The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-01-04

49, kAI "a L"@ 1EAA4A A40AA III
They have blamed him for wrongs which
they had done themselves. The sight Of
a church building excites their disgust
They like the madrigal Of a saloon better
than the doxology Of a 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 abdicatedI
the 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 happiness than any
one in the wide universe; that he would
help them 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
DRY in the universe is Gods memory, and
he remembers all that has transpired in|
all 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 / remember
no more"
Proof That God Ii Love.
Do you want more proof that God is
love?" Yea, disinterested love. No COM
p%ensation for its bestowal. No reward
for its sacrifices. But l call that back.
The world did pay him. 1t paid him on
Calvary, paid him with brambles 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 a
barn and a cross OF q hill; paid him with
a third Of a century Of maltreatment and
hardship save one year-yea, is paying
him yet in rejection Of his mission of
mercy. Having dethroned other kings,
the world would like to dethrone the
King of kings. But he knew what be
was coming to when he left the portals of
pearl and the and where the sun never
goes down. Yes, he knew The world,
how cold it is, and knew pain, how sharp
it is, and the night, how dark it is, and
expiration, 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
near the sorrow of a bereft God.
What do the Bible and the church
liturgies mean when they say, "He de-
scended 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 it's 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
achieved an eternal rescue if we will ac-
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 splen-
dor for Bethlehem ca%ravansary. and be
dared all and m the most illustrious
example in all the ages of disinterested
love.
Yea, it was most expensive love. There
Is 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 ex-
petition %salvatory. 1t cost the life of g
King. 1t put the throne of'God in 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 n rang with the battleaxes OF
human and d;aDolic hate. Had the expe-
dition 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 a part of the infinite expense to
which the Godhead went when it pro-
posed to a 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.
famous regions where, uttering one dis.
tinct word, the echoes would come back
with a resonance startling and captivat.
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 or
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 Inc the
Christ who ransomed US and the eternal
spirit who by regenerating power makes
US all over again.
Alexander the Great, with his host, was
marching OF Jerusalem to capture and
plumber it. The inhabitants came out
clothed in white. led on by the high prizes,
wearing a inter and glittering breast
plate on which was einblazoned the name
of God, and Alexander, seeing that word
bowed and halted his army, and the city
was saved. And il we had the love OF
God written in all our hearts and on al
our lives and on all our banners at the
sight of it the hosts Of temptation would
fall back. and we would go on from vic.
tory unto victory. until we stand in Zion
and before God.
Leander swami across the Hellespon,