The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1903-04-15
CeoPYRIoHT, DAVIS W. cLARK.)
PLEASANT FIELDS
OF HOLY WRIT
Save for my daily range
Among the pleasant fields Of Holy Writ,
might despair. -7snnys0n.
The International Sunday School Lesson
Second QuRrter---LessOn M, Romans
xiii. liza. April 10, 1908.
THE LAW OF LOVE.

THE LAW OF LOVE.
Some one likens ancient Rome, as It
appears to-day, to a dead giant, lying in
grave too shallow to contain his CO.
lossal form. Here protrudes from the
moldering dust an arch, and there a
cluster Of columnA BY help Of these,
imagination reconstructs the imperial
city. What magnitude and splendor
But over these seven hills, crowded from
base to summit with palaces and tenn
Piles. perpetual midnight Of moral
darkness reigned. How to crafty the
lusts Of the flesh was the chief concern.
The streets rang with dissolute songs.
Jewellers, all but naked, profaned even
the via sacra. Drunken festivals, I'M
natural vices, and the murderous jealous
les inflamed by crimes against chastity,
were so common as not to cause remark.
In the midst of this total eclipse Of
morality, the little Christian society in
Rome is like taper lighted and uplift-
ed The absorbing desire Of the apos-
ties soul is that it may be screened
from unfriendlY blasts and grow to be a
great light, in the full, searching blaze
Of which deeds Of darkness viii become
Impossible. Nor IS this ambition FOR
Rome's sake merely. The master of
Christian strategy recognizes the city
of the emperors as the worlds key.
The light that burns at the golden mile
stone must shine out every highway
that radiates from it.
This was the inspiration of this most
complete composition of the greatest
apostle" In the buoyancy Of faith he
is ready TO affirm that the hideous night
of Rome, with all its reeking immor-
atty, is already in its fourth watch.
He sees the foregleam of the day
Of Christian ascendency, and calls
upon the Christian colony, under
shadow of Nero's Golden House, to
hasten it.
Paul keenly appreciates the imminent
peril of the Roman Christians
Heathenism is an opiate. Its very air
is soporifc Against this enchanted
ground" he will have the far-away con-
verts on their guard. With ringing
bugle-blast he calls them to shake of
spiritual drowsiness at its approach.
The night Of heathenism has no mort
gage upon them. They belong, soul
and body, to the day Of gospel grace.
The black list of heather vices is recit-
ed, with the importunate entreaty that
they will utterly renounce them; and as
bacchanalian pagans were wont to run
naked through the streets, let Christians
decorously robe themselves in the lus-
trous graces Of JesusI
The warp and wool of this new robe,
never woven in terrestrial loom, and
whittier than any fuller ON earth could
whiten it, is-Love. Pay all other
debts; but never attempt to balance and
close your love account Never let the
shadow of a disposition to repudiate the
debt cross your mind. Love is the full
filling Of the law. Love is the palm;
the digits of the commandments radi-
ate from it. Love makes the breaking
Of particular precepts impossible. Love
need not forever arraign and cross-ex-
anime itself as to whether it is discharg-
ing duty to its neighbor For he who
loves his neighbOr will certainly fulfill
the law concerning him; not merely
refraining from doing him evil, but
doing him positive good. He who loves
will not merely refrain from doing his
neighbor material or bodily harm; he
viii not cherish unkindly opinions, or
utter sighting remarks of him. That
kind Of i'll, Love never works.