Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1876-12-29

Ath anu INV tAAahA WI " anu
all through those three centuries Christian
writer's appealed constantly and without
contradiction, 10 these registers. Thus,
within fifly years of the death of 81. John,
Justin Martyr, in his celebrated Defense of
Christianity, addressed to the Roman EN-
peror aud Senate, says: "There is n certain
village in the land of Judea, distant 35 sta
dia from Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ
was born, as We can learn from the enroll
ments completed under Cyrenius, your
first Procuraior in Judea." Terlullian,
who lived soon after, speaks of "the enroll
ment of Augustus which the Roman ar
chivos preserve as a faithful witness OF our
Lords nativity" and in his treatise against
tho Jews, who maintained that Jesus was
from Nazareth of Gallilee, he writes: "He
was of the country OF Bethlehem aud OF
the house Of David, as among tho Romans
she is described in the census, Mary OF
whom Christ is born" lie quotes the ex-
act words SGT down by the Roman officer,
who was not told the name Jesus, since that
was not His till the sth day after, but who
did hear that he was called the Christ; for
just then it was that the shepherds had ar
rived from hearing tho CT orid in ercclsis Of
the heavenly host, and their glad tidings,
"Unto you is born this day in the city Of
David, Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord" And they came in haste and found
Mary aud Joseph, aud the child lying in
m1nger. And when they had seen it they
made known abroad The saying that was
told them concerning this child And all
/ Ihpy al haarI .rr,,.1a,f1 ~ ~.
which were told by the shepherds" Their
visit must have made some talk in Beihle-
hem, and the notary, heather doubtless,
was told by Joseph who the new born child
was, and by others who lie was said to be,
and neither knowing or caring what the
word implied naturally wrote, "Joseph
and Mary OF whom Christ is born"
II was busy day in that ancient but de-
cayod Jcdean village. The place was full
of strangers, anxious only to get this regis
tration done, and TO return TO their homes.
Few saw or cared for the peasant family
/ from Nazareth, rud0ly sheltered in The sta
bic Of the crowded inn; and yet, among
them there, transpired the great event of
the world's-or tho univcrse's history.
They could not know, as We know, that
"the WORD was made flesh and dwclt among
u.s.
81. John, writing primarily for the BEN
eft OF the Grecians, TO reveal this great
my stery, availed himself Of language IA
miliar TO their philosophy. Some four cen
turtles before this, Plato had used that term,
"the word, ITO express the eternal wisdom,
| one Of the three impeIsonations of Deity,
according to his system; and the philo-
| sophie Jews OF Alexandria, and other
Greek speaking colonies, had introduced
it into their theology rs expressing the idea
OF Wisdom in the Book OF Proverbs. 1.-THE
Lord possessed me in the beginning Of His
way, before His works of old. When He
| prepared tie heavens was there; when
He appointed the foundations Of the earth,
then was by Him, as one brought up with
Him. l was daily His delight, rejoicing
always before Him." Hence st. John
adopted il 20 explain as far as was possible
TO the. iinite mind, the nature oil the Eter-
nal Sun. "ln the be9inning"- time
was, in and from eternity, was the Word,
and tho Word was with God,"-co- ex is,ed
with the Father, land the Word was God"
.
one-and indivisible, that nature Impaired by
the Father is necessarily impaired entire.
"And The Word was made lesh'-by flesh
is here meant cur nature consisting OF
body and soul land we beheld His glory,
| the glory OF the only begoI;eu of the Faith
er full Of grace and truth, the clearest
revelation Of ;be mystery, God, a distinct
Person, eternally begutten o. God. And
| hence the faith into which each Of us is bap-
| tised. III believe in one Lord Jesus Chri.t
the only beeolten of tie Father begotten
of the Father before all worlds: God Of
God; Light OF Light; very God of very
God, Geso,ten not made: of one substance
| /. c. essence or nature, with the Father by
Whom all things were made; Who for us
men aud our salvation, came down from
heaven, and was incarna:c 10y the Holy
Ghost OF the Virgin Mary, and lrdS made
man." Hence too the stress which is laid
in holy writ GA the fact that lie is The Son
OF God-the only Son-the only begotlen OF
the Father. This only-aeSS OF his soDsIip
necessarily implies his Divinity-since by
creation, or adoption, or any other way
conceivable, lie would not be the only Son.
Another truth we should recall, as on
this anniversary we stand, in thought, by
the manger- cradle at Bethlehem. 1t is
this that there was no human person born
OF the Virgin Mary. or her substance,
body and soul, the second Person of the
adorable Trinity took our whole and per-
feet nature, hut not the person of a man.
The distinction Is OF vital importance TO a
Of 4
the Eternal Son joined TO himself human
personality already begun 10 exist in the
womb OF His mother, ever blessed there
had been in Christ two persons-the second
Person in the Godhead assuming, and the
hu man person assumed and that one per-
son OF our race only would have boon in
so me sort united 10 God. But our Lord is
no such inconcevable being. BY the Holy
Spirit he formed our nature of her sub
stance, and by the same act made that ma
ture His own. No human person came in
TO existence to be assumed. Thus He adj
vanced TO His glory, not any one man from
among us, but the nature common to us
all, while He continues, as before, one only
Person, the second Of the holy Trinity
changing but the manner of His subsist-
ing, which was before in the sole glory of
the Son of God, and is now in the habit of
our flesh.
Surely, so great movement on the part
of God toward us-this meeting in one per-
son OF the Divinity and humanity, implies
some great necessity, some otherwise in
evitable disaster that impended over us.
We are too apt to feel as If this danger were
so divided up among the millions OF our
race, that the share ofeach individual must