DAILY CAI'llAL joVKSASj, SALEM, OREGON, MONDAY, OCTOBER 4,
PAGE THREE
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OOO OOpMI I'l-I'l ! -. i..mO
PEOPLE'S PULPIT...
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Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL,
Pastor Brooklyn
Tabernacle.
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God's Promise
Tcxt,"The Blessing of the
Lord, It Makcth Rich ; and He
Addeth No Sorrow Therewith"
(Proverbs x, 22).
Bundny, Oct 3. Pastor Russell, of
Brooklyn Tabernacle, preached today
on tlio abovo text lie said:
Looking about us In the world vro
find abundant corroboration for the
Scriptural declaration tliat instead of
tlio Dlvlno blessing resting upon the
earth thcro is a "curse" or a blight
upon it. Accordingly St Paul wrote.
"Tlio whole creation groaucth ami
trnvallcth in pain together." In the
context he declares tho relief from
this groaning condition out of the
bondage of corruption Into the liberty,
favor and blessing to follow. IIo In
dicates that this blessed "change" will
come through tho "manifestation of
tho sons of God" nnd Intimates nlso
that these sons of God aro now being
"called" and will shortly bo "glorllled"
and thus be empowered to do tho work
of blessing for the groaning creation,
relieving them of tho burden of sin and
death.
Still the questiou arises, Why Rhould
humnnlty bo so differently clrcuiu
Btanccd from tho angels? Why should
not holiness and purity nnd freedom
from sorrows nnd palu nnd death pre
vail on earth as well as iti heaven?
Why should tho great Creator so dlf-
fcrcntly condition ono branch of his
creation from tho other? Truo, tho
Lord's prayer tolls us that wo may
expect ultimately that Dlvlno power
will lntcrvono and succor humanity.
Tho declaration, "Thy Kingdom come;
thy will bo done on earth as it Is douu
in heaven," is moro than a prayer;
becauso uttered by our Lord it is also
a prophecy of what will ultimately ob
tain. Hue tho question is, Why should
it bo necessary for us to pray and to
wait to subduo sin and to lift man
kind out of evil conditions? Why
should not God's will havo been douo
on earth all along, as it 1? dono in
heaven? Why havo sin and death
been permitted to "reign," as the
Scriptures declare?
Thy Word Is Truth.
The Bible nlouo answers our (jucri .
It explains Mint originally our rive
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was created perfect, "in tlio fmngo of
God, sinless, holy, pure, happy. Man's
Edcu home was Paradise, tho Garden
of God. But nil that bliss was lost
through dlsobcdlcnco to the Divine
command. When tho death sentence
came upon father Adam ho lost fel
lowship with his Creator, his Eden
home, his perpetual llfo and, instead
of the Divine provision, was sentenced
to cam ills bread by tho sweat of his
face, battling with thorns, thistles and
Insects. The Bible docs not pretend
to say that the conditions as wo have
them today nro perfect nor that they
are satisfactory to God, nor that they
should be satisfactory to us. Tho ex
treme opposite of tho homo in Eden,
tho drouth, cyclone, tempest nnd flood,
belong to the unlit condition of the
earth and are Intended by tho Lord to
serve as part of man's condemnation.
Through sickness, disease, sorrow,
pain, dying, tho race will bo brought
eventually to denth-to destruction.
Tlmiik God he has overruled that fea
ture of the sentence so that death to
us need not mean destruction. Thus
it is written, "Thou turnest mnn to
destruction; and suyest, Itcturn, ye
children of men" (Psalm xc, 3).
Tho turning of mnn to destruction
was sis thousand years ago and, al
though tho blessing of restitution was
declared from tho very first by all the
holy prophets, nevertheless tho return
was not mado actually possible until
tho Ilcdpcmor came nnd laid down IiIh
llfo as tho raasoui prlco fur the sins
of tho whole world. A long while did
God wait before sending the Bcdeomer.
