Virginia gazette. [volume] (Williamsburg, Va.) 1893-192?, 1901-01-26

IL 10 ell the SHINING. suffering. dying
race: tell IL IN song and sermon. on cane
vas and In marble. on arch and. pillar;
tell IL all around the earth--"God 10
love"
Notice that the wisest men Of the ma
lions for thousands of years did not,
amid their iJolatsies. make something
10 represent this feeling. thin emotion.
They had Jove. representing might:
Neptune. the god CT the sea: Minerva,
the goddess OF wisdom; Venus. the god
dsss Of base appetite: Ceres. the god,
dess OF corn. and an 0din. and an Osiris.
and Titan. and a Juggernaut. AID
whole pantheons o. gods nd goddesses.
but no shrine. no carved image, no
sculptured form has suggested a cod
of pure love. That was beycnd human
brain. II took Coo 10 think thar. a
God TO project that. a God let down
sfrom Heaven 10 achieve that.
Fear is ;ae dominant thought in all
false religions. For that the dssotecs
cut themselves with lances and swins
en- iron hooks and fall under wheels and
hold up the : gh; arm so lon. that they
cannot taAe az down. Fear. b:ut.sa
Tear! Dut love Is the queen in our re-
ligior. For that we build ten pes.
For that We lnee, at our alters. Tor
that We C n;ri0uie our aims. For that
martyrs suffered az brussels market
place and ~ Lucknow and Cawnrur
and Picking. That will yet bejewel
the round earth and PINT II au emerald
on the great. warm. throbbirg heart Of
God.
The weird has had many specimen
Of slandrrrd men and women. their
motives s,arGered. their habits SLAM
dcred-sianCered until they got out
CT the world. and then perhaps hon
ortd by elaborate eulogium and tall
shaft of granite. all four sides CHS
e.ed with ne story OF how good ard
great they were. Eut no one urGcr
tie heavtrs o. over the heavens has
ever been % much s'ande-cd rs God.
Cad men 1vc fought r~airst Him and
have thCu eht they heard ais vcics
IN the crash Of n thunderstorm. but
have not en- Him in the sunshine Of
The spring morning. They have blamed
Him for wrcngs which they had done
themselves. The sight of a church
building eXcifes their disgust. They
like the maGrigal 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 Goo has abdicated the throne
and from which lie 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 i'm the wide universe; that lie
would help them I'm the wear and tear
and tussle Of this life; that lie would
hush their sorrows; that He would
help cure the evil habits with which
they sometimes struggle; that lie
would n; their request rot only for
| give but forget the wrong things in
their life. Yes. forget, And that is
the only thing that God ever does for
| get-pardoned transgression. The best
memory in the universe is Gods menu
DRY. and He remembers all that has
transpired in all time and i'm all
eternity save one kind OF occurrence.
That passes completely ont OF Ills
memory. lie declares: Their sins
and their iniquiiies viii | remember
no more"
Do you want more proof that God
is love?' Yea, disinterested love. No
compensation for it's bestowal. No
reward for it's sacrifices. But I call
that back. The world did pay Him.
IL paid Him on Calvary. paid Him with
brambleS on the brow and four spikes,
two for the hands and two for tho
feet. and one spear for the side near
the heart; paid Him in execration;
paid Him with straw pillow in barn
and cross on a hill; paid Him with
n third of n 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 10
knew what He was coming TO when
lie left the portals OF pearl and the
land where the sun never goes down.
Yes, He knew the world. how cold il
is, and knew pain. how sharp 1t is.
and the night. how dark it is, and ex-
piation. how eXcrnciating il is. cut
of vast eternity lie looked forward
and saw Pilates criminal courtroom,
and the rocky bluff with three crosses.
and the lacerated body in mortuary
surroundings, and heard the thunders
toll at the funeral of Heavens favor
lite, and understood that the palaces
Of eternity would hear the sorrow Of
hereft God.
What do the Bible and the church
liturgies mean when they say: "He
descended into help" They mean that
Ills soul left His sacred body fo-
awhile and went down into the prise
Of moral night. and swung back its
great door. and lifted the chain of