Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-10-18


than ever before, when he bore Isaac
up to the place of sacrifice-1saac,
the comely, Sweet-Spirited, handsome
young man, who had reached the age
of the boys who are now burdening
the bosom of the sea, en- route to
France. A new conception of how
much our sons mean to us has come
to the parents who have. unreluc-
family and Loyalty, given their boys
to the flag, and to the Cause which
we profoundly believe is identical
with Gods Cause on earth. 1t seems
as If our sons were first anointed
with the sacramental oil of sanctity
and of holy affection before we laid
them on our Country's altar Voices
break as we sing, week after week,
God save our splendid men,
Send them safe home again,
God save our men;
Keep them victorious,
Patient and chivalrous,
They are so dear to us;
God save our men,"
This is the very chrism of our de-
lvotion. 1t seals the quality of our
patriotism. Because these boys
whom we offer up to God ond our
Cause are so precious, we thereby
prove the genuineness of our passion
for the great ideals. This is with
our people to-day, as it was with
Abraham of old. loyalty to the limit
We have not kept back our best from
the highest use. God asks our best,
in order that He may give us of His
best.
At the PinacIe of Life
1 know dear old woman who is
an original thinker upon Biblical
themes. Once she asked me, Did
you ever consider when it was that
Abraham saw Christ's day." The
question was only rhetorical, so 1
waited. well, l often have; and it
used to puzzle me. Then, one day,
it all came to me of sudden, when
| was bending over the sink washing
the dishes, and thinking about this
matter. 1t was when Abraham Of
fered up Isaac that he saw Christ's
day. He understood the great sacri-
fetal love of God, when he took his
only boy up to Mt. Moriah, ready to
obey God at any cost. That was the
spirit of Calvary.
And it is a coincidence of inter-
est that where Isaac was offered up,
somewhere near the Jerusalem rock,
there also Christ was offered in real
ity, as well as in intention: He was
both the Son and the Lamb devoted
to sacrifice.
This was the apex of Abraham's
spiritual experience. He achieved
heights of self-surrender, and of alb
solute devotion to the will of God,
that set the divine seal of favor upon
his character. We come to our high
est when our hearts bow lowest in
able Gethsemane that Abraham un-
derWent; and he emerged like his
greatest Descendant, obedient to the
Will.
For, obviously, as often, God asked
for Isaac because He wanted Abra-
ham. The thing He care about was
the complete and uttermost loyalty
Of His servant. He desired to make |
sure that Abraham could stand any
test. Once he found that there was
absolutely no reserved room in the !
house that His friend Abraham had |
made over to him, God relinquished |
His claim upon the token He had |
indicated. 1t was because Isaac was |
dearest possession that |
God, who will not be king at all un- |
less He can be king in ALL" wished |
to make sure that the son was in
cluded in the patriarch's loyalty.
A Legend of Many Lands
One of the universal beliefs, found |
in some form or other among all
primitive peoples, is that every great |
structure needs at its foundation the
sacrifice of life. L have seen tenn
pies and palaces and bridges and
bells, in many foreign lands, of which
stories were told that the kings son
or daughter, or the fairest maiden
in the land, had been entombed in
the foundation. or cast into the mol
ten metal. God has written deeply
in the heart of man this instinct,
that the best must be sanctified by
sacrifice. Abraham was but working
out law of the highest life when
he offered his son.
In Abrahams time, human sacri-
flee as a religious rite was widely OBJ
served. To him, the idea that God
should want him to slay his son was
not incongruous, but in perfect ac-
cord with the religious ideas of the
notions. We must re-
member that Abraham was only
learning to know Jehovah and His
nature. So when God stayed his
hand, as he lifted the knife to slay
Isaac, a new idea came into the
world. 1t was that the human sacri-
flee Is repugnant to the Supreme Be-
ing. A new step out of heather
darkness was taken on the heights
of Mt. Moriah.
Occasionally, the records tell of
some demented person who feels that
God calls him to emulate Abraham
and offer up his sons life. Only a
crazy man would get this idea: for
God expressly prevented this act on
part. We, who have so
much fuller and clearer knowledge
Of the nature of God than was vouch-
safed to Abraham in that twilight
time, understand that such an act
would be sheer and horrible murder.
Any person moved with an impulse
to slay his child should know
that his brain has
broken down and that he should
give himself at once into the hands |
Of the physicians or the police,
1t is the spirit of sacrifice-the
Willingness to relinquish our most |
cherished possession for the glory of
God-that this lesson teaches, Low
atty by the Divine VIII. in complete
self surrender is the message of Mt, |
Moriah. of Gethsemane on the Mt, |
Of Olives. of Mt. Calvary, and of the |
worlds present Mountain of Tribu-
lation.