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

g made for the worlds observation-disclosures
and deliyerance. His text is |. John iy,
IL, God is love"
i'erilous undertaking would it be to
attempt a comparison between the at
tributes of God. They are not like a
mountain range, with here and there
higher peak, nor like the ocean, with
here and there profounder depth. We
cannot measure infnities. We would not
dare to say whether his omnipotence, or
omniscience, or omnipresence, or immu-
liability, or wisdom, or justice, or love IS
the greater attribute, but the one men
toned in my text makes deeper impress
sion upon us than any other 1t was
evidently a very old man who wrote the
chapter from which | take the text. John
was not in his dotage. as Prof. Eichhorn
asserted, but you can tell by the repetl-
tions in thl epistle and the rambling style
and that he called grown people little
children" that the author was probably
an octogenarian. Yet Paul, in midlife
mastering an audience Of Athenian crit
les, on Mars hill, said Iothing stronger
or more important than did the venerable
John when he wrote the three words or
my text, God is love-"
In deed the older one gets the more he
appreciates this attribute. The harsh
ness and the combativeness and the Sc
verify have gone cut of the old man, and
he is more lenient and. aware of his own
faults, is more disposed to make excuses
for the faults of others, and he frequent
" calculates, poor human nature! The
young minister preached three sermo9s
on the justice of God and one on the lo'e
of God, but when he got old he preached
three sermons on the love OF God ard
one on the justice of God.
Far back in the eternities there came
a time when God would express one emo
ton of his nature which was yet unex-
pressed. He had made more worlds than
were seen by the ancients from the top
of the Egyptian pyramid, which was USED
as an observatory, and more worlds thar
modern astronomy has catalogued or de-
serted through telescope lens. All that
showed the Lords almightiness, but il
gave no demonstration of his love. He
might make fifty Saturns and hundred
Jupiters and not demonstrate an instant
of love- That was al unknown passion
I and the secret of the universe. 1t was a
suppressed emotion of the great God.
| But there would come a time when this
I DdSSiOu VI IulHllt iONG NOuiu bG hGSlditu
and illustrated God would veil it no
longer. After the clock of many centu-
res had run down and worlds had been
born and demolished, on comparatively
obscure star a race of human beings
would be born and who, though so boun-
tifully provided for that they ought to
have behaved themselves well, went into
Instruction and conspiracy and revolt
and war--finite against infinite, weak
arm against thunderbolt, man against
God.
Christ's Descent on Earth.
Ii high intelligences looked down and
saw what was going on, they must have
prophesied determination, complete ex-
termination, of these offenders of Jeho-
yah, But no. Who is that coming out
of the throne room of heaven? Who is
that coming out of the palaces of the
eternal? 1t is the Son Of tie Emperor
of the universe. Down the stairs of the
high hea, ems he comes till he reaches the
cold air of December night in Pal
estine and amid the bleatings of sheep
and the lowing of cattle and the moaning
of camels and the banter of the herdsmen
takes his first sleep on earth and for thir-
ty-three years invites the wandering race
to return to God and happiness and heav-
81. They were the longest thirty three
years ever known in heaven. Among
many high intelligences, what impotence
to ret him back The Infinite Father
looked down and saw his Son slapped and
spit on and supperless and homeless, and
thea, amid horrors that made the noon
day heavens turn black in the face, his
body and soul parted. And all for what!
Why allow the Crown Prince to come
on such an errand and endure such sor-
row and die such death? 1t was to
invite the human race to put down its
antipathss and resistance. 1t was be.
cause God is love"
Now, there is nothing beautiful in a
shipwreck We GO down to look at the
battered aud split hulk of an old ship or
Long Island or New Jersey coast. 1t ex
cites our interest We wonder when and
how it came ashore and whether it was
the recklessness of pilot or storm be
fore which nothing could bear Up. HUI
man nature wrecked may interest the in.
habitants of other worlds as a curiosity
but there is nothing lovely in that which
has foundered on the rocks of sin and
sorrow Yet it was in that condition OF
moral break up that heaven moved to the
rescue 1t was loneliness lowering over
deformity. il was the lifeboat putting
out into the surf that attempted its demo
ltion 1t was harmony plying discord
II was living God putting his arms
around recreant world.
The schoolmen deride the idea that Goo
has emotion They think it would be 6
zine weakness 10 be stirred by any
earthly spectacle. The God of the learn
ed Brueh and Schieiermaener is an inf
mite intelligence. without feeling. colo
and cheerless divinity. But the God we
worship is one OF sympathy and compass
sion and helpfulness and affection. Goo
is love"
In all the Bible there is no more con
solatory statemert. The very best people
have In their lives occurrences inexplca
bic. They are bereft or prosecuted or i'm
poverished or invalided. They have only
one child and that dies, while the mex
door neighbor has seven children, ans
they are all spared. The unfortuna te,
buy at time when the market is rising
ANA the day after the market falls. At {
time when they need to feel the best FOL
the discharge Of some duty they are seiz
ed with physical collapse. Trying to do {
good and honest and useful thing. they
are miSrppFeseuted anu beied as II thel
had pFactieed a viIainy. There are PEG
pie who all their lives nave suffered II
justices. Otaers Of less talent with les
conservation, 20 on and up while thel
so on and down. There are IN many lives
riddles that have never been solved. mys
ferries that have rercf r.t-an avT,laiup cd