Moro than four thousand years passed,
and for a long period ho 1ms waited
slnco then before effecting n deliver
nnco of humanity from sin nnd death
nearly nineteen centuries. This de
liberate slowness on the part of the
Almighty in looking after tho human
family nnd Its rescue from sin and
death can bo understood from only ono
standpoint tho Bible standpoint. Tho
Bible, contrary to our creeds formu
lated in the dark ages, teaches that
the penalty for sin is not a future
torment, but n present experience with
sin and death under tho sentence,
"Dying thou shnlt die." In other
words our piescut accursed or con
demned, unfavorable condition as n
race Is God's just penalty against us
as sinners.
We are a race of convicts, nnd the
conditions of nature nro Divinely nr-,
ranged with a view to speeding us on
ward to the tomb to tho fulfillment of
our "curse" or sentence death. In
other words nil the mentnl unbalance
and distress, including lusanlty, im
becility and cross temper, nro elements
of death the results of dcuth working
in us as n race; likewise our moral de
flection. We were "born in sin and
shnpen in iniquity; In sin did our moth
ers conceive us." Phrenology, na well
ns physiology, sbowa clearly these facts.
Tho misshapen heads Indlcnto tho un
balance In which we wcro born, rrnd
tho Scriptures declare that wo are
"prono to sin disposed to sin, ns
the sparks to fiy upwnrd." In view of
these, things how distinctly God's
Word Is corroborated. In comparison
with this Just manifestation of indig
nation of God against sin how unrea
sonable and unsatisfactory nr the
various theories that came down to us
from "the dark ages" unsupported by
the Wotd of God, teaching that our
whole race was Lorn under tin origi
nal condemnation or sentenco to eter
nal torture; and that tho only ones
saved would be the few grasped by
Divine favor during this Gospel Ago
and lifted from relationship to the
world and transformed Into saints,
It Is true enough that tho Blblo
teaches that God has a special reward
for those who love him supremely
moro than self, houses, lands or any
othor creature. Truo it Is, Indeed, that
he has for those "exceeding great and
precious" blcbslngs; but it is qulto un
true, ns It would bo qulto' ungodly, that
our Creator should either by predes
tination or through lack of forcknowl
edge or for nny othor reason consign
our race as a whole, either to centuries
of suffering In Purgatory, as some do
clarc. or still worse, ns others nfllrm,
everlasting sufferings.
The Dleetlng of the Lord,
Tlnvlng considered tho Divine ex
planation of the curse of sin and dentil
upon the world, and having found It
truo to all the circumstances and facts,
Jet us now with confidence turn to the
same record, tho Dlble, for an explana
tion of what blessings God has in res
ervation for the saints, and also for
tho world In gejiernl. "Tho blessing
of the Lord. It mnketh rich."
The blessing of tho Lord has, to Home
extont, come to tho Church, but It Is
n blessing receivable' only by faith. It
Is not tho real blessing, but, as the
Scriptures declare, n foretaste, "an
onrnrst" of the coming Inheritance or
Weening. This foretuste Is very pre
cious to all of the Lord's saints, giv
ing them n feast and Joy nnd comfort
under the moxt trying circumstances
of the prtwpnr life. It N Indeed "The
pence of God, which passeth all under
standing" which rules In their hearts,
ns St. Paul said to tho "llttlo flock" of
,1-11,000, who aro named In tho Scrip
tures ns tho "very elect," tho Ecclcsla,
"tho Church of Christ which Is his
Dody." These believers in God's prom
ises nnd arrangements for tho bless
ing of humnnlty through the merit of
Christ's denlu nnd by the powor of the
Millennial Kingdom may rejoice there
in In ndvanco. It Is not tho intima
tion, however, thnt tho Church shall
keep the restitution privileges. They
nro credited to them so that they may
have Romettilng to "offer," something
to "sacrifice." By faith they receive
earthly rights and restitution blessings
nnd privileges, as God's gift through
tho Lord Jesus. By faith they make a
sacrifice or surrender of those rights
to tho divine nature nnd to Jolnt-hclr-ship
with Christ their Lord nnd Re
deemer In his Millennial Kingdom. By
faith, In return, they recclvo tho beget
ting of tho holy Spirit. They nro con
tent, not satisfied. They rejoice, though
oft It bo In tribulation. Their assur
ance Is that present trlbulatious nre
working patience, experience, hope,
and preparing them for the actual
"glories which God hath in reserva
tion for those thnt love him." Like
the Apoitle. they hope for the actual
salvntlon or deljverance. "the blessing
of tho Lord which inaketh rich" at
the coining of our I.oid. when the
saints shall be united to him most pre
ciously, as represented by tho Scrip
tural figure of a Ilrlde united to n
Bridegroom. Tho mnrrlnge of the
Lamb will come, for his wife will have
made herself ready (((evolution xlx, "I.
