The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-11-18
SAYS JESUS WAS GiRDED
WITH A STRENGTH DIVINE.
The Reverend Doctor W. j. vii,
hanson on The Consuming
Zeal of Jesus"

The Reverend Doctor W. J. Williamson.
pastor. Of the Third Baptist Church.
suming Zeal Of Jesus. taking as his text,
John ii. Il: The zeal of thine house hath
eaten me up The doctor said, in part:
The zeal of Jesus. kindled in his child
hood, burned with d steady flame Till the
close Ok life. As a boy of L the temple ana
its ministries evoked an unusual interest.
more intense than IN his elders. At III,
threshold Of his career the sight Of the
temple. desecrated by the tradesInen, caused
his soul to glow with HOLY Indignation. ana
as = result the traffickers We're driven out
and his fathers house became once morc
a house Of prayer.
Jesus was more than a philosopher: the
teachings that fell from his lips were not
liteless. but throbbed with Dfe and cut
their way into human hearts(with sword
like power. He Was more than rerOrmer.
The man and the message were not the
sudden uutburst Of truth long concealed
under wrong ana falsehoOd. only To be
buried again after u temporary mission, Dut
through all of the centuries they have lost
none OF their Nondrous power. He did not
draw his inspiration from the men ami
events OF his time. but from early life lie
felt himself girded vita divine strength anu
iiapelled by a heavenly vision. He came
with q message Tor all time. and In every
domain Of life hs ANA his message are SUI
premc. lie is pre-eminently the leader OF
leaders the TYPE OF al nat Is tfuest and
best in every noble soul. All that is imnoI-
tai ia poetry. philosophy, morals and ie-
lision is but the echo OF the voice that
broke the silence of the centuries 1,'DJ
years ago. Napoleon conquered Europe. but
this man asked God for the world without
appeal ~ the arbitrameut OF war. GICat
teachers have taught a pOrtion Of the race;
some have appealed to the poor. others 20
the rich; sorne TO the unlettered, others TO
the scholarly. but this man dared claim TO
be the teacher of teachers ana the one
ideal life Of the race. Throughout the cen
Iuries the wisest and best have sat at mis-
feet and have drank in with eager desire
The wisdom OF the skies. The philosopher
and the ignorant. the poor and the nch.
the king and the peasant. alike have been
mis- devoted followers. and have found m
him > common life. The inspired record OF
his life was the daily inspiration OF We
toria, Gladstone. Washington and Mcniii-
ley. and Is the best loved book in the home
of every peasant In whom IL found a love
for the pure and the good. All who ask
find I'm him an atonement for sin. A COM
fort in every sorrow. a sharer In every holy
10y, a source Of power in Weakness, aEti a
guide through the valley Of the death
oOf an this was Jesus conscious. and out
OF his conception of his misSion~came his
! wondrOus zeal. Other conquerors have
trembled at the thought of death as they
eyltably follow their absence and the sue
g ssion of weaker characters TO the throne
OF power. Their, bodily presence was needed
10 inspire and lead. but Jesus. on the eve
Of his departure. called TO hin a little band
OF followers, weak in the estimate of their
contemporaries, and commanded them to
make conquest of the whole world for his
kingdom. Without the physical presence of
this matehless leader. the kingdom for
which he lived and died has constantly
widened, until the desert has been made 10
blossom as the rose and the islands of the
sea have sent forth their echo of the an
gels song. Great lives of history are
Shining with a diminished light a. the years
come and go. and their teachings have
feebler hold upon the lives of men, but this
uniqu life is richer to-day than ever be
fore. and IS stiil the greatest theme of art
and architecture. poetry aud song.
such a life must have been the outcome
Of a consuming zeal. With Jesus. religion
was not a matter for philosophical investiga-