National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-12-28


the fact Of the first coming Of the Lord Jesus,
how viii you escape the secOnd2 Theincarnation
is made the ground and reason Of Christs fitness
to be the Judge Of all the earth 1t is the Son Of
Man, ofWhOse coming the Scriptures so frequently
speak; IL is the Son Of Man who is coming in the
glory Of the Father; It is the Son Of Man whom
the dying Stephen saw standing on the right
hand OF God. "For, as the Father hath life in
himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life
in himself, and hath given him authority TO exc
cute Judgment also, because he is the Son Of Man.
Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in
which all that are in their graves shall hear his
as the philosophy OF that subdivision OF the
Divine pferoRatives which assigns the seat upon
the throne Of Judgment to the Son Of Man that
he allied to human nature; sothst the connection
between the incarnation and the day Of judgment
between Bethlehem and the greatWhite throne
is most intimate and necessary. Although the
earth revOlTed just as calmly, and the inhsbit-
ants Of the earth slept Just as soundly as ever
at his first coming, at his second coming there
earth or even in the depths Of the sea. "All that
are in their graves shall hear his name and shall
come forth" And the sea shall give up the
dead that are in 1t"
6. Ohrists FIRST coming was for the purpose
of mercy. His second coming will be a judicial
one. This we have already intimated.
There is something very touching TO q heart OF
any sensibility TO look in upon that little babe OF
Bethlehem. Amy babe, your own, especially, is
enough to make your heart tender. You cannot
look at one, you cannot think Of what frailties
are wrapped up in il, as in a bud Of what posi-
6ilities OF Joy and sorrow Of sin and holiness OF
ness Of heart. think Of ali the crimes that ind-
cate mans .depravity, Woman's depraYity, the
greatest and most Infamous Is that OF infantctde!
that Of all the kinds Of pride by which our poor
humanity is afflicted, the most shameful. the
most heather pride is that Of despising and try
ing to pour contempt upon the duties Of mother
hood
Like that little infant which sleeps in the era
die at your feet, or is held as q precious bundle
Of frallties, warm to your bosom; like your
own SELF when your own now sainted
mother stopped above you like an angel, and hid
all your ways and your little sayings in her heart
Just SO was this divine stranger whom God had
sent to this lost world. used to doubt 1t. But
am satisfied that Christmas Is divine tnstitu-
tion; that this babe Of Bethlehem has sacred
mission to our race; that the gospel the tncarna
tiOn is Just as much gospel as the gospel Of Cal
vary. / do not doubt that Christmas is often OBJ
served so as to make Il q farce and q folly, q
superstition, a temptation to evil. But as stood
the ether day in a lOcksmith's, watching the
man at his work, said to his little daughter Of
FIVE years, "And are you ready for Christmas?"
She did not know what the word meant. pu
the question in another form, but with as little
success. At last, her father, understanding our
dilemma, came TO our rescue. Said he, " There
are some people who do not believe in Christ
mas" What sort OF people are they2 1 thought
to myself. And then it flashed across my mind
at once that during these nearly nineteen hundred
years, when the rest Of believers had introduced
into their system of faith goldman, the Jews
lust like Bethlehem Of old, were still oblivious
that Jesus had ever been born, and that the little
boys and girls Of Hebrew descent had no idea Of
the world Of innocent delights revealed to the
children Of Christian parentage; no Lord Jesus
to put his hands on them in blessing. And then
thought what that religion must be that had no
Saviour in it; no daysmRn between God and man;
no1ncarnatiOn. The very thought seemed like step
ping out Of the open sunshine, where were trees
and flowers, in all their summer glory, down into
the very vaults Of death.
That GOD should appear here in human form;
that he should walk among men, as Jesus did in
later life; when the powers Of nature were sub
leet TO him; when he healed sickness, took the
dead by the hand, and called them back to life;
when men beheld his glory, the glory as Of the
truth; when he Wrestled in the garden with prin-
clpalities and powers, that he should even die in
the immaculate purity OF his innocence, a suffer-
ing Saviour is not all the gospel He was born Of
woman. He come into the world speeches.,
helpless. can give you no philosophy Of 1t half
so touching as the simple fact. can not explain
it'll would not could Here is the tenderness OF
Gods love that it stopped low this; and here
begins life Ofjust such tenderness toward man.