Let us glance backward and noto
the earliest reference of tho Scripture
tho earliest God-given IutInin(lons of
coming blessings.
(1) Shortly after tho fall tio Lord de
clared that ultimately tho seed of tho
woman (her posterity) would brulso
tho sorpont's head would utterly de
stroy sin, would triumph over sin nnd
Satan.
(2) Lntor on Enoch prophesied that
Mosslah would conle, nnd grant tho
world n fresh trial for life or death
(Judo 11). The original trial or Judg
ment, for life or denth, was through
the ono man Adntn; nnd. his failure
and its penalty affected tho condemna
tion of his entire race, becauso all are
Imperfect nnd hence sinners. Tho
promise of u Mcsslnh, and thnt ho
would grant the world n fresh trial
wns Indeed n rainbow of hope to those
who could rccelvo It
(3) It wns not until Ahrnhnui's time
that Gwd ronlly definitely outlined tho
channel of tho blessing which ho pro
poed ultlmntely to give to the race,
"the blesslug of the Lord, which
mnketh rich." Let us examine thin
prophetic outline of coming blessing.
Tho promise made to Abraham was
this, "In thee ami In thy wcil shall all
Ihf (ntntllc nt " ' li" M"' "
-U
Ilero we havo something definite,
something tangible This promlso was
renewed to Isaac, nlso to Jacob and,
later on nt Jacob's death, It passed to
all of his posterity, tho nation of Is
rael. In duo time, in fulfillment of
this promise, Moses, as its modiator,
instituted tho Law Covenant between
God nnd Israel. Under that Covenant
It was stipulated that lu order to In
herit ctcrnnl life and all tho blessing
which Adam possessed and lost, and
in order to inherit tho promlso mado
to Abraham of Uio prlvilego of bless
ing all the families of tho earth, tho
Dlvlno Law must bo kept Inviolate.
God must bo loved with all tho heart,
mind, soul, strength, and tho neighbor
must bo loved as ono's self. Moses ns
mediator of that Covenant might ren
der every assistance ho was capablo of
to that nation; but, nlns, himself n
fallen man, imperfect bo wns unable
to lift Israel out of sin and degrada
tion unnblo to bring thorn to thnt
sU.to of human perfection which would
enable them to keep thnt Law Cove
nant nnd Inherit Its blessings! Ah God
foreknow, thoy fnlled to keep their
part of tho Covcnnnt "By deeds of
Luw shall no tlesh bo Justified." A
number of discouraged Israelites con
tinued to hope for blessing through the
Abrahamlc Covenant nnd, Inter on, the
Lord revealed to them thnt In due
tlmo ho would mnko n New Law
Covenant with them nnd thnt Messiah
would bo Its Mediator (Jeremiah xxxl.
31)..
