The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-03-29

mankind from the reign of sin ant
death was made. not publicly, not {,
all Of the race. but merely to one man.
the friend OF God-Abra ham. To hin
1t was disclosed as secret that tn,
great Creator although permitting JUS
tice TO hold full sway in Il relentless
exhibition Of Divine wrath against tb'
sinner had loving purpose, in Hi
heart which would yet find expression
and include all the human family il
the blessing it would bring. How as
tonished we are to learn Of such
"A Wilderness in Gods mercy.
Like the Wilderness OF the sea-"
But God gave Abraham words only
Wonderful words of life"-that in
him and in his posterity eventually al
the families OF the earth shall be
blessed But there was not sign Of
change so far as the Divine dealings
were concerned Sin and death We're
still allowed TO reign. and their reign
has continued century after century
since Abraham'S day. Doubtless ut
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
tells us that He so did in order that
by these two immutable. unchange-
able things-the 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. -
"israei Hath Not Obtained"
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 IsraePs hopes as a
nation is that promise made to Abra-
ham, in which they still trust. The
spectacle Of a faith triumphing for
four thousand years is a glorious one.
and it will shortly have its 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 the promise was that
they were to show their fitness to be
the Divine channel, Of blessing to the
world and their obedience to the Di-
vine Law which was delivered to them
on two tables Of stone. Full of joy
and faith the Israelites obligated
themselves thus. -, 49,. s..~~. e.. -
ALI! much they knew not. :, They did
not realize their own weakness and
imperfection through the fall and their
inability to fulfil the Divine. require
,Inents, the. spirit of the Law Of their
Covenant. They soon found that while
the Law said, ''He that doeth these
things shall live, they were not able
TO do those things; and therefore they
were all dying like other men. Had
God deceived tiIem and entrapped
them? No. Gods proposition was
simple enough. He, was merely teach
ing them a great lesson-that sin as a
disease had taken hold upon humanity
and that; however willing they. might
be, ali were weak aud perversc in the
flesh and unable to fulfil their good
intentions. - .:-..'s,r %
IsrasI's Promised Dsiivsrsr. s->:
AS consolation God assured Israel
that He would send the Deliyerer,
One still greater than Moses who had
delivered them from the Egyptian
bondage. This greater Deliverer Weuld
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
tina Moses they were assured would
inaugurate New Law Covenant,
based upon better sacrifices than the
blood Of bulls and goats, and He was
known to them as Messiah, the Mes:
sepgcr 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-although it did
not accomplish the thing Israel had
hoped, it did accomplish much. It
served to lift that one nation, reli-
giously, high above all the other ma
tons 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 sin-at that time there were
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 pedagogue. a
servant, to lead the lsraelltes to- the
Great Teacher: and at Pentecost and
subsequently several thousand of them
thus led entered the School Of Christ
to be His disciples. to walk in His
steps. to suffer with Him and later on,
in due time. to reign with Him.
Moreover. during the sixteen centu-
rfoa hot ueon Mosas md JesuS a saint