The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-05-06

Rev Dr. Charles NJ. tiifin. pastor OF
church. preached "a fervently eloquent
sermon last night on the wonderful
love of God. taking his text from I
John. iii:16: Hereby perceive we the
love of God. because He laid down His
life for us. and we ought to lay down
our lives for the brethren
Among other things. he said:
When a man loves. he desires that
the object of his affection shall know
it. Love is the greatest power under
the sky. Kings pine for 1t In their
splendid palaces and the beggar sings
in the alley because he has 1t. Love is
that instinct which gives birth tn
every deed of kindness and which
transforms the human into the angelic.
"One would think that the words OF
God himself would be sufficient assu,-
ance that He really loves us, but men
did not consider it sufficient until He
himself really came into this world
and worked out in plain sight the story
of His love for us. The secret strength
of the gospel to my mind lies in its
pictorial demonstration Of Gods tender
feeling for fallen souls.
ARE SOUL SICK.
"'rhere are men who are so soul sick
with sin that they cannot distinguish
the brightest ASPECT of Gods compass
sion as revealed By His inspired
writer's. They cannot realize the full
significance Of it until the Holy Spirit
takes possession of them and carries
them back to the babe Of Bethlehem
and then to the Man of Sorrows stand
ing upon Mt. Calvary forsaken by all
and yet giving up His life and end,,r-
ing the most agonizing sufferings for
their sake. Then they can see no rea-
son toNdoubt that God does love them.
if they truly believe the gospel story.
"Take out all in the Bible except
Gods love and you will find that sal
walton still remains. It IS a delight to
think that religious history is based
upon actual tangible facts. When
Christ came down to earth He came at
a fixed time and at a fixed place. and
the proof of His coming is indisputable.
THE story of His coming and OF His
love for man is not dream. nor the
frenzied imagining of a fanatic. 1t is a
fact. The gospel story of Christ's life
upon earth is a fact more clear and
evident than the fact that Julius
Caesar lived.
THE love of God for man was az
ways an attribute of the divine nature.
but it was a long time before the world
was ready to receive a visible illus
tration of this love. For centuries be-
fore the coming OF Christ the world
was passing through periods of de-
velopment. The people thought OF God
as a God of power and authority. and
could not have conceived Him as a
God of love and tenderness.
CANNOT UNDERSTAND HIM.
II cannot understand the man who
coldly calculates upon Gods love and
what it may mean to him. I cannot
understand or sympathize with those
who say that it was only human flesh
that was nailed to Calvary's tree. and
who contend that the agonies suffered
by Christ were earthly agonies. These
people who say this have never reached
up into the eternal.
"'rhe love of Cod my friends. is
wonderful. wonderful beyond all under
standing. To think that while we were
yet His enemies He took upon Himself
our burden and gave up his life in a
bitter agony 1t is the strangest story
ever told"
Smoke the new Kleon cisar SC. ~