Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1900-12-26


forever. The reason is, they do not know
him. They dc not realize the fact that
Cod is the best friend this world ever
had or ever will have and that he would
do more for their happiness than any
one in the wide universe: that he would
help the in the wear and tear and tus-
sic of this life; that he would hush their
sorrows; that he would help cure the evil
habits with which they sometimes strug-
gle; that he would at their request not
only forgive but forget the wrong things
in their life. Yes. forget! And that is
the only thing that God ever does forget
-pardoned transgression. The best mem
ory in the universe is Gods memory, and
he remembers all that has transpired in
al time and in all eternity save one kind
Of occurrence. That passes completely
out of his memory. He declares, Their
sins and their iniquities will l remember
no more"
Proof hat God Is Love.
Do you want more proof that Sod is
lover Yea, disinterested love. No com
pensation for its bestowal. Nc reward
for its sacrifices. But l call that back.
The world did pay him. l. paid him on
Calvary, paid him with hrambl,s on the
brow and four spikes, two for the hands,
and two for the feet, and one spear for
the side near the heart; paid him in ex-
ecration; paid him with straw pillow in
barn and cross on hill; paid him with
a third of century of maltreatment and
hardship save one year--yea, is paying
him yet in rejection of his mission Of
mercu Having dethroned other kings,
the world would like to dethrone the
King of kings. But he knew what he
was coming to when he left the portals of
pearl and the land where the sun never
goes down. Yes, he knew the world,
now cold it is, and knew pain, how sharp
it is, and the night. how dark 1t is, and
expiation, how excruciating it is. Out
of vast eternity he locked forward and
saw Pilates criminal court room, and the
rocky bluff with three crosses, and the
lacerated body in mortuary surround
ings, and heard the thunders toll at the
funeral of h aven's favorite, and under
stood that thu palaces of eternity would
hear the sorrow of bereft God.
What do the Bible and the church
litufgies mean when they say, HE de-
Seconded into help They mean that his
soul left his sacred body for awhile and
went down into the prison of moral night,
and swung back its great door, and lift
ed the chain of captivity, and felt the
awful lash that would have come down
on the worlds back, and wept the tears
of an eternal sacrifice, and took the bolt
of divine indignation against sin into him
self, and, having vanquished death and
hell, came out and came up, having
oabic vo1 atarual ,aSop. II t.s will
cept it. Read it slowly. read it solemnly,
read it with tears, He descended into
hell" He knew what kind of pay he
would get for exchanging celestial SPLEEN
dor for Bethlehem cararansary, and he
dared all and came, the most illustrious
example in all the ages of disinterested
love.
Yea, it was most expensive love. There
il much human love that costs nothing,
nothing of fatigue. nothing of money,
nothing of sacrifice, nothing of humilia-
ton. But the most expensive movement
that the heavens ever made was this OK
petition salvatory. 1t cost the life of a
King. It put the throne of God III be-
reavement 1t set the universe aghast.
1t made omnipotence weep and bleed and
shudder. 1t taxed the resources of the
richest of all empires. 1t meant angelic
forces detailed to fight forces demoniac.
1t put three worlds into sharp collision
one world to save, another to resist and
another to destroy. 1t charged on the
spears and rang with the battleaxes of
human and diabolic hate. Had the expe-
dtion Of love been defeated the throne of
God would have fallen, and satan would
have mounted into supremacy, and sin
would have forever triumphed, and mercy
would have been forever dead The tears
and blood of the martyr of the hea, ems
were only part of the infinite expense
TO which the Godhead went when it pro
posed to save the world.
Echoing Back Divine Love.
Now, The only fair thing for human
hearts to do is to echo back that sover-
eign love You and have stood in noun
la nous regions where, uttering one dis
rinct word, the echoes would come back
with a resonance startling and captiyat-
ing, and from all our hearts there should
sound unto the heavens responses glori-
Gus and long continued. Let the world
change its style of payment for heavenly
love. No more payment by lances, by
hammers; no more payment by blows on
the cheek and scourging on the back, and
hooting of mobs, but payment in ardors
of soul in true surrender of heart and
love TO the God that made us and the
Christ who ransomed us and the eternal
spirit who by regenerating power makes
us all over again.
Some have compared the love If God
to the ocean, but the comparison fails.
for the ocean has shore, and God's
love is boundless. But if you insist on
comparing the love of God to the ocean
mt on that ocean four swift sailing craft,
and let one sail to the north, and one to
the south. and one to the east, and one
ia the west. and let them sail on a thou
sand years. and after that let them all
return and some one hail the fleet and
ask them if they have found the shore
Of Gods love, and their four voices
would resr,ond: mo shore No shore to
the ocean of Gods mercy!
Language OF the Thumb.
To those versed in its language the
thumb speaks frankly, for it is a mem
Der not kept under surveillance. While
| am collecting money for any plian-
thropy AMI | meet a patron who dis
cusses the subject with her thumb held
in close contact against her forefinger
l do not ae' her for a contribution. for
| know tliat she is selfish and unwill-
ing to pa.t with a donation. If. on the
contrary, the thumb stands out with a
heroic nonchalance, | know that the
owner is open for sympathy. and win
help if she can. Even il she cannot, her
-