St. Paul daily globe., 1892-12-26
DIVINITY OF CHRIST.
Rev. Dr.. Vail breaches a Ser
mon On the Essence
Thereof.
The Savior Looked Upon as
an Ordinary Mortal in
His Early Days.
sHr
Development Of His Power
Traced Through Vari-
Gus Stages.
Inherent Traits Of Divine Life
Naturally came to the
Surface.

undoubtedly known as man, for they
plainly declared that they knew Him;
that He was the son of Joseph and
MARY; that they knew His brothers and
sisters, and that any claim on His part
to more than ordinary consideration was
iinposture.
tHFhe revelations of vision that are told
in connection with His birth are prob
ably true, although they did not seem
to be known in His home; and have ne
doubt but that in twenty years from the
present day they will be fully explained,
and ait the beauty and poetry of the
scene retained. His mastery over men
was undoubtedlyoa gift of rare value
possessed in degree by others. Up to
the age of thirty He does not seem to
have known His own mission. and from
that time on His life has been the source
of endless speculation and mystery. The
keynone to all the life of Christ after
the age of thirty is in that one word
Messiah. Understand that and you will
get giimpses of all the rest. But to un-
derstand.it We
s> Ezusf Now the Times
and the ages preceding. The golden
threads of this idea are interviewer
with the hopes of men for centuries
previous. Fori in the very dawn of the
nation there arose belief that this was
a chosen people, and that deliverer
would arise who would give them all
the privileges. and desDoil their enc
mics. 1t was not a generous hope. 1t
had no interest IN any other people. It's
best hope was in armies stronger than
the aliens, i'll chariOts more powerful,
in swords of better metal. rough-grouHd
for the light. II hoped for bursting
granaries, cattle covering thousand
hills, orchards and vineyards propped
up with poles to ease the burden. But
i'll It's International aspect it had a dis
tlnctly martial attitude. prepared to
send the trumpet sound of detance5t0
all nelgiibOrS, who would Of course lbe
powerful enemies. i?F"
United with this spirit. however, was
the opinion that the people SO favored
must be righteous people in relation
to each other. They must be this iii
order to gain and hold this place: and
il they were righteous, then this DelfV-
erer would come and save them. The
sentiment deepened. 1t filled the
minds of the people to overflowihg
whenever misfortune touched the land.
1t was iii the note of every prophet'in
the better days, and as the decline pro-
ceeded it became more constant and
conscious conviction. rs
Now, consider what this idea of the
Messiah meant in Judea at the time of
Christ, and YOU Will get a still clearer
light on His life. In the early day we
have seen what it WaS-have seen how
it rose in the dawn of Hebrew history
as a hope, how it persisted and grew
under all. even the most discouraging
conditions. Moreover, in the
Times OF Special Stress
it was special inspirations; thus when
the Hebrew had been carried away cap
tive, ami hanged his harp on the Baby
lOnian willows, when his capt0rS made
mirth of his condition. and asked him to
sing the Lords song in strange land
then, out of his weakness, and in the
belief that he was to find the Messiah,
he rose to the emergency and escaped
the tolls of captivity.
More strange and startling was the
revolt of MaccabeeS. For i'll The days
when AntiochuS had despoiled Judea,
when ker treasure had been taken away,
when Hebrew mothers were strangled
with nursing children in their arms,
when fire AID sword had reduced and
blasted every place Oh promise in the
fair city. there rose that remarkable
man, Judas Maccabeus. And when he
rose it was to call few hundred tur-
baned, sun-browned men, armed with
light Arabian spears, to meet the solid
ranks of soldiers. ten times their mum
Der, drilled and armed. With the fierce
ness of a hungry pack of'wolveS that fly
from their mountain faStneSs, he sprang
upon the men soldiers with this handful
and sustained by the hope of Deliver
er, the gallantMaccabee wrote his name
OH the scroll of tame, where it will re-
main long after the name of AntiochuS
has rotted in oblivion.
Then came the prosecutions of Herod,
and these only served to kindle anew
the hope of the people.
Plate mingled the blood of certain
men with their sacrifices OH the altar;
the sword leaped from its scabbard, but
was poWerlesS to resist; then the cry of
prayer went up that God would not de-
lay the coming of the. Deliverer. PLATE
lowered the golden eagle from above the
door of the temple, and out of the glenS
sprang turbaned men; spears were seen
glittering in the sun; from out the clefts
of the rock men sWarmed like bees, an
sWering the alarm trumpet with such
alacrity that frightened Plate desiSted
and replaced the emblem.
And once more the cry went to God
that the -Deliyerer might come. How
natural, then. that in the time of Christ
this hope was intense! How natural
thatlittfe boys were taught that this
Messiah would probably be edI
An Elijah Returning to Earth,
and how natural that at public feasts, a
people travelling in the gorges of the
hills should have felt the possibility.of
seeing the stern face of the prophet at
any time! N
Now add to this the fact that IN
period covering the life OF one man fifty
men arose claiming to be the Messiah
of the Jewish people, and had more or
less following, and then we are pre-
pared to come to the Immediate time of
Christ, and observe the forces set in
motion then. a
A man had issued from a priestly
house and betaken himself to the des-
ert. From the desert he had come to
the fords of the Jordan and began to
preacl.N What more natural than that
crowds should have focked to see If
this was another Judas Maccabeus. or
| if Elijah had returned, or if the Deliv-
erer had come in form entirely new.
| But this John was an honest man and
said he was not the Messiah, but was
certainly sure that the man was at
hand. A young man from Nazareth
| went down to see and to hear and was
startled beyond measure when he was
pointed out as the hope of the world,
| the Messiah that was to come.
We must remember that the Jews
only expected man as able. and en-
dowed in the same way that we find a
Napoleon endowed. They did not eX-
pect more than brave Maccabee
who would come with sword. with
cunning and with power.
The Nazarine assumed this character
of Messiah, and by such name called
himself; out he read new and entirely
different meaning into the words. for
he was more than the mau of Nazareth