Norwich bulletin., 1916-12-18
DIVINE COMPASSION
Second Congregational Church Par lshonsrs Heard lmpressivs Sermon.

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 The Rev. Herbert J. wycisoff preuched Sunday morning at the Sec ond Congregational church on the theme of the Divine Compassion, talk. ing as his text Luke 1,7S, Because of the tender mercy of our God. In his side of Christmas. rather than the material. As in an involved and in-s tricate page when our mind fails to
 grasp the sense and connection with.
 tl1s matter at issue, oftentirnes the
 footnote at the bottom of page gives.
 us again the key to the subject, So it
 is fitting that at this time of year we
 should turn back to the fountain head of the season. There arc so many ma
 teria1 demands made on us that We the &easor. Gods compassion is the
 answer to all this pressure. haste and expendffures And what Is the mean ins of Gods eonpassion? The doc-
 trfnaI meaning of salvation, bound up in all the teachings of the church, is
 to be savedsaved out oe tgnorance
 and sickness. selffshness, suffering and
 sorrow, sin and darkness. And Gods
 compassion is the foundation of sal
 cation. He came to save. And His
 compression has 3 sweep and depth
 beyond our human comprehension.
 When we think of Divine eompas-
 sion we think of sorrow. In our life
 when we come in touch with sorrow and want and suffering we are sorry
 and yet we go our way, forgetting and
 putting it from our minds very short
 ly God's sorrow Is different. He
 suffered ali these things in the flesh.
 He shared our suffering and sorrows and finally gave up his life for us. His
 compassion has persistence as we'll
 It does not ebb and flow. It suffers
 long. Human pity seems some times
 to come to an end. The appeals that
 come to us now every day for relief
 in every form are apt not to make
 quite the impression that they did, at
 first, even though the need be greater.
 Upon what does Gods compassion
 exert at1d spend itself7 Upon that
 blind, brute darkness of evil fiji the
 world. It pours itself our on all ig-
 f1orance and persecution and on their
 victims. the poor. the needy, the help
 less and own-trodden. And no less
 does it encompass the guilty. those
 who have tried to drag others down to
 their level. Like as a father pitieth
 his children so the Lord pitieth them
 that fear Him. He looks upon the
 world and yearns to sorve It.
 When two opposed forces meet there
 muse be some compromise. Our &C., tions must affect Gods attitude. The
 result Of Divine compassion on a needy world is the true meaning of Christmas. And what is this result ? It may be estimated in two ways-the Cf1CCI Oii l-lC NOi11 SdiIVt LI1S ClIcCC HI us. Men have been hesitant in speak ing of the effect in the world, since the awful war in Europe. The hoT- TOT and awfalness seem so intensified at the Christmas season. too, when the whole spirit of the world should breathe only of peace. Can it be that Gods omniscience is helpless? Surely not The result of His divine com passion is a fact. a growing, universal pity, not turning a deaf ear to these sorrows of our brothers. nor saying, we can de nothing about it all. but a era dual softening of our hearts to- ward them all. We are acquiring a willingness to go without ourselves in order to help a little. Against the ! horror of war it is hopeful sign that such is the case.
 The other test-the desire to save, | the effect of grace. 0 nour own souls, we are shy of mentioning. Eut we need Gods divine tenderness in our 1 lives. He will not let us go. Our l stubborn wills, deep seated selfishness i and all our peryerse habits His love understands, and. understanding ! knows that only sacrifice and strug- | gle can effect change in our charac- ters. That the selfish purpose, pride l and conceit and all other of our flaws can only be overcome by such strug- l gle aided by His tender compassion. | There are still a few more days Jeff ns in which to remember this side o1 l Christmas and the tender mercy -oi l God who gave us this season by req son of His love for uS