St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1904-12-10

~~~~A
own land, and the Christ brings gifts
which man can never obtain except at
Christ's hands. '.As many as received
Him, to them gave He the right to be-
come children of God" A certificate OF
sonship to God, a guarantee OF eternal
claim upon the riches, and glory, and
blessing of the Fathers House. The Son
Of God, who is the heir Of all things,
raises man to an equal relationship with
the Father, and he becomes a joint heir
to all that God has to give in this life
and the life to come All! what folly to
keep Jesus waiting upon the outside
of the heart. Receive Him, oh, needy
soul! and let Him bestow upon you
His gift of sonship with God and eter-
nal life!
A ND this is the picture OF the Christ
Il in the passive mood. Waiting
patiently, longingly, lovingly. to be re-
ceived by man. The vision OF the
Christ in the active mood reveals to Us
the great, throbbing heart Of God:
shows us the persistent, faithful,
mighty effort which He is putting forth
to rescue man from the depths OF sin
and death. The most glorious tributs
which was ever paid our Lord was that
which the angry and jealous Scribes and
Pharisees gave when they contemptu-
ously charged that 33this man receiveth
sinners" 1t was true, and it has made
glad the centuries since He trod the
earth and the words were spoken.
Christ receiveth sinful men. Letusstudy
the details of this picture in order that
we may drink in it's depth Of beauty
and wealth of meaning. No casual
glance will suffice to reveal all the
charm and meaning of the painting
of the artist. It takes the searching
eye and the meditating heart to under
stand it all. But as one sits hour after
hour before the masterpiece Of art how
it unfolds and grows upon ones vision.
And so it is with this picture which
Scripture gives to us of the Christ re-
ceiving sinful men. The heart will
never begin to see or understand all the
depth of love and the wealth of Divine
grace which is here contained until it
gets over on the other side and seeq
eye to eye and knows even as it is known,
but it may know and understand more
and more as it ponders on this blessed
truth: "This Man receiveth sinners"
And this is the picture. Jesus by right
of His Divine Sonship, in fulfillment of
Els commission brought with Him from
over sin and death, has established q
sure and everlasting retreat to which
the needy soul of man may flee for ref
uge.
TN obedience to, the command Of God,
/ the children of Israel established
six cities of refuge in the new land to
which they had journeyed, in order that
those who were in danger of the avenger
Of blood might find safe refuge until
their cases could be tried by the Levites.
These cities Of refuge were type OF
the Christ, and in figure illustrate
the service which Christ was to perform
for lost and ruined race God sent
His Son into the world to establish for
man a refuge from sin and its conse-
quences. Death presses SO hard upon the
heels of the guilty sinner who is in
peril Of everlasting destruction. What
a thrilling sight it must have been In
those old Jewish days to see the at
frighted runner fleeing for his life
towards the city of refuge, while press
ing hard after him was the man who
would take. his life. What a desperate
race it was! The Levites of the walls
of the city would watch with bated
breath. They note the waning strength
of the foremost runner, and observe that
the pursuer is slowly but surely gain
ing upon him. With bullying, bloodshot
eyes, distended nostrils and deep-heav-
ing chest the men plunge on. Every
muscle is strained to the breaking
point. The veins and arteries stand out
like whip cords, showing that the blood
within is surging in sympathetic race.
and seeking to encourage and help, the
dagger into the vitals Of the first. On,
still on, the race continues. They come
within hailing distance of the city's
gates and the Levites call words of en-
couragement and cheer. They descend
from the wall to the wide open portals.
They lean as far out towards the plain
as possible. They stretch forth the
hands to give ready help to the pursued
man. The hot, fierce breath of the
avenger Is felt, as with redoubled ef-
forts he seeks to claim his prey. The
hand is uplifted to strike. Another step.
and the keen, heartless blade will find
its scabbard In the quivering flesh and
drink the life blood Of the fleeing man.
WITH a power born Of desperation
w the pursued man gathers up all
the remaining strength he can COM
mand and makes one mighty plunge
towards the haven Of safety and the
friends who are there to receive him.
Will he make 1t? Pursuer and pursued
leap into the air together. The plunge
Of the hindmost man is greater. The
first falls In helpless exhaustion, and
the other in his leap hovers just the
bafest instant above him, and then,
nerving the arm and hand with all the
strength that is left, he brings the dag
ger down. Too late, you cry! At the
very portals of the city Of refuge he
must perish! All, no, thank God! The
arms of the waiting Levites reach out
to save. The willing hands take hold