The Hartford republican., 1913-12-19

that even Solomon
in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these. Wherefore. If God so
clothe the grass of the field. which to-
day is. and tomorrow Is cast into the
oven las fuel. shall He not much more
.clothe you, o We Of little faith?"-Mat-
thew 6:2s-3O.
Opening his discourse. the Pastor re-
minded his audience that the Great
Teacher taught in parallels and dark
sayings-not easily cOmprehended.
Even His disciples did not understand
many of His statements until enlight-
ened by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
We are not surprised. said he. that
many have misapprehended the Mas
ter's dark sayings respecting the cut
ting off of hand or foot. the pucking
out of an eye. undying worms. quench-
less fires. and even our text.
There are people today who inter
pret the Master to mean that His fol-
lowers are not to labor as do the re-
aainder OF mankind for the necessities
Of life. but are to he maintained by
Aitbes. collections. etc. The Pastor be-
ueves that such make a great mistake.
as did the man recently reported in the
press as having cut off his hand in
what he thought was obedience to the
Masters instruction. We should avoid
such errors of Judgment. and seek to
have the spirit Of the Masters teach
iog-the spirit of sound mind.
A Crucial Test.
Applying his text. the Pastor declar-
ed that IL we have the faith to believe
that God through Christ has accepted
US as His children. we should as chill
dren trust our Parent in all the affairs
Of life-great and small. But here is
the crucial test. Are we Gods chill
.4sren? Has He begotten us Of the
Holy Spirit? Are our sins forgiven?
Are we reconciled to God through the
death of His Son? -
Upon the affirmative answers to
these questions is the strength Of the
basis Of our hope and faith. II we are
not Gods children, IL He has not re-
oeiyed us through Christ. then we are
4s3iil aliens and strangers. Then our
affairs are not under His supervision.
but we are with the world sharers in
the death sentence, each doing for him
Seif according to his ability in battling
against death. and like all Gentiles
giving chief concern to food. raiment
aud earthly ambitions - appreciating
not the higher privileges in Christ.
The Heart Of the Lesson.
The Pastor then demonstrated that |
the lesson is not directly for the world !
IN general. Those desirOus of having |
Gods providential care should come !
into relationship with the Heavenly
Gather through Christ. in order ID en-
priyileges and favors which now
$to nohe others.
p \eart of the lesson is that the |
Father is most gracious. and |
\, tender Yercies are over all in !
with Him. The Church is
VI g,y to work by faith, with full !
arsaIence I'm Him who has opened up |
.yDe new way Of life through Jesus and !
has granted them the precious rela-
tionship of children.
These children of God need not feel |
harassed respecting life's experiences. |
Their Heavenly Father knows their
needs better than they do. and is both |
able and willing to give them what il l.
best Gradually they will learn that |
chastisements I'm the present life un-
der Divine providence may be made
TO work out for them "a far more ex- |
cecding and eternal weight Of glory"
on the Heavenly plane. to which they
have been begotten.
Learning Lessons Of Faith.
The Pastor then called attention TO !
the context. Jesus pointed ont that al |
though the birds have neither barns |
nor stOrehOuses, yet God provides for |
them. even as also for the lilies. Sure |
Iy He is no less willing and able to !
provide for those who have become
His children through Christ-those for
whom Tie gave His only begotten Son!
The Master spoke OF the beauty of
the lily. Solomon IN all his glory had
no such seamless robe. no such perfect |
texture for his raiment Perhaps the
Master had a deeper thought than ap-
pears on the surface. While He assur-
sdly meant that We are 10 trust Heav-
only provision for natural clothing.
He may have meant also our clothing as
New Creatures-the spotless. seamless
robe Of righteousness. granted as
wedding garment. In which We have
sccess 70 the riches OF Gods grace
Let m -pvfze above an else this robe
% our Redeemer's merit. This II In
aesd a free gift We could not Pur-
~hasa n eyen mn the lily tOils uut and