The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-04-07

impossible for Christ to calm a raging sea-
1t is against the laws Of nature. because We
never canned raging seas. Such reasoning
Is the philosophy OF an ant. sittinS on the
slope OF an ant hill and lifting its somewhat
feeble and Illogical protest against the
North star shining in the heavens above II
gut turning aside from the miraculous
element In this manifestation OF Chrlsts
power. let us look at IL as a suggestive VI
lustration OF other seas which are Gained oy
the SaViour's voice, tumults OF the soui that
sink to rest when his divine word goes
sounding over them. All OF us are Visite1
by storms. Over every life the clouds come
down upon il their cluse-gather darkness;
and flash across it their livid lightnings and
shoot into it the bolts of their numerous
wrath.
Now, put them all misunderstanding
ment. bereavement, sin. Let al their storms
be rolled into one. And then comes Jesus
Christ. the spirit of Jesus Christ. the power
OF the spirit Of Jesus Christ in human Souls
AND what he does In these souls Is not a
theory. 1t is not a theology. 1t is the les
timony Of facts. 1t is what has come 70
pass in millions of lives. To the man VINO
loses one world be given another he ~
blind and the outcast. The disappointed. the
forsaksn. those who had every JOY, OF L!te
beaten out upon the pavement, who had loss
every bit of blue out of the sky. ieaped TO-
ward the light on his face and clung 10 ING
love In his heart. and marced up under hiS
word TO power into a Kingdom 10 wnich al,
the glory Of this world Is but as the SHADOW
of a dream or the savage surface or me
moon. And the afflicted man meets TINS
same Christ in the depth OF his bereavement
and grief. and as he puts his hand IN ms
there Is breaking day round about MIN.
door In the cloud, an Inspiration from ING
heart Of one who went into every dafkeIeS
room OF life and passed through them with
light bursting from beneath his feet. ana
assembled fom them leaving trailhs
streams of resurrection glory behind MIN.
And when our sins take us by the throat
who can dow them? Who can strip from
us the poisoned garments Of iniauity! VINO
can kindle a hope at the very gate OF a
hell? Who can drag the devils out of our
souls? Who can turn our reason toward
the light of God. and move the heart to-
ward the love of God. and fill the will with
the law of God and clothe the whole man
in the power of God and subdue the whole
life to the spirit of God? You cannot 90
1t yourself any more than you can shoot
your body into the sky. No man can DO II
for you and no system OF truth can 90 II
for you. 1t is only. Christ Who can do 1t
for you; the blood of a dying Christ worked
into your soul by the spirit Of a living
Christ.
Salvation is life. not safety, not reward,
not privilege. not a transaction outside
yourselves, not a bargain with heaven, not
a reconciliation of God. but a reconcile
alton of man., the restoration Of a life 10
its normal relationship with him who made
1t. To be lost Is to be lost out OF God, ana
to be lost out OF God Is to be lest out of
life. and to he lost out 81 life is 10 be los.
into death. and to be saved out OF death Is
to be saved into life, and to be saved into
life is TO be saved into God. And Christ Is
this savior. When Christ is in US all that
he did for us is ours. IL is he himself who
is the Imputed righteousness is
impaired Righteousness. What Christ is is
ours when he is ours. Righteousness Is life.
because Righteousness IS righteousness. and
righteousness is harmony. and harmony Is
life, and il is Christ who gives us this life
and feeds ii and leads 1t and inspires Il and
spreads himself through all the branches or
1t. and his is like sunshine upon every twiS
of II.
And so we offer this Christ to you to-day
as the healer OF disappointment. the COM
forter OF grief. the savior from sin. Is
there n storm in your soul when you think
of your broken ambitions. az you wander
up and down the cypress aisles of Parau.
as you shudder before the dread tribunal
OF conscience and cover away from the
great white throne of God? The waters
are swelling. The foam wreathes are curl
ing and swirling. The hurricane is driving
over your head. The earth is rocking be-
meath your feet. The sun is down. The
stars are gone. interviewer midnights are
closing around you. The whole body Is
sick. The whole heart Is faint. The whole
soul Is scared. Rise, oh. man. Wake up.
Pull yourself together. There is some one
in front of that storm. Look at that lifted
hand gathering all its furies into its palm.
Hear that voice, rolling its commandment
over the tortured deeps. and open yourself
to that divine power, that will set you down
in green pastures and beside still waters,
calm and beautiful as a sea Of glass
mingled with fire"