him for his destined
i nOAl4O III nCdNbu. IL lbilo ~" NhOoO 81
pernatural gifts were lost and even the
gifts Of the natural order sadly i'm
paired by mans sinful disobedience. 1t
depicts in all its hldeous malice the evil
of sin as an outrage against the sover-
eign majesty of God the Creator.
Then it unfolds the merciful plan of
mans redemption. The Son Of God
assumes the nature of man, that in that
nature which had sinned, full atone
ment may be made 10 the offended
! Creator. By his obedience unto death,
even the death of the cross, he repairs
the disobedience of the first man. Not
only does he purchase forgiveness OF
sin, but restoration OF the supernatural
privileges bestowed on Adam and for
feited by his sin for himself and pos
terity. Through the application Of the
divine Redeemer's merits, sinful man is
reborn a child of God and heir Of heaven.
| FAITH
marks out in minutest detail the instru-
mentalities he established for the be-
stOwal of this supernatural life, It's In
crease and perfection. 1t unrayels for
us the question which perplexed Nico-
demus, and tells how man, at any stage
of his natural life, may be reborn OF
water and the Holy Ghost; by what
precise means new sins contracted may
he forgiven through the power invested
in Christ's duly authorized minister's;
how the divine life is nourished by
closest union with the Goldman Ia the
Sacrament Of his body and blood, and
continually augmented and perfected
until happily crowned in the glory OF
the beatifc vision.
These teachings of faith, as interpre-
ted by the Catholic Church, portray the
blessed realty so tersely stated by the
Inspired apostle: where sin had
abounded, grace hath more abounded, ,
or, the same truth as sung by the
church in accents Of gladness in the
E.rllltCt of Holy Saturday: sob. happy
fault of Adam, which deserved to have
such and so great a Redeemer!" Thus
does Christ, the Goldman, become the
new Adam-the new head and father Of
the human race. Through the shelter
ing medium of His deifed humanity
each regeneratad soul is brought into
closest union with the Godhead and into
a participation Of ChriSt's own life, and
is enabled to say: IL live, now not l,
but ChrisG liveth in me-"
This sublime elevation of man, which
results from the application Of the
fruits of redemption, finds no place in
the cold, barren theories Of the so-called
reformerS. These theories, as systema-
tized by Calvin, refuse to man, even
when Justified and regenerated, the
power of doing works meritorious OF re-
ward before God, because the justified
man is still sinner whose sinfulness is
merely cloaked over by the righteous
ness of Christ imputed but notimparted
to him. This whole
DREARY SYSTEM
may be thus summed up in these words,
taken from Calvin's Institute (vol. l,
blk. iii. 24): His (Christ's) righteous
ness covers your sins-His salvation ex-
tinguishes your condemnation, He inter
| poses with His worthiness, and so pre-
vents your unworthiness from coming
into view of God"
In its notice Of an eloquent sermon
preached by Rev. Joseph Cook, in the
Second Presbyterian Church Of this
city, on Sunday, November II, 1889, the
REGISTER says that he held that sin
could not be blotted out by God. The
record made by man must remain with
out alteration; but Christ was inter
posed as a screen between the man and
the record he had made in that particu-
lar"
Thus there is no true regeneration,
no real participation in ChristS life and
holiness, no infusion into the soul Of
the forgiven sinner OF divine grace. In
this gloomy system, where is there any
true restoration of the lost gifts and
privileges Of Eden? The poor sinner is
merely told that Christ'S merits inter
pose to prevent God from seeing the
foulnesS of sin which still continues to
polute his soul. He can never feel the
embrace of his Savior, the purifying
and sanctifying touch of Christ's sacred
humanity,
THAT DIVINE PRESENCE
Which, especially in the holy Sacra-
mept OF the altar, floods the soul OF the
worthy communicate with a foretaste
of heavens blissful joys, the everlasting
portion of Gods redeemed children.
Nay, many see in the great Sacrifice of
the cross, Of which we have the daily
renewal, but sublime example Of he
roic virtue, no real atonement for the
sins of the world.
We cannot wonder that men holding
such views Of Christ and his redemption
have come to ask, first, why such a Re-
deemer must needs be very God and
then to deny His divinity. What care
they for words of holy writ?
Have they not been trained in q
school of logic which in its interpreta-
ton of Scripture knows how to reverse
the plsinest statements OF that In
| spired record? Open its pages and