The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-12-20

redeem h e m
that were under the law"
Why this delay? Why did not the
birth Of the second Adam follow i'm
mediately upon the fall OF the first?
Why was a diseased race allowed to
suffer in the absence Of the only ply
sician who could give relief?
Some of the most interesting and
thoughtful answers to this question
are In a great sermon on this text
by the eloquent Robert Hall, an Eng.
lish Baptist clergyman Of an earlier
generation, from whom | quote in
part.
In the first place, 1t may have been
Gods purpose to impress the race
with the great lessons of its apostasy,
and the fearful consequences Of re-
bellion. Thus to restrain our naughty
spirits from acting in the future life
as We have acted here.
In the second place, II 1t was nee.
essary in any sense that salvation
should be prepared for man, it may
have been equally so that man should
have been prepared for salvation
Man needed to have a true knowledge
Of his sinfulness and the misery It
produces, as well as his moral inabil-
ity to overcome 1t in his own wisdom
and strength. 1t needed time for mar
to find this out, for he must exhaust
everything that nature could do be-
fore he would be prepared to receive
the grace of God In the present work
Of his son.
Another eason for the delay is
found in the necessity for the accumu
lation of prophetic evidence concern
Ing the Savior, that when he came
he might be identified beyond a doubt.
When Jesus came it was at the mo-
n1ent when all the prophecies concern
ing his advent had reached a focus.
And as another says, HE brought
with him the key which fitted every
ward of the prophetic lock"
The Most Favorable Time In History,
Finally, in this connection 1t may
be added that of all the periods in
the worlds history that which was
selected for the advent of the son Of
God vas the most favorable in at
least three particulars:
% 1t vas a time Of great intel
lectual refinement, when the human
mind had been cultivated to the last
degree, and was therefore able to de-
tect and prevent imposture as at no
previous time. Tom Paine or Robert
Ingersoll did not live then, but such
rush lights as they could not have
been seen among the luminaries Of
the Augustan age. In other words, II
Christianity stood the test of the first
century, It has nothing to fear from
the present one
(2) 1t was the time of a central
ICED human government, and Rome
was in the heyday Of its power. This
made the whole Of the civilized world
easily accessible. furnishing an oppor.
tunity for the propagation Of the Cos
pei message to mankind everywhere.
(3) 1t was the age Of the perfec-
ton Of the Greek language, which for
many years had been under process
Of cultivation. This was a tongue pre-
eminently adapted to illustrate spir-
itual truth, and to assist later ages In
discovering the meaning Of its words.
Whatever was written in Greek was
accessible to all, and at any earlier
period the want Of such q vehicle of
th1,,wht wyNttI1 haya wanda thn -nnyawAt
teaching Of the bible almost prohi-
bited. The gospel intended to become
universal would have been unfit for
its work, unless continual miracles
had been wrought to further its propa-
cation. Thus, to quote Robert Hall.
the earth was prepared TO receive the
precious seed. He who appoints the
seasons, saw that this was the time
to plant that Tree Of Righteousness
which ultimately was to shadow the
whole earth, and whose leaves were
to be for the healing of the nations"
The Lessons for Va.
And, finally. whatever may be said
as to the delay Of the father in send.
ing the son into the wrold, the two
points to be considered now are
these:
In the first place, the delay caused
no injustice to the preceding ages,
for the mediation Of the son OF God
looked backward MS well as forward,
and his sacrifice on Calvary atoned
for the faithful who had died before
that event as well as for those who
follow after. The Jesus Of the New
Testament is the Jehovah OF the old.
and the Savior who appeared to Adam
in the garden Of Eden is the same
who mercedes for his people today.
And in the second place. Now" that
"once in the end OF the world hath he
appeared to put away sin by the sac
rifce Of himself" 1t behooves US to
inquire whether he has yet been re-
ceived into u hearts. This should
be our chief concern on this ami
yersary occasion. This is the "fulness
of the time" for us, and God forbid
that the opportunity should come and
20 and leave us where we we're be-
fore. The way to make the Christmas
in the earth a Christmas in the soul
Is to receive Jesus Christ by faith
as a personal Savior. He is Gods
u~nspeakable gift to us. VIII you now
say to him, ! accept this gift, I take
thy son? 1t is SO simple, and yet 80
vital. Do 1t now.