The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-22


Redemption Scheme" AS usual a large
congregation was present and specia
singing formed a feature of the serv'
ices.
DR.. Lockwood took for his text the
words: And to make all men SET
what is the dispensation of the mys-
terry which for all ages hath beer
hid in God who created all things; &c
the intent that now unto the princl-
palities and the powers in the heavenly
places might be made known through
the chruch the manifold wisdom OF
God, according to the eternal purpose
which ne purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord" Eph. iii, 81.
Our text lauches US headlong into
the depths of a profound mystery. This
would not seem strange i the myS-
terry were one that puzzled the intel
lect of man alone, for. we have come
to learn that human life is grit about
by shadows too deep to penetrate. In
the presence OF the mighty mysteries
of God man has learned that it is fit
ting for him to uncover his head and
to tread with unSandalled foot. There
is the mystery of life: we look at the
little babe that has just been swept
in from the dark, unknown ocean upon
billowy waves of pain, and we wonder
what strange and sacred process it is
that has stranded this little waif upon
the storm-b beaten coast of humanity.
We watch with deepening interest and
growing reverence the dawning con-
seriousness and expanding life of this
delicate spray caught from eternity S
shore: and To- as we watch, another
great and solemn mystery confronts
US. The little creature writheS with
pain; it sickens and dies. The light
has gone out Of the baby's eyes; its
cheeks are pallid now; and its soft,
warm hand like frozen wax. Death has
interviewed and today we shun and
spurn the object that yesterday in
vited our tendereSt caresS. What
means this fitful life? What means
this solemn sleep of death? From
what strange country do we come, and
whittier are we Fastening? Yes, as
man has grown wiser he has grown
more reVerent and more trustful. He
sees that God does not intend to make
known all of his secrets to human in
teIlect. He comes to see that a rev.
erent mind may well hesitate before
it insists upon defining and analysing
the nature of the Trinity, the problem
of sin, and the exact reward or PEN
atty melted out to a human soul after
death But, while we have come to
accept the fact of our own limitations,
it aStonishes us to learn that there are
some things involved in the destiny of
human beings that even angels desire
to look into and that have for ages
been hidden from principalities and
powers in heavenly places. 1t seems
that there is some mystery connected
with ChriSt's descent to earth and the
church which he established among
men that is of the utmost Importance
to the angels in heaven. It would be
interesting to place ourselves, in. i'm
agination, with the angels, and en-
deaVor, from their standpoint, to solve
the problem of divine love and human
redemption. From the time Of mans
creation the angels had been used as
messengers and agents between God
and man, but it would seem that they
performed their tasks in ignorance of
the real significance that attached to
their acts. They doubtless surmised,
in a dim, vague way, that God was
working ont some wonderful purpose
with regard to mankind, but they could
not guess the outcome nor the object.
At certain times they had been sent
70 earth TO guide, or comfort, or de-
liver the chosen men of God; they had
been sent to earth to herald the ap-
proach of Christ when he left his
throne in heaven to walk among men
in the flesh: they had come to minister
to him in hours of special need or dis
tress, during the time of his earthly
ministry: and they were present to
greet and to receive him back into
heaven at the time of his ascension;
but never yet had they been able TO
understand this strange, sad drama
that was transpiring upon earth, and
in which their only function seemed to
be to shift the scenes and draw the
curtains. But at last it would seem,
from the teaching of st. Paul, they are
learning that the drama of sin, re-
demption and holiness that has been
taking place upon earth is for the
purpose of instructing the intelligences
Of all worlds; for the purpose of show
ing how God would deal with sin, to
redeem those under its power, and to
conserve the holiness existing in such
as had not fallen;" and in particular.
10 show that humanity itself through
the power and fundamentally of the
church is TO complete the plan of sal
walton inaugurated by Christ. Ny
theme, then, is The Place of the |
Church in the Scheme of Redemption"
Now the church is the vital link be- |
tween God and our ruined race. Christ |
IS the head of the church. He de-
seconded from heaven to reveal Gods /
abiding love for his erring and suffer- /
ing children. In his sin and ignor- /
ance and folly, man, created in the /
very image of the Father had forgot /
ten his voice; he sought to hide from |
his presence; and in a frenzy Of ter
ror and superstition. he even thought |
that God was in hot quest of him to /
hand him over into eternal flames of |
torment But all this time the heart |
of God was yearning for his lost child; |
he pitied and loved him the more as
he saw how sin had unclaimed, de-
graded and terrified him. But how
TO communicate this love to the be-
sotted reason of man-it was this
problem that challenged the wisdom of
the divine mind. 1t became evident
that this object could be accomplished
in but one way; il must be by a revela-
ton of his love. Christ must become
an object lesson to fallen man; it was
thus that the Father determined to
signal TO his lost children, as blind,
and deaf, and dumb, they huddled,
naked and terror-striclzen, upon the
bleak coast of time.
For IS years Laura Bridgnlan, the
bind deaf mute, had sat in the dumb
darkness of despair But one day it
occurred to the mind of a philanthro-
DIST that he might break the frightful
silence that had hung over this poor
,hild from infancy, so he set TO work
% pierce the dumb and voiceleSS gloom
hat esshrouded that pure and lonely
;pirX. First he spent long days with
Ter upon the floor, caressing her hands
md strolSing her hair, in the hope that
,he might learn to notice his presence
md miss him when he was absent At
er weary weeks of effort he was able
o detect a slight, dull stir of recog-
lition when he returned after an alb
ence; il was observed, too, that she
vas restless when he was not at her
.ide. He next placed blocks before her
ipon which were cut in raised charac-