Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1912-02-10

tian natives alert to meet him, but their
heather countrymen are also interest.
ed. Mohammedans have been inuuir.
ing. Has Pastor Russell any special
message for us? The arrangement Is
that the Pastor shah spend full week
in this District and be at Madras next
Sunday. In his address the Pastor said:
| have chosen as my text on this oc.
casion the Message Of the angels at
the birth of our Redeemer-"Fear not!
Behold, we bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be unto all peo-
pie" duke II, 10) / feel that / am
not entirely stranger to many of
you, nor you to me. For consider
able time have seen regular reports
sent in from this District to the Inter
national Bible Students Assn, Of which
have the honor OF being President.
These reports In turn are published
to the Bible Students all over the
world. We want you to know Of the
Christian love of these children Of God
of various nationalities who are repre-
scented by the Committee before you.
The Father of Mercies.
Two days ago, on the Island of Cey-
Ion, my attention was drawn to the
tomb Of the good Bishop Heber. I'm
mediately to my mind came his words:
What though the spicy breeses
Blow soft DER Ceylon's Isle,
And every prospect pleases,
And only man Is vilei
From childhood / had sung those
words, and finally found myself on
Ceylon's Isle. But l am not so sure
but that the dear Bishop exaggerated
little the vileness of the human
types Of this vicinity. Poverty, in
deed, see on every hand, and, IL
vileness be measured by our great
Creator by lack of wealth, then GER
tainly you are vile in comparison to
some more wealthy. But can we real
ly believe that this is the Divine
standard? Shall we not rather be-
lieve the words of Jehovah, Man
looketh upon the outward appearance,
but God looketh upon the heart?
i am not here to fiatter you-to say
that poverty is proof of purity Of
heart On the contrary, 1t is my duty
as a minister of Christ to declare that
there is none righteous, no, not one.
But may say to you that, admitting
that all men have sinned-some In
ways more peculiar to one nationali-
ty and some to another-it is ours to
point out the need Of an Atonement
for sin and the fact that "the blood"
sacrifice, "of Jesus Christ our Lord,
cleanseth us from all sin"-"Neither Is
there salvation In any other"
Now Look at Our Text.
Note Its terms of blessing intended
of God for every creature. Two
thousand years before the angels ut
tered those words God gave the same
Message of hope and joy to Father
Abraham. Let those of this audience
who are Mohammedans, as well as
others, call to mind the promise to
which l refer. 1t was the promise
with the oath. God, foreknowing
that the fulfilment of the promise
would be long delayed, made oath to
1t, so that all who trust in Him might
have the consolation of that promise.
And what Is the promise? God said
to Abraham, "In thy Seed shall all the
families of the earth be blessed"
The Divine Purpose looked down to
Messiah and saw in Him the real Seed
of Abraham through whom eventually
Divine Power will be exercised and Di-
vine Grace be shed abroad amongst
men. However, according to the Scrip
lures. the Messiah. the Deliverer, is
composite - composed of numerous
members. Each one of these members
must be tested and proven In respect
to his loyalty to God and to the princi-
pies Of righteousness before he can at
tain to his glorious reward of the d.
vine nature.
But mark you well-the selection Of
this special class does not involve the
'non-elect" in eternal torment nor In
any eternal disaster. On the contrary,
the gathering of the select should be
regarded as an assurance on Gods part
OF the fulfilment Of His larger prom
Use, that through THESE sanity ones,
great blessings are to be showered
upon Abraham's natural seed, yea, and
upon all the families of the earth.
The blessing of the world will be
Restitution. (Acts iii, 1921 If, as the
Evolutionists tell us, the Bible theory
that man was created in Gods image
is wrong and he is really the offspring
OF an ape, then Restitution would be
the worst thing that could possibly
come to mankind But the Bible is
quite right; namely that man was Gre
ated perfect and upr1ght-in the image
and likeness Of God, and that rest1tu-
tion will be the worlds blessing.