The new South-news., 1908-05-16

guilty had no confession for Him
self. Saints among men tell how they
toll through repentance into sanctity.
bat here IL One Who looked into the
| face OF the Almighty with no semorse
under the shadow Of that end where
men most feel shrinking from an In
evifable sitting. He xpake. have
finished the work Thou Gavest Ne to
do" His case is without parallel
This sinlessnexs separates Him not
only from the sinner. but also from
the raint: He stands alone.
But you have seen the least when
you have found out He did no wrong.
He always did the right. Every word
and act outruns conscience: He made
new character. The nrst element
was humility: the word was not new
In His time. the Greeks had an equiv
alent for II meaning coward Jesus
made the base-born word the key
word OF Christian character. II ever
there was worldlord It was He. and
yet He was among men as one that
serveth. And since then service has
been reckoned the crowning grace cf
character. and men have stretched
out their lame hands to seize and
wear IL. Another element OF Jexus'
ated, not that none had loved til
Jesus came. but none had loved all
the time, under all circumstances. all
men. With Jesus love was laying
down ones life In the way God gives
the sun and rain. without stint. with
out partlality, for good aud bad This
was a new idea. and since Jesus lived
His idea has been the standard meas
ure OF love, anything less than that
which measures up to cross is not
love.
Another element IN Jesus charac-
ter was forgiveness This virtue was
not unknown; but they who practiced
II aforetime did Il under no sense OF
necessity. II was a work OF superero-
cation. A man was not bound to for
give: did he, he had lien on the
gods. Jesus said a man was bound
TO forgive, only SO could he know
God. and there rises before us the
vision OF One whose countenance was
marred more than any mans, who
was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
and while they butchered Him, He
prayed. Father. forgive them, for
they know not what they do" In this
sort of character you have something
that stands by itself. No other char
acter is the match for It, The man
who wears 1t is in a class by Himself
What shall we do with this Jesus:
With Alexander the Great and Ma
poleon the Great, with Shakespeare
and Michael Angelo; somehow our
sense OF fitness rebels. we cannot
bring ourselves to call Him Jesus the
Great; He is simply Jesus. Where
did He come from? Somehow we
find ourselves looking past Joseph,
over Mary's head. into the heavens.
Ordinary fatherhood and motherhood
never before or since brought forth
this kind of life: here is glory, not
like Alexander's. or Napoleon's. or
Shakespeare or Michael Angeles, 1t
is not like the glory OF all thes rolled
into one. 1t is another kind OF glory, a
still greater glory, It Is q glory as of
an only begotten of the divine; that
fits the case; He is the Son OF God
But We must go on. we are carried
! farther. II is like this: Here is an
organ. Someone tells. me that there
is in this chest wonderful harmonies
l go up to II. 1 examine its mechan-
ism. l see that it Is an organ; ! read
tho name plate on the console and get
this su.rawtss Of its possibilities.
go inside the .~1 laok into m a
great tubes and horns OF wood and
metal and | agree that 1t is good for
all that is claimed for it. There may
be unguessed harmonies In this mass
OF mechanism: there may be voices OF
thunder. meanings like those Of the
great deep, melodies like those birds
sing at twilight. l allow that there
may be all these things in this organ.
But. suddenly some one touches the
keys, and the great thing springs into
life 1t sings itself and me away. l
hear in 1t the voices Of the wind, the
murmurings of the little rivers, the
distant calls Of the gathering clouds.
The great chords run together, they
rise and fall in waves Of melody, they
tremble away into whisperings OF
peace. The music has found me; the
organ has touched my feelings:
know beyond the remotest shadow oi
doubt that this chest OF pipes Is what
it claims to he.
You, too, have been using your
: eyes. your reason Is the eye Of your
soul, but your soul has an ear, and
while you were watching Jesus. study
ing Him to fnd out n indeed He |,
divine. did your ear hear nothing
were there no voices from that Life
. which caught your spirit and led 4
to lean out OF the window enrapture(
: with sounds that were heavenly, song
immortal? What do / mean? Tha
4 the divinity OF Jesus IL more than
fact for the intellect, 1t is a force To-
the conscience. Study Jesus and 20,
3 ind Hin, studying you; read the Cos
pels, and you discover that your sou
is being read. Other men speak ant
e you are Interested. Jesus speaks ant