The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1909-10-15

Sunday, Oct. 3.-Pastor Russell, OF
Brooklyn Tabernacle, preached today
pn the above text. He said
Looking about us In the world we
ind abundant corroboratlon for the
Scriptura declaration that Instead OF
the Divine blessing resting upon the
earth there Is Course" or a blight
upon It. Accordingly st. Paul wrote,
1.-THE whole creation groaneth and
travailcth IN pain together" In the
context he declares the relief from
this grooming condition--out OF the
bondage OF corruption into the liberty,
favor and blessing to follow. He in
dicates that this blessed change" will
come through the manifestation OF
the sons of God" and lntlmates also
that these sons OF God are now being
called" and VIII shortly be "gloriiied"
and thus be empowered to do the work
OF blessing for the grooming creation
relieving them OF the burden OF sin and
death.
Still the question arises. Why should
humanity be so differently clrcum.
stanced from the angelsr Why should
not holiness aud purity and freedom
from sorrows and pain aud death pre-
vail on earth as well as In heaven?
Why should the great Creator so DIFF
ferently condition one branch OF his
creation from the other? True. the
Lords prayer tells us that we may
expect ultimately that Divine power
will intervene and succor humanity.
The declaration, "Thy Kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth as 1t is done
IN heaven" is more than a prayer;
because uttered by our Lord it is also
prophecy OF what will ultimately OBJ
tain. But the question is Why should
II he necessary for us to pray and to
wait to subdue sin and to lift man
kind out Of evil conditions? Why
should not Gods will have been done
on earth all along. as 1t is done In
heaven? Why have sin and death
been permitted to reign as the
Scriptures declare?
Thy Word Is Truth.
The Bible alone answers our query.
1t explains that originally our race
was created perfect, in the image Of
God, sinless. holy. pure. happy. Mans
Eden home was Paradise, the Garden
of God. But all that bliss was lost
Through disobedience to the Divine
command When the death sentence
came upon father Adam he lost fell
iowship with his Creator, his Eden
home, his perpetual life and. instead
OF the Divine provision, was sentenced
to earn his bread by the sweat Of his
face, battling with thorns, thistles and
iasects. The Bible does not pretend
to say that the conditions as we have
them today are perfect nor that they
are satisfactory to God. nor that they
should be satisfactory to us. The eX'
treme opposite OF the home in Eden
the drouth. cyclone tempest and food
belong to the unfit condition of the
earth and are intended by the Lord t.
serve us part of mans condemnation
Through sickness, disease, sorrow
pain, dying. the race will be brough,
Thank God he has overruled that fea
turc OF the sentence so that death tt
us need not mean destruction. Thus
Il Is written. Thou turnest man t
destruction, and sayest. Return, "
children of men" psalm &c, -.
The turning OF man to destruction
was six thousand years ago and, al
though the blessing OF restitution was
declared from the very first by all thu
holy prophets, nevertheless the return
was not made actually possible unit
the Redeemer came and laid down hi
life as the ransom price for the sin'
OF the whole world. \ long while die
God wait before sending the Redeemer
More than four thousand years passed
and for long period he has waite,
since then before effecting deliver
ance OF humanity from sin and dealt
nearly nineteen centuries. This de
Hberate Slowness on the part of tn
Almighty In looking after the human
family and its rescue from sin anI
death can be understood from only on
staudpoiut-thc Bible standpoint. Tn
Bible, contrary to our creeds formu
lated in the dark ages, teaches tina
the penalty for sin Is not a futur
torment, but present experience witt
sin and death under the sentence
Dying thou shalt die" In othe
words our present accused or con
demned, unfavorable condition as
race !s Gods just penalty against u
as sinners.
We are n race OF convicts. and tn
conditions of nature are Divinely M
ranged with view to speeding us Oh
ward to the tomb-to the fulillment o
our Course" or sentence-death. L
other words all the mental unbalanc
and distress. including insanity, I'm
beciilty and cross temper, are element
of death-the results OF death workin
Ia US as race; likewise our moral dc
hectton. We were born In sin an
shapen In iniquity; in sin did our mott
ers conceive u.s." Phrenology. as we
as physiology, shows clearly these facts
The misshapen heads indicate the vi
l.aIa In