Connecticut western news., 1900-12-27

wnIcn they had done themselves. The sight of a church building excites their disgust. They like the madrigal of saloon better than the doxology of temple. They do not want to live with him in heaven. but would prefer on leaving this world to go Into some realm where God has abdicated tue throne and from which he Is exiled forever The reason is they do not know him. They do not realize the fact that God Is the best friend this world ever had or ever will have and that he would do more for their happi. ness than any one In the wide uni verse, that he would help them in the wear and tear and tussle of this life. that he would hush their sorrows, that he would help cure the evil habits with which they sometimes struggle. that he would at their request not only for give, but forget, the wrong things in their life. Yes; forgetl And that is the only thing that God ever does for get-pardoned transgression. The best memory in the universe Is Gods mem- ory, and he remembers all that has transpired In all time and In all eter- nity save one kind of occurrence. That passes completely out of his memory. He declares. ''Their sins and their in- iQuities will remember no more."
 Convincing Proof.
 Do you want more proof that God Is loyeY Yea. disinterested love. No Mo ward for its sacrifices. But I call that back. The world did pay him. It paid him on Calvary. paid him with bram- bles 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 hlm In execration, paid him with straw pillow In barn and cross on a hill, paid him with third of a century of maltreatment and hardship save one year-yea, is paying him yet in re1ec- ton of his mission of mercy. 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, how cold 1t Is, and knew pain. how sharp 1t Is, and the night, how dark 1t Is. and expiation, how excruciating it Is. Out of vast eternity he looked forward and saw Pilates criminal courtroom and the rocky bluff with three crosses and the lacerated body In mortuary surround ings and heard the thunders toll at the funeral of heavens favorite and under stood that the palaces of eternity would hear the sorrow of a bereft God.
 What do the Bible and the church lit urgies mean when they say, He de- scended into hellT 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 lifted 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 sacri- Ace and took the bolt of divine indig- nation against sin Into himself and. having vanQuished death and bell, came out and came up. having achiev cd an eternal rescue if we will accept it. Read 1t slowly, read 1t solemnly. read 1t with tears, "He descended Into he'll" He knew what kind of pay he would get for exchanging celestial splendor for Bethlehem caravansary, and he dared all and came. the most H. lustrious example In all the ages of dis interested love.
 Yea. 1t was most expensive love. There Is much human love that costs nothing. nothing of fatigue. nothing of money, nothing of sacrifice, nothing of humiliation. But the most expensive movement that the heavens ever made was this expedition salvatory. 1t cost the life of a King. It put the throne of God in bereavement. 1t set the uni verse aghast. It made omnipotence weep and bleed and shudder. It taxed the resources of the richest of all em pires. It 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. It charged on the spears and rang with the battleaxes of human and diabolic hate. Had the expedition 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 heavens were only part of the in- finite expense to which the Godhead went when it proposed to save the world.
 Now, the only fair thing for human hearts to do Is to echo back that sover- eign love. You and 1 have stood in mountainous regions where, uttering one distinct word, the echoes would come back with a resonance startling and captivating. and from all our hearts there should sound unto the heavens responses glorious 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 Eter- nal Spirit who by regenerating power makes us all over again.
 Beyond Compa rfson.
 Alexander the Great. with his host, was marching on Jerusalem to capture and plunder 1t. The inhabitants came out clothed In white, led on by the high priest, wearing a miter and glittering breastplate on which was emblazoned the name of God, and Alexander. see Ing that word, bowed and halted his army, and the city was saved. And If We had the love of God written In all our hearts and on all our lives and on all our banners at the sight of 1t the hosts of temptation would fall back. and we would go on from victory unto victory until we stand in Zion and be- fere God.
 Leander swan across the Hellespont guided by the light which Hero the fair