The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1896-01-24
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SYNOPSIS OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
MON BY nc: sixRpiN,, y,
The Divine Lawgivsr CoHrraand y + Re.
p~entance and That We BY spSenta sc
Change the ssln.h systs1me21..iAAil Gso,Pidt
Depends on Obedience. 4 d. ,sA.
---- $500 ia. s=sahs
Text:-Thy will be done onssarthsas
il is in heaven. \: ,ss.;ssst s-t
The first word t~hatsyJesas; uttered
when he began his pub1itsHtinistry IS
positive proof of the evil OF the, then
existing social and moral conditions,
and of the necessity of reform. He says
to his hearers Repent 1'"tTurn. your
back upon the existing order that has
brought you to the very verge
OF political, social and moral ruin.
and accept the new order, for the king
dom of heaven is at hand" We do not
need to go to the musty records OF pro-
fame history to learn that the social and
moral conditions of the people at that
day were at war with the social and
moral welfare of society and had in
Cured the d%ispleasure of God. The
words Of the greatest of all reformers
will convince you of that.
Neither do we need to search the
musty records of the past to understand
the nature of the reformation intro
duced by Jesus and carried forward by
his apostles. Now he has told US in
language not to be misunderstood
"The kingdom of heaven is at hand"
A new sociology, of divine origin and
birth, was to take the place Of the old
order-a sociology wherein the will of
the father might be done in earth as
Ii heaven. 60 So GO.
But, the objector to cur view of the
meaning of Christ in his announcement
Of the lear approach of the coming
kingdom will say: "Ah, this was
wholly a spiritual kingdom and would.
be set up in the hearts and would
affect only the spiritual and religious.
life of the nation, and would have moth:
ing whatever to do, with the political
and social life Of the people,. a. - {. )
I answer: Certainly the kingdom Of.
heaven set up in the earth; would,
doubtless, greatly affect the religious or
spiritual life of the people, but can. a
people be morally right and athhe;same'
time politically and socially wrong? To,
my way of thinking there ean.be but.
one kind of right, and a people cannot
be right and wrong both at, the same
time. You cannot be socially wrong. or
in wrong social relations with your
fellows, and at the same ti1neHbe re-
ligiously right in your relations with
God. You mustsnot onlytloye God, but
you must love your neighbor as your
self. Neither can you be politically
wrong and be socially right. 7 There is
SO close a relation existing between our
political duties that we dare not say we.
may go on from day to day in a life of
political wrong doing, andayet::have:the
approval of our social conscience
Hence, I agree that the coming king;
dom of heaven whose near approach
Jesus has heralded forth, calling upon
the people to repent and turn away.
from present customssand environment,
was to affect and completely change not
alone the religious life of that nation,
bit the social and political life as we'll
That, in it's effects, the kingdom Of
thCouon in. q orfh ~. vyo g N.S n q N W. for
ever, with the Industrial, political, So
cial and moral conditions that. had
robbed the nation of it's life and brought
ii to poverty and ruin, and was to build
up such political, Industrial, social and
moral conditions as are named, i"the
kingdom of heaven" in which the will
of God should be done in earth as in
heaven. 5s.@
But what are we to understand by the
will" of God? Why the mind or inten-
tion of God expressed in the form Of
law. We call the ten commandments
the law of God, but the real law existed
before the writing of the command
ments, the writing being simply the ex-
preston of His will or intent. Really
1Ou AdS DuI one law. AS luele - ouly
n kind of right, so, also, there is but
one law. All other statutes are but
precepts of the one great law, and that
is the law of love. Thou shalt love
God. Thou shalt love thy neighbor.
Hence, His will done in earth means
nothing more nor less than that his love
should rule on earth as in heaven.
Not much has been revealed to us Of
canditiAnS in haaYen-h hut -annloh. 70