The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1897-09-30
"GOD IS LOVE" "
A Beautiful and Touching Sermon
Upon This Theme.

Those who attended the service FRI
day night land large crowd was pres
ent) are free to admit that it was one
of the best sermons the Evangelist
has preached here.
His subject was "God Is Love-" the
text being selected from 1st John 4:S
THE SENTINEL only has space for ex-
tracts from the beautiful and encOur-
aging discourse.
St John, the beloved disciple. was
so imbued with the loving spirit OF
his Divine Master, that he made Love
the most prominent subject and pre-
dominant theaae OF all his writings,
said the Evangelist.
His Gospel and Epistles are choice
gardens of celestial flowers, fragrant
with the perfume of Gods love to sim
full men.
God is Love; love is of Divine origin.
It's birthplace is in the great heart of
God. 1t is an exotic from the heaven
ly tropics. Its native atmosphere is
heaven.
Love is the grandest and noblest of
the many glorious attributes of God.
1t is the richest gem in the diadem OF
Jehovah. Il Is the brightest sun in
the ornament of heaven.
This may be asserted without in
the least disparagiDg any of the other
divine characteristics, for all Coos
attributes are unequalled and unex-
celled, and infinitely too perfect and
sublime to be compared with any
character or being in heaven or on
earth.
All Gods attributes call forth our
praise, inspire our faith, deserve our
homage. and are worthy of our pro-
| foundest alteration, vet none of them
has the attracting power and con-
straining influence for hopeless and
| helpless sinners as love.
The "Holiness" of God is pure and
| perfect; it is gorgeous and glorious.
The Power" of God compels our
admiration. All power is in His
| hands.
to reverence it's grandeur, while we
| fear its penalty. We honor Justice
when we are innocent, but the Justice
all men are guilty before God, 1t
| therefore condemns us all
God, without Love, would be In the
sinners mind heartless and heath
enish Go1; cold and cruel despotic
deity; a marble and merciless mon
| ster. But when we look at God from
Calvary, we behold him as God OF
love, and are constrained to love him
"because he first loved u.s."
covered with buds of mercy, and
| blooming with blossoms of blessing,
| fragrant with flowers of forgiveness,
| and vocal with the melOdious music
| and resonant notes of the Birds OF
| Paradise as they sing their sweet
| songs Of peace on earth and good will
to man. So we perceive that every
| Divine perfection and attribute is but
| an expression of Gods great love for
| man.
"God is Lover! The essence and
| auintessence of love; the author and
| origin of love; the source and spring
| of love, the father and fount of love
| God lives in the realm of love. His
throne is love, it's canopy is studded
| all over with sovereign grace and
never-dying love. The glorious ban
ner that floats from the highest d 4g-
| staff in heaven has inscribed on 1t tine
| the sceptre of perfect love; the angelic
lhost is directed by love; the solid
granite pillars underneath the dome
OF Gods Justice are massive blocks o1
everlasting love, taken from the infin
ite quarries of Eternal Love. The
"Song of Redemption" is the Song ot
Love, unto Him Who Loved Us, etc
"Love rules the court, the camp, th'
And men below, and saints above,
For Love is heaven, and heaven is Love-"
Gods love distances all thought
and defles all imagery. 1t Is like hi
wisdom, infinite; like his power, .om
nipotent, and like his essence, divine
The love of God cannot be measured
by latitude or longitude. As Mr.
Wesley said, sit Is the joy Of angels
and the wonder of men,"
The love of God is most strongly re
vealed In the work of redemption. Ii
creation we see the "hand OF God;" IL
1t is In the great work OF redemp
4 tion that we see the perfect haI mon
and blending OF all the Divine char
acteristics and attributes.
In the atouement all Gods attri
butes were respected and honOred, no
one was violated The dignity OF tn
law was upheld, its majesty vindica
ted, and its justice satisfied. Th
honor of the Divine government wa
sustained and the great loving hear
of God for poor sinners revealed. In
holiness of Gods character was II
| spected, and its purity kept unsulliet
On Calvary Justice and Mercy me
together, righteousness and Peac
kissed each other"
The Evangelist gave beautift
: and touching review of Ckrist's deaf
/. and sufferings upon the cross. By d.
: ing Christ conquered death. said ii
: Evangelist. He invaded deaths d
t main and took him captive. b
} dragged him from his CHASTITY thron
deprived him of his sting and tie
+ him to his chariot wheels. But He
E risen: The glad news flew fro
y sphere to sphere, from star to sta
=, and reverberated throughout the hal
of earth and hell and heaven. III
sun shone again with dazzling brigh
ness and danced with plee, and as {
Creations morn the stars again sssal
g together with joy" All heaven l
y ioiced, Hosannas and Hallelu1a
e rose from the heavenly hosts al
y saint and seraph swelled the celestl
. chorus
Z At the aftermeeting five or G
,r young people professed faithin Chril
l. ssDfvine III ealer'' Coming to Winsto
y ). The ssdivine healer" a woman fre
Georgia, who is still in GreensbO
a. healing the lame, the halt, etc /, SO
n she will visit Winston next. She B
m healed some, but failed In the majo
= ty Of cases.