Tho promise of n New Covenant Im
plied, us St. Paul points out, that God
know that tho l.nw Covenant would
not bring to Isrncl the hoped-for bless
ings. Thenceforth their hopes cen
tered lu tho New Covenant, under
which tho Lord promised thnt ho would
entirely blot out their sins nnd tnko
away their stony heart and give them
u heart of llcsh and that they should
bo his people. Confirmatory to this
thought was tho message sent to them
through Mutnchl tho prophet, assuring
thorn that tho messenger of tho Cove
nant (tho'servnnt of tho Covennnt, tho
Mediator of tho Covenant), whom they
dollghted In, tho ono they were hoping
for, would cro long, come to lite peo
ple. But tho prophet Intimated thnt
few of them would bo ready to rccelvo
htm. IIo snltl, "Who shnll stand when
ho nppearcth?"
The Lord Crucified.
Expecting Messiah to appear In a
very different way, Israel was unpre
pared for tho "man of Borro.w and ac
quainted with grief," "tho Lamb of
God which taketh nway tho sin of tho
world." Thoy expected n groat gen
eral, a P'.lahry lender, who would tip
peal to the learned, the wealthy, the
noble. But mir Lord appealed only
to those who were pure lu heart, "Is
raelites Indeed." Su. h nlouo had the
necc - ' ' In re : le hlui nnd
receive him. Tho others crucified him.
but did It lgnorantly Bt Peter de
clares, "I wot that through ignorance
ye did It. ns did nlso your rulers. Yc
killed the Princo of llfo" (Acts 111
15-17). And St Pnul snyB, "Had they
known it, they would not bnvo cruci
fied tho Lord of glory" (I Corinthians
II. 8).
Howover our Lord's crucifixion wni
merely n fulfillment of another feature
of the Divine Plan to rnnko tho blero
log of nil mankind tho deeper and
broader. , ,
By virtuo of keeping tho Law, Jesus
would havo had tho right to earthly
perfection for himself, eternal life and
happiness, no nlso would havo been
heir of nil the things thnt Adam pos
sessed nnd lost IIo might, therefore,
havo established nn earthly empire
nnd, by wise laws nnd regulations, lit
might have done much for human up
lift tho very thing which peoplo today
are wanting to bring nbout. But hla
subjects would still hnvo been undct
the Divine condemnation of death. Tit
would merely hnvo been tho ruler, In
structor, of fallen, dying men. God'a
promise of blessing meant moro than
this. And lu harmony with It our Lord
Jesus did not keep his earthly rights,
but surrendered them, sacrificed them,
laid them down on our behalf. The
laying down of these earthly rlguU
was finished nt Calvary. Slnco thl
sacrificing wnn dono In hnrmony with
tho Dlvlno purpose, tho Heavenly lea
ther rewarded tho sacrlficcr with n new
llfo on n higher plnne, "far abovo nn
gels nnd principalities nnd powers."
Thus when Jesus wan raised from
tho dead on tho third day ho was no
longer n man, but u spirit being, n par
taker of tho Dlvlno nnture, far nbovo
nngols. 'Moro thnu this, ho had hla
earthly rights which ho hnd sacrificed,
nnd theso now constituted nn asset or
thing of vnluo which ho possessed nnd
which ho might bestow upon others.
Ho laid down his earthly rights thnt
ho might recelvo llfo again on a high
plane nnd hnvo a right to give the too
rlflcal curthlg perfection, Jionori and
privileges to others. It wns in this
manner that the Lord provided for tho
blessing of Uio world-"the blessing of
tho Lord thnt mnketh rich nnd to
which ho nddeth no sorrow." Thougti
the hlcsslngH hnvo net: yet como to the
world, as wo havo seen, tho founda
tion hns already been laid In tlio re
demptive work accomplished nt Cnl
vnry. Wo cannot In this dlscourso trace the
blessing to its conclusion. , But know
ing that our discourses weekly rench
about noven million readers wo shall
hope to address the majority of you
through the public prints a week
heuco. We hope then to show how
the Lord him promised that his bless
ing under the Abralmmlc Covenant
(Continued on pngo 0.)
njuter.ijui irwavrsrmmwrvtt'txwTm
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