Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1905-05-11


appointed the common expectation III
His announcement, "My kingdom Is
not of this world" Again and again
might He have assumed the symbols of
royalty and won an enthusiastic follow
ing. Indeed, He was compelled to re-
sist the passionate ardOr of the people
at times, who longed for a crowned
head and a deliverer.
Persistent was His emphasis upon
spiritual truth. He demanded piety
not interpreted by long prayers and
longer robes, but by surrender and Icy
atty to God. "No religion but that of
Christ has disclosed the innermOst na-
ture CT God, none but this has laid
bare in its peculiar centre point the
moral nature of man." Man fallen
and dishonored was driven from para
disc Lost" The grand design of the
Kingdom of Christ is to bring him into
such fellowship with God as that he
may be an heir of paradise Regained."
At Athens were two temples, "a temple
of Virtue and temple of Honor
Only through the former could the lat
ter be entered.
Only through the invisible Kingdom
of God on carth-the "KingdOm of
Grace"-can we hope for admission at
length into the Kingdom of the Re-
deemcd"-the "Tcmple of Glory" The
subjects of this empire must be in
harmony with and breathe the spirit
of the King. We are reminded sec
ondly of the small beginnings of the
Kingdom of the Messiah.
The ''stOne cut out of the mountain
without hands was diminutive at first
as compared with its subsequent ap-
pcarance This is indeed the law Of
nature. The trees which fill our for
ests were once but tender saplings-the
men of the next generation are today
but weakly children. Christianity was
indeed complete at the beginning.
From its very nature it must have
been. An imperfect system would have
been n witness against itself. In all
these nineteen centuries not single
principle of truth has been added. 1t
was Christ'S gift TO the world. A mine
to be worked-a very bonanza. a sys-
tenn to he studicd-a very thesaurus OF
truth. Christ in His doctrine was its
teacher. In His matchless character
its grand exponent. Each Christian is
Il matriculatc in the preparatory school
and when the term time of life shall
end will receive 4 certificate into the
University of Heaven. Laws are being
constantly changed in order that they
may be adapted to the varying condi-
tions of mankind. Amendments to the
Constitution have been added one by
one. Statutes are subject to frequent
lnt ha prn1nl
iniudiciouS have been struck out. Nee
cSSary notifications and additions nave
often been made. Can anything be
added to the system of religion which
Jesus introduced into the world? Has
the Sermon on the Mount ever been
improved? Can it be? AS well at
tempt TO add to the radiance of the
midday sun or the ma ieSty of the hcay-
ing ocean. The necessity of change
would imply weakness, crudcneSs, i'm
perfect knowledge. Il am the Lord, I
change not" and Christianity is the
creed of Jehovah-the system Of Him
who said, Il am the TRUTH Who shal!
say that Christianity can ever need
modification:
10 what age of the world, to what
nation, to what government, to what
human conditions has it not been
adapted? Still, in its beginning, it
seemed of small and weak proportions.
From human standpoint, what could
appear more uncomprOmising 1t
seemed like Lilliput arraying itself
against q host of giants. We are so
constituted that we look for causes
which shall seem adequate to given
effects. Who in the first century could
have conceived rs ever possible the
scenes which in these latter days greet
| our eyes and the facts which thrust
| themselves upon our attention? Christ
| Himself was Il poor and obscure NaZa-
| rene peasant, without prestige or i'm
mediate pedigree of note. His disciples
were with few exceptions, lacking in
culture and of but limited influence.
| The new religion had in it nothing to
| win the opnlent or the influential. 1t
ministered not to the caprices of men,
but combattcd their strongest preJu-
dices. 1t brought not peace, but a
| sword" Judged :: ordinary stand
ards, it seemed doomed to failure. We
need not turn to the grand treatlseS or
| the Buffers, the Paleys, the Dwights,
rcSistlesS as their arguments seem; the
sublime history of Christianity during
| these nineteen centuries offers might
er and more eloquent plea for its dl"
vine origin and character, a perfect
! Gibraltar, against which all the shafts
of infidelty seem but paper pellets.
| But as we turn again to the inspired
narrative of the dream of the Baby
| lonian king, we read that after the
image was smitten and the iron, the
CLAY, the brass, the silver and the gold
were broken in pieces, becoming like
the chaff of the summer threshing floor,
the stone which destroyed the image
became a great mountain and filled
the whole earth.
Thus in mystic symbolism was the
truth revealed that the kingdom, which
at length Jehovah should set up, was
destined to universal prevalence. Nor
are we limited in this view to the Ian
guage of symbols ASK of Me and l
will give thee the heather for thine in
heritance and the uttermost parts OF
the earth for thy possession "Ihe
earth shall be full of the knowledge of
the Lord as the waters cover the sea-
Thus David and Isaiah, peerinS
through the perspective Of coming
years, beheld the wondrous ascendency
of the kingdom of Emmanuel. What
appeared to these prophets Of the olden
time in vision appears to us translated
into history, glorious with the grand
achievements Christianity has wrought.
Magnificent victories have followed its
banners. Territory after territory has
been added to its dominions. Despite
the opposition which its representa-
tives have met, the fiery prosecutions,
not limited to the period of its intro
duction, but blighting the records of
ten centuries and, indeed, times long
after the clark ages" its growth has