The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1910-11-25
SHELTERINC
MAN HOOD
By REV. W. D. BRADFIEID
Pastor Trinity Methodist Episcopal
Church. Dallas, Texas

Text-Behold king shall reign in
righteousness and princes rule in judg-
ment. And = man shall be a hiding place
from the wind, covert from the tern
pest; as rivers of water in a dry place;
as the shadow of great rock in q weary
land.-Isaiah 32:1, 2.
The text is Isaiah's dream of a just
government. "a king shall reign in
righteousness and princes rule in
judgment" 1t is remarkable that Isa-
labs loftiest conception of the Mes
sianic reign Is just government
king his Messiah should be who reigns
IN righteousness. Isaiah's dream is
the dream Of the ages History Is lit
tie more than a record Of strug-
gle for just government. A govern
ment allowing equal opportunities for
all, giving every man square deal,
has been the desire of all peoples
Men want justice here and now. More
than benevolence or charity men de-
mand simple justice
1t is too late now to seek to com.
pensate men for injustice here by the
promise Of justice after they are dead.
Shelterless people here are no long
er comforted by the promise of man.
sions in the skies. Hungry people are
no longer compensated for hunger
here by the promise of eating bread
In the kingdom of God. Men demand
Justice here, and the dream of mil
lions of hearts Is for the just govern.
ment which Isaiah foresaw
The text gives us Isaiah's concep
ton of the fountain force of society:
the wind"-a man. Society is com,
posed of an aggregation of individuals
and no scheme for social betterment
Is worth while which has a goal 9th
er than the improvement Of the char
acter of individual men. The fountain
force of government and society is the
Individual. "a man shall be as an
hiding place from the wind"--a man
The word masses" was not in the vo
cabulary of the Christ. He did not seek
to reach men en- masse. He aimed
at the personal character of individ
ual men and women.
His ministry was much to individ
uals, now to ruined woman weary OF
her sin, now to a confused seeker by
night. The sum total of his three
years work was the training of hall
dozen or more individual men. The
fountain force of society is the indi
vidual man or woman. Disseminavs
| Loo iotr Jr~ xrybn Z
you will, but you have done nothing
| permanent for society until you have
| reached the bettered, the personal
character of individual men and won
| en-. Exactly this is the fountain
force of society as Isaiah saw it. "a
man shall be'-a man.
The text is lsaiah's portrait of 3
sheltering manhood.
"a man shall be as hiding place
from the wind, cover from the tenn
pest; as rivers of water in a dry place
as the shadow Of great rock in a
weary land" Isaiah looked east OF
Palestine and beheld running north
and south great cliffs of rock East
of these cliffs he beheld the drifting
sands of the Arabian desert. The
great cliffs he had seen rise in their
majesty and say to the burning, drift
ing sand: THUS far and no farther
The drift was arrested and to the lee.
ward of the great rocks he beheld
GASES blossom as the rose. Here he
| had seen flocks and herds roam. Their
in his vision he said: 1.-The time is
coming-the good time is coming
when man shall repeat the ministry
of the rocks. Under his sheltering
| manhood the weak shall be protected
and the fainting inspired. A man shall
be as a hiding place from the wind
-. as a shadow Of a great rock in
a weary land"
1t Is admitted by all that Isaiah's
words are luminous description OF
of Jesus Christ But they are more
than that. They are Isaiah's ideal OF
what every life may be. "a man
any man, every man-may repeat the
ministry of the sheltering rocks.
Life 1t has been said, has aspects
very ueS0TL-llhe. 1t is swept ny uIll tSi
now of cruel government, now of SO
cial impurity, now Of commercial dis.
honesty. The arresting force has al.
ways been a man. The drift of Per.
sian cruelty and social corruption
was arrested by Militiades at Mara
thon The drift Of Mohammedan SUI
perstition was arrested by Charles
Martel at Tours. The drift of medi
aeval ecclesiasticism was arrested by
Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms
Great outstanding characters who
have repeated the ministry of the
rocks which Isaiah saw have made his
tory. The achievements of history
are at bottom Of the work of these
men.
What Jesus Christ did and what the
great outstanding characters Of his
tory have done you and l are called
upon in Gus lesser spheres to do
The manhood of each is to be shell
tering manhood. The weak are to b;
protected, the fainting by the shadow
of our lives. Only this spirit car
solve orr prOblems Souls must he