The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-11-17

tlKOolklk NUSSLlIJl iHeul WI ii HIS
presentation. His
text was. THAT In the Ages to come
He might show the exceeding riches
of His grace in His loving kindness to-
ward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians
H., - He said in part
Following in the footsteps of our IA
Tiers, who handed down TO us our
present day creeds, we have misun-
derstood our gracious Creator. We
studied astronomy and declared the
Creator Almighty; we studied geology
and confirmed the decision We stud
led zoology and anthropology and de-
clared that the Creator was All-Wise.
as we came to appreciate Him. We
noted the adaptation Of our various
organs to our use and comfort-the
hand. the foot. the eye. the ear, the
circulatory system. the nervous sys-
tenn, and the power Of the will over
these.
We said to ourselves, truly man is
fearfully and wonderfully made, truly
his Maker is a God infinite in wisdom
and skill. We examined the subject
Of mans moral sense. and although
we found it impaired we have been
astonished to note how even the most
selfish and depraved have an instinct
Of justice. sense of right, whether
they follow 1t or not, ~
Love Divine All Love ExcsIline.'
Then we said. Whence came this no.
BILE principle of Justice as the back
bone or moral quality i'm our race?
The only reply was that in this par
ticular God originally created man in
His own moral likeness. and that &,
measure Of this moral quality has per-
sisted Notwithstanding the fall through
disobedience INTO death and it's conse-
quent Decentralization through sin and
weakness
Looking further we perceived that
the noblest specimens of our race pos
sess still other qualities closely associ
ated with Justice. but outranking it.
The noble quality which overtops ali
the rest we term Love. It is Love
which makes the heart tender. sympa-
thetic. helpful and happy: it is Love
that makes home. whether exercised
in palace or hovel. 1t is Love
which backs up Justice ard insists
that no i'll shall be worked toward
neighbor. 1t is Love that is OF the
alert TO assist by word or act all Of
those needing aid. 1t is Love that in
spires us 10 the boldest acts Of hero
ism 1t is Love that prompts the Civ
ing of time and strength. of means
and even life itself on behalf of its
object
All freely admit that Love is the
greatest. the most blessed quality pos
sessed by humanity. and that without
it even paradise could not bring hap
piness We ask. Whence came this
quality Of Love. and from what foun.
tain can we receive the fresh supplies
so much needed by so many of our
race? The answer is that the great
Creator Himself is the Fountain. God
is love-" This AllWise and All-Pow-
erful and Adjust One is pre-eminent-
~ the "God Of all grace "The Father
Of mercies," "The Fountain of bless.
ing
Love Divine all love e1cellng,
Joy of heaven. to earth come down:
Fix In us Thy humble dwelling,
III Thy faithful mercies crown"
"show Me Thy Glory"
The ancients had the correct thought.
that they had caught but glimpse CT
the Divine character and it's glory:
hence their prayer. SHOW me Thy
glory The same should be our senti-
ment In the clear light now shining
upon Gods Word we perceive that it
will require the entire outworking Of
the Divine, Plan Of the Ages to illus
trate or make known to humanity the
real character of. the Heavenly Father.
Only the very few can by faith accept
the Divine promises and trust in their
ultimate fulfilment and see far down
into the future the full shining fortl,
of Gods character. perfect in its Wis
dom. Justice. Power and Love.
We may not Judge the Infinite love
in all respects by human compa rison.
but we may know that our difficulty
in the matter is that the human COM
pnrisons can only irnperfectly repre-
sent the Infinite. We see the excava
lion or perhaps the foundation wallis,
or perhaps the first story Of struc
ture, but il we were to Judge wholly
by these imperfect parts 1t would be
manifestly unfair and we should be
deceiying ourselves. The only way to
Judge, of the builders capacity and in.
tentions would he to see the architec-