Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1870-09-21
The Hidden Life Of Christ.
THE BLESSED sEcnEr or THE CHRISTIAN DID,
LEVER.

Af'NNaN- eN - NatA7 A1 a. AlHtul lNhi Iil nNUAHts
and contemplating his life in its mere human
and historical aspect, two or three things in
1t are very peculiar One is the st9rtAess of
it, \ young man dying at thirty, then. died
in the moruiugof life. Jesus died at the age
when most men begin TO live. The next is
that jesus rr0ie nothing Not fragment
Of his handwriting has ever, that we know Of
been ever claimed by tradition. Not line,
not note, not a letter. has been attributed
to him. Another popularity is the dortaesS
Of his public life, aud the great comparative
length Of his private and hidden life For
thirty years he was a simple unknown arti-
san at Nazareth. Three years he was known
as a public teacher, and then he died
How wonderful. then, the undoubtcd fact
that he did revoIutonize tie ic9rld's hHt0ry
How wonderful for instance, the fact that ev
cry date we put at the top Of letter is
memorial Of his birth and Of the change i
wrought on earth We write lS70-and
how few Of us think what it means-lS10
years since what2 Since the time that the
two Judeau peasants found no room for them
at the inn, and were forced to lodge in a sta
ble, aud jesus was born Since that time the
world has been conyulsed about him. Be-
lieving or uubelieying, it was all one, they
could not lay this spirit Of unrest. The world
fought him, oontradictcl him, watched him.
beset him, judged him, condemned him, cru
Gifted him, and hoped it had done with him
But no-he rose again. Let skeptics say
what they please Of that resurrection Of
Christ's flesh, they cannot deny the patent
fact Of the resurrection of Christ's SPIRIT
They cannot dcny that Jesus of Nazareth was
a more mighty and powerful agent six months
after his death than he was before, and that
he worked a gradual but mighty revolution,
before which an the dominant religions of the
then civilized world fell.
They cannot deny the intense vital inter-
est with which, at the present hour, this mans
name is invested. What other biography
could hayo reused the sensation caused by
Reaa1is Life qt Jesm Try life of Socra-
tes, or Pythagoras, or Coniucius, and you do
not 90 beyond mere literary circles but the
life Of Jesus Of Nazareth touches the very
nerve Of being in thousands. St. Beuye, in
one Of his critical works describes the sensa-
ton produced in the jaded Athenian circles
of Paris by this book. How they rushed to
his study,-with what excitement they dis
cussed it What furore, what opposing
opinions they were What think ye Of
Christ 2" became the leading topic through
all the circles Of literary France
Many years ago, poor negro slave woman
who could not read line, who had struggled
and wrestled towards God, darkened and op-
pressed with the agony Of q great seeking,
had revealed to her vision Of Jesus. 1t
was to her a strange. new, wonderful reyela-
tion. She saw One standing between God and
man. one who ioBfd-and who loved her.
She felt that he loved her, and that oonyic
tion poured such a flood of light and
JOY through her heart that, as she said, " |
felt such a rush of love | loved everything.
| said Yes, Lord, ken oye-eyen the white
folks" But" she said, | thought to my
self ef tie rdHe tolks b1'o'cs IRE got Jesils,
they'll get him array sowetor, and so KEEP
it all to myself and thought wouldn't hate
nobody
But she continued | went to a meth
odist cass.metin, aud they began to get up
and late their experiences. Well the first
one that spoke, began to tell about Jesus
and gave a great jump. Why, says l, that
ones got him too. And then another got up,
and, says |, Why he's got him too-aud final
ly, says |, Why, they's all got him ''
Now this experience Of Sojourner Truth is
Que peculiar to Christ alone 1t never be-
longed to any human being. There have
been all over the world, ever since the day
he died, thousands who speak and feel, and
think in this way. They talk of knowing
Christ by some sort Of spiritual intuition, Of
seeing Christ, of feeling Christ, Of having
Christ in them, Of being in Christ. Ten years
ago, there lived in lonely cottage in Bruins
wick an old negro woman named Phcbe,
whose whole life was devoted to prayer and
loving service to others. She said once to
friend, who spoke Of her loneliness, Oh, |
am never alone, jesus is with me. | said
this morning, as | was doing my work, l
must sweep softly, for lie is here, my Lord
and King
1t is this hildea life Of Jesus IN human
hearts that makes the impershable power,
the ndestructibc nature of His religion
And it is a hiddea power, because his follow
ers are so largely among the ignorant and
simple people Of the earth. Not many
rich, not many wise not many mighty, are
chosen said the Apostle in the first ages.
God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the mighty aud base things
of the world, and things that are not, to bring
to naught things that are"
But it is by this power that the church
stands. from age to are, through every form
of unbelieying The world knows Him not
to-day, as it knew him not eighteen hundred
wears AGO the world is loud and strong the
world Is cold by skepticism, the world is de.
the Lord standeth sure having this seal.
The Lord knoweth them that are his =