The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1912-04-04


the friend OF God-Abraham. To him
1t was disclosed as a secret that the
great Creator. although permitting JUS
tce to hold full sway In relentless
exhibition Of Divine wrath against the
sinner. had a loving purpose in His
heart which would yet find expression
and include all the human family in
the blessing 1t would bring. How as
tonished we are to learn of such
"A Wilderness In Gods mercy.
Like tho Wilderness Of the scar
But God gave Abraham words only,
"Wonderful words OF life"-that in
him and In his posterity eventually all
the families OF the earth shall DO
blessed. But there was not a sign Of
change so far as the Divine dealings
were concerned. Sin and death were
still allowed to reign, and their reign
has continued century after century
since Abraham's day. Doubtless it
was because God foreknew that ap-
proximately four thousand years would
intervene before the blessing Of the
world that He added His Oath in cor
roboration Of His promise. Saint Paul
! by these two immutable, unchange-
able things-thc Word Of God and the
! Oath Of God--we, who by faith are be-
come the spiritual Seed Of Abraham,
might have strong conSolation-we
"who have fed for refuge to lay hold
upon the hope set before us" in that
Gospel Message which God gave to
Abraham. ---------.-----
"lsrael Hath Not Obtained.r
Centuries passed. Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob, to whom that prom
! Use was successfully made, all died;
and Jacob on his death bed handed
DOWN the gracious Inheritance Of the
wonderful promise TO his twelve sons,
who there became the nation Of Israel.
The foundation Of Israel's hopes as q
nation IS that promise made to Abra-
ham, IN which they still trust. The
spectacle Of q faith triumphlng for
four thousand years is a glorious one,
and it will shortly have it's reward
In due time, at Mount Sinai God en-
tered into a Covenant with the chill
| dren Of Israel, by which He agreed to
| bless them and to fulfil In them the
Abrahamic promise that they, as Abra-
hams seed, should bless all the ma
! tons Of the earth. The only condition
| connected with the4promise was that
| they were to show their fitness to be
! the Divine channel Of blessing to the
| world and their obedience to the D1-
/ vine Law which was delivered to them
on two tables Of stone. Full Of Joy
and faith the Israelites obligated
| themselves thus.
All! much they knew not They did
not realize their own weakness and
imperfection through the fall and their
inability to fulfil the Divine require
| nents, the spirit of the Law of their
Covenant. They soon found that while
/ the Law said, 'He that docth these
, things shall live" they were not able
! to do those things; and therefore they
were all dying like other men,. Had
! God deceived them and cntrapped
| them? No. Gods proposition was
| simple enough. He was merely teach
! ing them great lesson-that sin as
disease had taken hold upon humanity
| and that, however willing they might
flesh and unable to fulfil their good
| Intentions.
| IsraePs Promised Deliversr.
AS a consolation God assured Israel
+ that He would send the DeIverer,
One still greater than Moses who had
! delivered them from the Egyptian
| bondage. This greater Deivercr would
! deliver them from the greater bondage
of Sin and death, so that they would
| be able to obey the Divine Law and
be used OF God in blessing and in
structing other nations: This Greater
than Moses they were assured would
! inaugurate New Law Covenant,
based upon better sacrifices than the
! blood Of bulls and goats, and Ue was
known to them as Messiah, the Mes
! senger Of the New Covenant In Him,
; therefore, they came to hope; for Him
| they waited; in the prospect Of His
coming they delighted
: But. although the Law Covenant
[ made nothing perfect-althoug it did
not accomplish the thing Israel had
hoped, it did accomplish much 1t
served to Iift that one nation, rC1t-
giously, high above all the other ma
lions Of their day, so that when the
! time came for God to send His Son
into the world to be mans Redeemer-
, TO die, the Just for the unjust, for
mans reconciliation, as the Atonement
| for his shat that time there were
q few thousand sanity Jews who
waited for the consolation, the COM
! fort, the blessing which God had
promised them through Messiah-re-
lease from the bondage Of sin and
! death.
Thus the Law was n Dedagogue, a
! servant, to lead the IsraeIites to the
Great Teacher; and Mt Penteeost and