The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1903-10-08

The Teachers Lantern.
The diameter of all the psalms and
prophecies relating to the Hebrew
monarchy is always longer than the
lifetime of that monarchy. 1t over
laps it prodigiously. tits an exagera-
ton. How can David's throne be
said to be established forever when it
has already ceased to exist?
The promised eternal perpetuity of
the Davidic dynasty finds it fulfill
ment in the spiritual empire of David's
great Son. The promises, as they re-
lated literally to David and his descen-
dants, were contingent and temporary
These very promises, in their larger
and sublimer reference to the Messiah
and his kingdom, are absolute and
unlimited. They are literally fulfill
ing before our eyes-to-day.
That the Messianic kingdom is an
evolution from the Davidic, and that
all the descriptive terms and the
promises relating to the latter are to
he carried forward in the former, is
evident from the New Testament. In
the AnnunciatiOn, the angel said to
Mary, The Lord God shall give I'M
to him (the Unborn Messiah) the
throne of his father David" Peter
said of David, Being prophet, and
knowing that God had sworn with
an oath to him that of the fruit of
his lions according to the flesh he
would raise up Christ to sit on his
throne
The Messianic kingdom is nobly de
scribed in Psalm Xxi, 1.-The cradle
hymn of the infant Solomon. "-univer
salty, from the river to the ends of
the earth; its stability, like that of
the heavenly planets; it beneticence,
like that of showers that water the
earth.
Nathan's message to David was re-
ally the seed Of the Messianic idea 1t
bloomed in radiance and fragrance in
the Messianic Psalms.
There is not in Holy Writ finer
description of the Divine paternity
than in JehOvah's words to David
concerning his son: II will be his
father, and he shall be myison. If be
commit iniquity, will chasten him
with the rod of men and with the
stripes of the children of men; but
my mercy shall not depart away from
him" So the Lord deals paternally
yet with men and rulers and nations.
This incident should be strongly
deterrent from precipitation in church
erection. The inception, continuance,
contamination of church building
enterprise should be characterized by
dignity, judgment, and devotion
worthy of the sacred name.
A public building, of what kind it
may be, is not merely convenience
for the particular ends for which it is
used. 1t is monument as well. 1t
stands for something. In the midst
of art and traffic, it arrests attention.
The library, school, music hall-each
has its significant message to the pas
ser-by. This justifies the outlay of
money in external ornamentation.
The worth and dignity of the thing
signified must be marked.
This principle applies to church
buildings. The ediice is not merely a
shelter for congregation. 1t is a
public monument to religion. 1t is
in itself a call to worship. 1t speaks
of God; it reminds the passer-by of
the Divine within himself. There
must, therefore, be harmony between
the structure and that for which it
stands. Material and proportion
must be studied with this in view.
The fact that a church building is
public monument justifies the expend
ing of money upon it's external embel-
lishment. John Ruskin's ideal of a
marble chapel for every town may
never be reached, but it can at least
be Appropriated.
Money to loan on real estate. Easy
payments. Apply to Julius G. Rem
ninoar no lylan6 Md 90 IF