Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-23
The Quality of Gods For
giveness.-Hosea, I4:4-0;
ROm. SILL.

real forgiveness This is largely
because we have so thoroughly confused
the thought OF forgiveness with the idea
of forgetting. 1t is very doubtful whether
we ever forget a genuine injury. and as
though to meet this actual condition, God
has never said anywhere in His word
no! not even by implication-"forgive and
forget" That may be said of flashes of
foolish anger and lovers quarrels, but
not of insult or fragrant breach Of conf
dence.
God only forgets. He says: Il will for
give their iniquity, will remember their
sin no more" Mans forgiveness is gen.
orally due to one of three great causes:
First, the possibility of error on both
sides: second, the thought that Jesus so
clearly emphasizes, in His comments on
the Lords prayer, For if We forgive not
men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses." Thus
we forgive; fearing that should We not
do 80 we shall ourselves be unforgiven.
Then, in the third place, we forgive men
when We stop to think upon the brevity
of life, the folly of strife and the not dis
tant time when we shall meet q common
fate az Whittier SO well puts IT:
NV heart was heavy, for it's trust had been
Abused, its Kindness answered with foul wrong;
So, turning gloomily from my fellow-men.
T The s4een mounds Of the village burial place;
Where bordering how all human love and hate
Find one sad level. and how, soon or late,
WrOnged and wrongdOer, each with meekene0 race
And cold hands folded over a still heart,
Pass the green threshold Of our common grave.
xwe We de for m myself. and plying my race,
Our common sorrow, like a mighty wave.
Swept all my pride away, and trembling, l Tor
gave.
hA IF
giyeness of his fellow-man; but our topic
for TODAY has to do with that great pas
sion of compassion in the heart OF Co..
which moves Him to forgive and to Tor
Their in the parable of 1.-The prodigal
SON." run to meet His erstwhile erring
child, to embrace, to restore and to re-
joice and to ''be merry for this my son
was dead and is alive again. was lost and
is found
This week, as our Scripture lesson. we
have first the SWAN song of the prophet
Hosea, in which, as he closes his great
evangelical prophecy, he tells of GOD
causes the blighted soul to bloom again
and who restores the spiritual beauty to
the countenance that was marred by SIN;
The other lesson is from the fifth OF
Romans; the stronghold Of saving faith
One look at the inner history of the
saints and martyrs of every Christian
age will reveal the fact that here they
found the light that leads to God. and
peace. Here pardon was bestowed and
hope restored, and from the blessed con-
seriousness that God forgives and justi-
fies the soul that comes to Him with pen
itence and faith has sprung the mis-
sionary zeal which Is the glory OF the
believing souls. the whole world round.
From these two lessons the topic is
drawn: 1.-THE Quality Of Gods Forgive
ness What shall We say concerning
such a theme? How shall we speak OF
all the depth. the power. the complete
ness, Of Gods forgiving love? Only the
prophet-poets have aspired to put IN
words that ring like harps from heaven
this message Of forgiveness.
On the beach at Asbury Park there
came, and still he stood there; but as
night drew near those who had watched
him from one of the hotels approached
and asked why he had thus spent the
whole day. looking toward the sea: win
a voice that trembled with emotion. he
replied: CAN my life 1 have been singing,
up at the little mountain church which
l attend:
There's Wilderness in Gods mercy,
Like the Wilderness of the sea
and I had never seen the sea until to-
day" Only the prophet-poets have
caught the sweep of the quality OF
Gods forgiveness" and II its Wilderness
be like the boundless sea, no less is its
welcome UNIVERSAL, anu again VIC ho"i'
Come, sinners. to the gospel feast;
Let every soul be Jesus guest.
Ye need not one be left behind
For God hath hidden all mankind
How often have the woods and hills
of this broad land rung with these mel
odies. How often have despairing men
and women caught a vision OF the all
embracing mercy and forgiveness OF God
from words like these. How was 1T that
when the great Chicago fire drove Z3,-
600 terror-stricken fusitives down to the
lake front and some brave spirit
started to sing Jesus Lover or My
Soul" the whole concourse caught it up
i'm one of the mightiest choruses of faith
that earth has ever known? The answer
lies in mans sure confidence in Gods
great love.
Arrayed against this boundless love,
this tender pity. this universal welcome.
is mans stubborn will. The bells of heaven
NAV ring out, and he not heed: the
door of mercy may stand wide, and he
NOT enter in; the sacrifice of Calvary may
cast its glory down the centuries. and he
ha lost. Once more the thought comes
to us from the sweet singer of whose
lines we first spoke:
II our love were but more simple
We should take Him at His word,
And our lives would he all sunshine
In the sweetness OF our Lord.
1.-THE True American Citizen" is the
subject Senator Works Of California will
dtsc1,ss at the Y NJ c. A. meeting in the