The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-03-04

4
of hearing the words of the Lord (Amos
viin. i y.
ooO-.-.-.-.-s-.-.-.-.-.-.
nowhere. 1se.---;;;;-2: 7aoy seek not where
alone it is to be found.
"Ho, Every One That Thirsteth, Come
Ye."
| Ho, Ye all that hunger for Truth,
Come ye There is an abundance for
us all in our Heavenly Fathers won
derful provision-in the Bible. Desert
! ing all the creeds and traditions Of
men. let us gather at our Heavenly
Fathers Board as his family. as his
children. Let us prove the truthful
ness of his declaration that Like as a
father pitieth his children, so the Lord
pitch them that reverence him." Let
us seek and obtain the satisfying por-
ton. Let us satisfy our longings at
the table of Divine provision. Mark
the Lords words and consider how
truthful they are, Blessed are they
that hunger and thirst after righteous
ness. for they shall be filed (AIatthew
V, g.. 1t is this Truth-hungry class
that we address. We know their
heart-longings, for we had the same.
We know the satisfaction which they
crave, for we have received it and are
therefore doubly glad to hand forth
the bread of life and the water of life
to those who desire it. There are
plenty ready to serve the appetites of
those who long for pleasure-ball
games, society fetes. chess, travel, etc.
We have not word to say against
these. 1t is not our thought that they
are going to eternal torment; hence we
do not frantically beset them, annoy
them. Let them have their pleasure.
Let them wait for the time to come
when something may occur in their
experiences which will put them into
the class of the broken-hearted and
contrite Of spirit and cause them to
feel after God, if haply they might
find him as a satisfying portion. In
harmony with the Masters direction,
1t is our aim to bind up the broken
hearted; to comfort those that mourn"
to tell them of the oil of joy which the
Lord is willing to bestow for their
spirit of heaviness and sorrow for sin
isaiah Xxi, 49, As the Master eX-
pressed no reprOof of those engaged
in any form Of moral reform, even
asceticiSm, SO it is with us. We desire
yrrh Hnin~
good work, whether he follow with us
In every particular or not. There are
so many engaged in doing evil works,
and so few engaged in doing good, that
not one of the latter class can be
spared from the ranks Of the service Of
righteousness
AS the Master did not give his time
to temperance reform, nor social re-
form, nor political reform, but did
give his time to the instruction of the
people in the doctrines Of the Divine
Word, so let us be intent to follow
teaching for doctrines the precepts of
men, but the Word of God, which liv-
eth and abideth fOrever-eXpoundin
unto the people the Scriptures and as
siSting them to see the length and
.readth Of their meaning. Neverthe-
less, as the religious teachers of the
Masters day hated Jesus and his dis
cipleS for this cause, Because they
taught the people, and prosecuted
them because they did not walk in
the beaten paths of their day, so we
may expect also to be hated without
cause: so we may expect that the
scribes and Pharisees and Doctors of
the Law today will be grieved because
the people are taught, because the
light of the knowledge of the glory of
God shining in the face of Jesus Christ
is presented to the people as an in
centive to love and obedience, instead
of the doctrine of eternal torment. 1t
istry today well know, and would not
for moment deny, their disbelief in
| the doctrine of eternal torment, il
croSS-queStioned. Nevertheless many
of them hate us and oppose us, be-
cause we show the people the true
interpretations of Gods Word, and lift
before the eyes of their understand
| ing a God of Love, Just, Merciful,
Righteous altogether. and fully capa-
BILE both in wisdom and power to work
out all the glorious designs which he
''purposed in himself before the foun-
dation of the world"
| "a They perceive that the teaching
Of the doctrines of Purgatory and eter-
nal torment has not had a sanctify-
| ing influence upon mankind i'm all the
sixteen centuries in which it has been
preached. They fear that to deny
these doctrines now would make a
bad matter worse. They fear that il
! the Gospel Of the Love of God and Of
the 'Bible-that it does not teach eter-
nal torment for any-were made gen.
orally known, the effect upon the
world would be to increase it's wicked
| ness. TO make life and property less
secure than now and to fill the world
| still more than now with blasphemies
(2) They fear also that certain
amount of discredit would come to
themselves because, knowing that the
| Bible does not teach eternal torment,
I m 81, IT