The Somerset reporter., 1907-11-14

dom, for His Kingdom is of necessity
coextensive with Himself.
Definition of God.
In corrobration of this conception
OF God and His power and presence
in His universe and in His world, |
desire , cal attention to a definition
of God given by the great Psalmist,
the sweet singer of Israel, in the l03d
Psalm. ''Bless the Lord, o my soul,
and forget not all his benefits; Who
forgiveth all thine iniquities; who
healeth all thy diseases; who redeem
eth thy life from destruction; crown
eth thee with loving kindness and
tender mercies: who satisfeth thy
mouth with good things, so that thy
youth is renewed like the eagle's.o
This is either mere abstract poetical
sentiment or else it is a declaration of
eternal truth, definition of the eter-
nal God. We accept it as the latter.
We believe in just such God as the
Psalmist here sings of. A God who
possesses the power to and who does
forgiW all the iniquities of His chill
dren, God who possesses the power
to and who does heal all the dis
eases of His children, who redeemeth
their life from destruction, who
croWneth thee eternally with loving
kindness and tender mercies. | cite
this definition of God not because it
stands alone; we find just such con-
ceptiCn9 of God running all through
/ the Scriptures if we look for them.
i Have We sufficiently looked for them?
Have we been generally taught of
such God? On the contrary, have
we not been too generally taught OF a
God who so far from forglvng all the
iniquities of His children, has provided
a means and place of eternal punish
ment for such of them as fail to live
up TO a prescribed course of conduct
A God who so far from healing all the
diseases of His children, sends dis
ease upon them in order TO chasten
and make them better? This mani
/ festly was not David's conception of
God. If it was, his own plain words
falsifv that conception. Nor was II
the conception of God held by Jesus
if we accept his own plain words as
expressing his conception. In i'm
mediate connection with the l03d
Psalm l now call your attention TO a
part of the New Testament record
which we consider as fundamental
/ Christian doctrine or teaching. | re-
fer to the great commandment given
] by Jesus to his disciples, called by
some Bible commentators his Great
Commission to the Twelve. If it Is
true that this part of the Bible Is
/ fundamental Christian doctrine or
teaching, then surely those who de-
sire to live Christian lives cannot too
much study nor too well understand
it. For present purposes quote the
account contained in Matthew 10th:
'Go not into the way of the Gen
tiles, and into any city of the Samar-
itans enter We not: but go rather TO
the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
"And as We go, preach, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is at hand.
"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead, cast out devils; freely
We have received, freely give.
"Provide neither gold, nor silver,
nor brass in your purses.
Nor yet scrip for your journey,
neither two coats, neither shoes, nor
yet slaves; for the workman Is wor-
thy of his meat"
Commandment is a Unit.
This commandment is unit. Ii is
j
this language no authority to separate
or sub divide it. No more authority
to do this than there is to reject il
as a whole. The words relating To
healing sickness and doing the other
works there mentioned are not only
part of the general commandment,
but of the very sentence in which oc-
cur the words relating to preaching.
Yet we have been taught to believe
That while a part of the command =
ment was intended for all times and
all people, another part was intended
only for a particular time and a
particular people. In other words,
that the part relating TO preach
ing the gospel was to be hand
ed down to all the nations of the
world, until the heather nations
should be converted to the Christian
/ religion But that the part reMting
to healing the sick and doing the other
works mentioned was intended only
for the time of Jesus and his disci-
plies. Or, in yet other words, the
i theore teal part was to be perpetual
ed, but the practical part, the doing of
/ the works, was to be relegated TO the
dead ages of the past, left away back
j beside the Sea of Galilee. Christian
Scientists cannot agree to this attempt
i to cut out or make obsolete this part
of the great commandment. Had
they no other authority than this
which have quoted, they would feel
compelled to maintain that this
commandment has not been fully
complied with and shall not be fully
complied with, until the sick are heal
+ ed and the other works mentioned
therein accomplished, in accordance
with the teachings and methods OF
the founder of the Christian religion
But they are not compelled to rest
upon this alone. This command
ment is substantially reiterated in the
other gospels. shall not now stop