The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1909-02-12


ing one to another: Holy, holy, holy
the Lord God of hosts, all the earth
is full of His glory" Great, then, is
the constitution of the church.
1 have told you that it was God
that gave the constitution of the
church. Its words are the words OF
Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is God
the Second Person of the Blessed
Trinity. From eternity this Person
had "all power in heaven and in
the Person of Christ's humanity
which He-assumed that He might suf-
fer for us. has now also "all power in
heaven and in earth" When He died
as man, for He could not die as God.
He merited all power. This Is the
power He refers to in the preamble
of the great constitution that He gave
to His church. This power is the
source and strength of that constitu.
ton.
1t was for us Christ died. With.
out doubt when He died for us He
showed us the deepest affection. Tc
use Lincoln's expression on the field
of Gettysburg: "He paid the last full
measure of devotion" When He
gave His life, He made sacrifice sc
much greater than the sacrifice OIL
our lives would be as divine person
is greater than we. Jesus has been
so good to us that we ought to regard
Him as an other self.
The power that Christ merited we
find Him shortly using in our inter
ests. He first uses it in sending His
apostles to teach men the new thing
that had come to Pass. How else
could they know that they had Saw.
Jour? His command was: Teach We
all nations" Great as was that com.
r1and, it was not equal to the charity
that prompted it, for Jesus is love 1t.
self And in what was He their Saw.
Jour? He was to save them from
their sins. That we do not appre.
ciate the evil of sin is mans great
misfortune. We know that if we ap.
preciate the evil of sins we would not
commit them. If they are blotted out
enly.by the blood of the Son Of God
it is no wonder that we do not under.
stand them. We do understand sin
enough to know that it is disgusting
and Injurious. How disgusting and
injurious then must it appear in the
sight of God! The philosophers give
us another aspect of sin. They tell
us it is a privation. want of some,
thing we ought to possess. Want
sometimes becomes very hard to bear
Sin in the soul is the greatest want
for it means want of spiritual life. A
dagger will kill the body. Sin is the
most deadly of all daggers, for 1t kills
the soul.
When Christ came the world was
reeking with sin. So disgusting is
the account history gives us that we
think we could not endure to live
among the denominations of the past
BY their sins, men, not only as indt
viduals, but as whole nations. had Of.
Tended the Father and the Son anc
the Holy Ghost. They had made an
enemy of Him that could send them
to eternal punishment. Christ mer
cifully commands His apostles tc
wash away the sins of the nations
baptizing them in the name Of the
Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Ghost. This was an exercise OF
that almighty power that He had re-
ceived. Thus was the account which
the Father and the Son and the holy
Ghost had against them to be wash ed
away in the waters of baptism. What
a debt the nations owe to Christ!
AS the issue proved, it was no easy
task to which the apostles were gent
Christ sent them to do mems work
But the APOSTLES were full OF the sub
lime spirit of the Saviour who had
trodden the winepress alone. Fol-
three years they had imbibed tbs
lion spirit of Christ. So difficult was
their task that in its discharge they
one and all encountered the martyr s
trial. The foul spirit Of darkness
did not yield without a contest. but
he had to yield. We can glory thai
Christ so filled His apostles with His
spirit when He sent them out tt
preac. that they did not shrink from;
the trial of blood for the sake OF
Christ and for the SAKE of us. Our
faith is ali evidence of how we'll they
preached. How terribly earnest are
the words of Christ when we inter.
pref them in the light Of what He
was and did, and in the light of the
lives and deaths of His apostles.
Let us now take up these other
words of Christ: Teaching them te
observe all things whatsoever / have
commanded YOU" This the apostles
could understand. They knew what
commands He had given them. But
perhaps they might understand diff
ferently, perhaps they might forget
as other men 60. This was all guard
ed against, as onH might infer from
the breyity OF the constitution, which
goes int no details, and which makes
no mention of mistake or failure.
The apostles were inspired. They,
and not only they, but the church to
all time, were preserved free from
possibility of error by Christ when
He gave His promise: Behold / am
with you all days even to the con-
summation of the world" He sent
them to teach. And certainly since
He was to be with them, He was to
help them in the task He assigned
them. Otherwise His presence would
be without meaning. We cannot deny
that He is still present with His
church unless we deny the truth OF
what He said.
Power, power. power. is what
Christ gave His church. Power, pow
err, power, for the sake of men. This
power He refers to in the preamble
of the constitution He gave her. We
may be certain that Christ having
merited all power in heaven and in
earth for the sake of men. was not
going to deny it to that church He
established to save them. The pres
ence of that power in the church is
shown by her victories of 1000 years.
Now Christ is true God and true
man. He became man when He
came to save US. So thoroughly like
one of ourselves did He become that
some are tempted to believe that He
was man only. 1t was as man that
power was given Him. for as God He