Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1910-01-20
these simple sentences is interpret

eu bne WnOle scheme of things.
Peloubet quotes the remark Of
somebody that the beatitudes ARE
the very essence and pith Of genuine |
manhood. 1t IS the passion to talk
about muscular Christianity. I will
declare what requires Christian mus
cle,-it is living up to the beatitudes.
The conquering forces in Christ's king
dom for time and for eternity are pre-.
cisely those beatiflc graces.'
The point cannot be too often made,
as DR.. w. B. Wright well makes it,
that the world is to be reformed
through the teachings of the beati-
tudes. The reformers try in vain to
construct staple and happy COM
munity from persons who are selfish,
weak and miserable. Their first cry
Is get your circumstances changed
Christ's first call was get yourselves
changed, and the things that stand
around you will be changed.
I These simple beatitudes are, for
both individuals, and for the world,
disturbing, oyertHrning, revolutionary.
A famous Philadelphia preacher, Rev.
DR.. John Sparhawk Jones, has said
'In the day of Christ and down to this
|
Of those who had the ability to take
and keep--not in the hands of the
merciful, the meek. or the peacemak-
ers. Strong, dominant, masterful ma
lures have held power in this world,
and have administered its resources.
Cunning, finesse, brute force, pride, re-
venge, creed. egotistic impulses have
made good their title to actual pos
session, and men of hard fiber and
enormous ambition have been cried up
as sons of Jupiter
'But the beatitudes and the whole
| tenor of Christian prophecy, of which
! they are a part predict that in the
revolutions Of time the scepter is des-
tined to pass to other qualities and
characters. $ These false stan.
darGs will have to come down: these
battle-Gags will have to be furled and
hung up. = y Surely the beatis
tudes must one day be crowned and
throned and the ideal may be the &C
tual and the normal
The Great Declaration.
The platform itself needs quoting
here I choose the free modernized
rendering of the twentieth century
New Testament:
Happy are the poor-in spirit, for
It is to them that the Kingdom Of
Heaven belongs.
Happy arc the, soTrowful, for it is
they who will be comforted.
Happr are the gentle, for it is they
who will inherit the earth.
Happy are those that hunger and
thirst-for the Right, for it is they
who will he nlantifully fed
Happy are tho merciful, for it IS
thev who will have mercy shown
them
Happy gre the pure--in heart, for it
is they who will see God.
Happy are the peacemakers. for II
is they who will be called sons Of
God
Happy are those who have been per-
is to them that the Kingdom of Hea-
ven belongs.
Happy are YOU whenever people
abuse you, and persecute you, and
say everything bad of you-untruy,
and on my account, Be glad and re-
joice. because your recompense in
heaven is great; it was indeed in
just the same way, that people perse-
cuted the prophets who preceded you.
It is YOU who are the salt of the
earth: but should salt lose its
strength, what will you use to restore
its saltness? It is no longer good for
anything, but is thrown away and
trampled under foot, 1t is you who
are the Light of the world. 1t is i'm
possible for town that stands on Il
hill to escape notice. Nor do people
light lamp and cover it over, but
they put it on the lamp-stand, where
it gives light to every one in the
house. In the same way let your light
shine before the eyes of your fellow
men, so that, seeing your good ac-
tions they may praise your Heavenly
Father
The Divine Paradox.
This platform inverts the world S
order. The difference between the
! Christianity which Jesus presented
and that some of his followers are try
ing to practice is obvious to all who
give the matter thought Some Of us
are engaged in demonstrating that
Christianity is profitable for the pres
ent world; that after all it makes us
| like other people, only little better
| We take 10 SuudlluS Oulo oStNSo Ny LIE
worlds rules, simply trying to be a
little more square. Therein we have
reversed the order laid down by the
Teacher. He constructed an entirely
new platform In the passages quoted
his real socialism, that will stand all
tests. there is Utopia, Utopia that viii
persist through eternities. There IS
true new thought up to which the
highest philosophers have not as yet
attained. There is a Christian science
that passes comprehension, and a
higher life that breathes the rarefied
atmosphere of heaven.
Jesus stressed the light of the spa Il.
There was man in New York who
was known as one of the kings of
finance The great railway magnates
came to him to consult and to secure
financial strength. Every banker in
the country knew his name. He was
wealthy. charitable, honored. The
world envied him, his apparent riches.
Now that he has passed away, leav-
ing thirty million dollars to religion,