The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1910-05-02

ANGELS % TIE night 1I our Iu1u'E birth
in ihs notdl. Bth1'l We bring yo1
good tidlnes Of great Soy. which shall
be unto al reofe FOR unto you IS
born this DAY 81 the cily u payld
q Savior fIife.ciyetl which IS Christ
the Lord luke d. lol This yerslcn
OF the Gospel. soed message. ana
for MI manklnd core ponds exacily
With the fist statement d TIE Gospel:
made By God to Father Abrshan ~
Inc: IN thy SEED shall al the families
Of the earth Be Messed Gen. XII, 2. 81,
Nor should this surprise us that 1
owing and gracious Creator. who knew
/ The ezd from the beginning. created
tie human race with the full fore-
kno3Sledge that Father Adam would
Be disobedient, and that his lite would
be forfeited. ana ma al his children
would shhre In bis mental, moral. and
physical decline. even unto death.
Why should II seem strange that this
God; tltis All Wise Creator should plan
an opportunity Tor the complete recoy-
cry from the effects OF sin and death
for all mankind! Why have We al
lowed our minds to refuse the message
sent to iis through the angels respect
ing the good fidiRgs Of great joyto az
pe6pis''f why 'have We allowed the Ad-
yersary to make US think for one mo
ment TINT our Cod. Instead 81 Being
gracious, loving. and kind, and helpful
to his creatures, has, on the contrary,
made provision for their eternal mis-.
erys why have re allowed ourselves
to believe from this standpoint that
our Creator was the greatest demon Of
all demons-not only that he has pow
er, but that he chooses to use that
power for the eternal torture Of his
creatures. who were not even given a
choice as respects their creation?
All. my dear friends. with tears and
In sack.cloth, we should confess to our
blindness IN The past respecting the
true character OF God. Humbly should
we bee forgiveness for having misrep.
resented the Holy One Of Israel. But
he knows that we did this in Ignorance.
and be q both gracious md generous
10 forgive Us our trespasses. and TO
cleanse us from all iniquity according
to his gracious arrangement for tss
which centers in Christ Jesus our
Lord. -
Why the Long oslay7
Some. perhaps, would answer, Sure
", II the Gross Of Christ" means the
blessing OF all Che families of the
eart6, the fact would have been dem
S6hstrated somehow during the nine
teen centuries since. The fact that
only a Comparatively small number
have accepted Christ and been blessed
is therefore the ground for the belief
that God Is merely seeking out Of the
world an 'elecf' "llttle flock Surely,
sif lie had been seeking to convert
the, world, he could and would have
made muche progress in that dI.
rection than has been made. in all this
time. Ai
We reply that this Is no argument
whatever. The same God delayed TO
send his Son, delayed the sacrifice. on
Calvary for more than four thousand
years after sin had entered the world.
And yet. according 20 the Scriptures,
/ the merit OF the sacrifice Of Christ Is
not merely. intended to bring blessing
to those who have'lived since calvaryt
but also TO all nations, kindreds. le6-
pies and tongues from the day Of
Adam to the end Of the Age,
According to the Scriptures. the
death sehtehcewas pronounced against
Father Adam, and all OF his children
have shared In the blighting effect OF
that sentence through heredity. Not
only has our race been growing weak.
er. mentally. morally, and physically,
but by the Thousands Of millions, theyi
have dropped into the tomb, the great
prlson.house Of death, from which
there Is no escape, except by and
through the Son Of God. His sacri-
nee for the sins Of the whole world
secures to him the right to the control
Of Adam and bis race. This control,
the Scriptures assure us. Christ win
assume and exercise during his NIL
lennial reign. During that thousand
years all the families Of the earth will
be blessed, as promised. =
Meantime. in the grave tsheol. hudca.
the hell Of the Biblei, where the dead
know hot ans thing.p they merely wait.
or as the Scriptures declare. they
sleep in the dust Of the earth" The
RedeemeTs authority over them is
beautifully symbollzed in his own
words, II am be that was deud. and
behold, / am alive forevefmore, and
have the keys 6f death and Of tile
grave Retelation l, 49,. He will ex-I
ercIse bis keys Of authority and deilvee
all Of the prisoners from the power Of
the tomb, and additionally from oil
the weaknesses and lmperfeetions IN.
cidental to the sentence. He will
bring the willing and obedlent back to,
full human perfection, and to all that
was lost in Adam and redeemed by
= Er..s FFTnafE -. .IaSta.,s' ragtk.g. 81,