The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-07-15
Gaturday Digit
"aIkc By Rev. F. E. DAWSON
OuthAS Rutland, VI
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
THE KING, THE ROCK OF AGES.
international Bible Lesson for July
II, '1o-(Mstt. 16: 1929.

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into faces about him inquiringly, and
when asked what he was searching so
| diligently for replied, that he was
seeking for a man.
There were men enough in Athens,
men for the schools and for the forum,
men for official positions at home and
| abroad, men that would compare fav-
orably with those of other nations
| but. in the estimation of the philoso-
pher of the tub, they were all lacking
in the essential qualities of manhood.
It was not a question of sex, nor of
age, nor of stature, nor of parentage,
nor of attainments. He was looking
for an ideal man, and he could not
/ find him. He never did find him. He
was looking in the wrong place for
him. Athens could not produce that
kind of a man.
The philosophers and poets could
dream of and describe him. The
| prophets could foretell his coming.
! The artists could carve in immortal
marble his physical projections. The
gymnasium could cultivate the ply
sique appropriate for him. But the
man the world was looking for was to
appear in another quarter of the earth,
and in most unexpected way.
Located In Palestine.
If Diogenes had lived in Palestine
1900 years ago, and going up to Jeru-
salem with certain other Greeks, had
made the same request that they did
of one called Philip Sir, we would
see Jesus" he could have extinguished
his lantern then and there, for among
all the sons of men that ever existed
on this planet, Jesus of Nazareth. is
| the only being entitled to bear that
name-the Man. Peter, the apostle,
who knew him intimately, voiced the
sentiment of the whole apostolic col.
lege when he made his glorious con-
fession: Thou art the Christ, the
Son Of the living God" That confes-
sion is the rock on which the church
is founded, land the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it," Christ
Is emphatically the rock of ages He
Is rock, first, last and all the time;
rock, in his center, and his circumfer-
philosophers and scientists, believers
and unbelievers, have been driving
their drills into his character for wo
millenniums but they have never dis
covered anything but rock They
have found a good deal of rubbish in
his church, they have located areas of
wood, hay and stubble In his follow
ers, they have discovered hypocricies
and hidden defects in his professed
friends, but no one, of the innumer-
able company of Investigators of The
Man has ever so much as hinted at
suspicion Of fault in Him.
Has Met Every Test.
He has stood for 1000 years the OBJ.
served of all observers, all the micro
scopes focused on him, all the crow
bars prying at him, all the critics pick
ing upon him, dogging his steps, trac-
ing his lineage, interrogating his dis.
ciples. considering his claims, tearing
his book to pieces, estimating him over
against others, and he stands to-day
calmly facing the world of investiga.
tors and saying, who of you con.
vinceth me of SIM"
The world has produced many
great men. They have been born in
every age and in every nation. They
have been respected, revered, even
worshipped. But every one of them
has been defective. At some point
they have broken down. At some
time they have fallen short. In
some places they have been a disap-
pointment There are some things
about them that their most ardent de-
votees have to explain away and find
excuse for. But not the Rock Man.
There are spots on the sun, but the
Son of Righteousness is spotless. 1t
will take the world thousands of years
yet to move up to the sublime heights
of his teaching, and he VINO comes the
nearest to following his example is
the most eligible to the kingdom of
heaven. Statesmen, philosophers, sci
entists, humanitarians, moralists. re-
ligionists of every creed under heaven
unite in putting the crown of eternal
distinction and supremacy upon the
head of Christ.
II has been demonstrated in his per.
son that a man can live on this earth,
in the midst of most unfavorable con-
ditions and be right in his youth and
right in his manhood, right in his
habits and right in his friendships,
right in his training and right in his
teachings, right in his business and
right in his politics, right in his life
and right in his death. Put out your
lantern, Diogenes, The Man has been
found.
The Pattern Man.
But the founder of the Christian re-
ligion is not to be the only man of
rock-like qualities. He was the sam
pie, the pattern man, and his disci-
pies are to be of the same material.
Founded on the rock of ages, his
church is to be built up Of the same
enduring grade of character, and
every individual member is a neces-
sary block in the superstructure
What that church needs is not more
men, but more man. The church must
put on exhibition manhood patterned
affair fdaaI man Mo-, h1astad nttt