Read all the words Of esus look at all his deeds
il is humanity informed, replenshed out of the
fullness of the Father for the comfort of man; to
let rays Of heaVenlytlight in upon his darkness;
to win him from his wanderings; to speak comfort
and encouragement to him; to give him the vision
of eternal glory.
Did you ever think Of It that in this union of
the human and divine Gods infinite love finds its
most winning expression, that no abstract con-
cepton of THAT love could give US any understand
ing Of it. that he has, so to speak, yelled himself
in human flesh, and tempered and sOftened his
glory so that we can endure the sight, so that our
hearts need not be afraid2 The incarnation pre-
sents divinity in its sweetest and tenderest FORM
When we say, God Is love, we sometimes think Of
some other expression Of his love some expression
more all-embracing, more captivating, more melt
ing, as though there must be some reserved power
to win men from sin which is irresistible. But the
fullness of the God-head dWelt in Jesus bodily.
He was the express image Of God; the image Of
God not only presented in form that man can
best understand, brought down to the level of his
humanity and touching him at every point, but SO
presented as TO make man tender and penitent,to
make him relent at his hard thoughts Of God and
God.
Cl
corning, a discriminating, separating one.
While he was hrst here he acted on
his own principle Of letting the tares and
the wheat grow together till the harvest. In
early examinations, when they have lately sprung
up, you can not always tell which are tares, or
which is wheat Bat when they have come 70
judged according to the deeds done here IN the
body. Jesus says: "My reward is with me, to
II you have any difRculty in clothing this man of
sorrows with garments ofjudgment; in cOnceiving
Of this Lamb that was slain, this Shepherd that
tribe of Judah as the king OF kings, and the Lord
of lords; if you prefer to consider yourself under
the reign of law to believe that penalty for trans
gressiOn comes impersonally; If you can not re-
concile 1t with your conception Of the tenderness
of the Saviour, that he should say TO any, in His
own language when hers 81 depart e nom me ye
you speak, and which is Just as separating as the
nal sentence itself put into language, is as mex
Orable as any natural law; The unholy will
gravitate downward, and the holy will graVi-
tate upward, according to that other SEN
tence, Come, We blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you, from the founda-
If you think the Saviours account of
the last judgment is too dramatic, then
let me remind you Of representation more in
accordance with the reign OF law. "W hatsOeVera
man soWeth that shall he also reap. He that
soWeth to the flesh shall OF the flesh reap corrup-
ton; while he that seWeth to the spirit shall OF
the spirit reap life everlasting" There is the
reign Of law for you. However you please to
state il. whether materially or dramatically, the
fact remains the same. In his first coming the
Saviour appeared to provide and reveal the way
in his second coming he will gather to himself
those that have walked in that way; he will
gather the wheat into his garner, and the wicked
shall be as the chat that the vino driYeth away.
To-day, then, we look at Jesus clothed in all
human frailty, fulfilling the prophecies in his
humble human birth; born Of q woman, made
under the law; entering human life in that Beth
lehem stable. But there are other prophecies
respecting him which are awaiting fulhllment-
prophecies uttered by holy men Of old, who spake
as they were moved Of the Holy Ghost 1t be-
comes u.s. for whom Jesus came In the likeness OF
sinful flesh, not only to look back to that little
beginning, to that coming in weakness, but
also to look forward to that coming in power.
For Just as surely as Jesus was once
born in Bethlehem, so surely also Will he come In
the clouds Of heaven. Just as surely as he be-
came the son Of man, so surely also will he Judge
the quick and the dead at his appearing. Weare
pleased to join in the festivities Ofthe season, and
TO give and receive congratulations on the day OBJ
served as the anniversary Of his birth. Let US
also make ourselves ready for that which more
nearly concerns as personally. For that head
once pilloWed in the manger at Bethlehem, once
crowned with thorns in the Roman Judgment hall,
is yet TO come, wearing the many crowns Of uni
YeTsal dominion.
1.-THE Lord will come; but not the same
As once in lOWly form he came;
A silent lamb to slaughter led,
The bruised the gu Herring. the dead