Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-12-27

men? In redemption as nowhere else is
the wisdom of God displayed
| We might not know the love of God
but from Jesus Christ. True, something
OF the goodness of God may be found out
from his general providence, but no COM
| plete lesson. If the goodness of God
may be read in the dimpled face of child
i hood, what shall we say of disease, hun
| ger and pain? We may learn some things
from nature that may indicate to us the
goodness of God, but it is Jesus who
clearly reveals his attribute of love-
While he is represented as turning
away from all sin with aversion,
and so his holiness stands declared,
yet in his tender seeking out the lost and
loving them, we also are taught his love
Bethlehem existed because of Calvary
| Jesus was born that he might die
A story is told of a mother whose child
had club toot, and he underwent ter
| rible surgical operation to be cured
The bones were broken, the muscles cut
and the foot put into an iron boot to
| keep it in position. During all his acute
suffering, and during the operation
itself she remained with him, to care
for him and succor him Surely YOU
will say, here was display
of the profoundest of all human affection
"a mothers love- But suppose that
| mother had been in the next room where
she could hear all his outcries of pain
and yet it was not best TO go to him. and
when he cried out, Mother, where are
your" she could return no answer, and
yet she endured it all. All, you will say
that were even profounder love. Well,
this illustration will fully teach the love
which God displayed in the death of
Jesus. For though he sympathized
with all his suffering on account of the
sins of the world, yet did He seem so
absent that our Redeemer cried out, envy
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me''
Thus clearly is the existence and attri-
butes of God taught to. the world in its
redemption by Jesus Christ
Finally, there is something beneficcnt
IN this human arrangement of the time
for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
1t comes at the close of the year And
as from the height of this last
Sabbath of the year you look back upon
its failures and disappointments, there
come to you the happy thoughts of
Christmas and the promise of restoration
to the favor of God.
The sermon was closed with an exhor-
tation to accept Christ and find peace.
Plymouth Church. Christmas Services.
Sabbath morning, the day after Christ
mas, the services in Plymouth church
were of unusual interest. Though the
weather was somewhat inclement large
congregation greeted the occasion. The
pulpit and the organ were very tastefully
adorned with evergreens, large, hand
Somely Illuminated and decorated motto,
"God Loves Cheerful Giver," surmount-
ed the whole. The singing adapted to
the occasion by the accomplished quar-
tette choir, Misses Thurston and Messrs.
Dyer and Fahnstock, was admirable in
execution, and was highly relished by the
congregation. Mr.. Albrecht presided at
the organ with the skill and grace of
master
The sermon of Rev. DR.. Dana, the pas
tor, was aff1uent in reminiscent historic
research as to the state of the world on
the savior's advent, and eloquent
in its enunciation of the
great event. The text was: Matthew
210: "When thew saw the star, they re-
joiced in exceeding great joy" A brief
synopsis of the discourse must suffice:
To-day, said the preacher, all christen-
dom will have but one theme before it.
Christ must needs be the subject of
thought in all Christian sanctuaries
young and old will have his name on
their lips with more of gladness and rev.
erence than on any other Sabbath of the
fast fleeting year We but re-express
more intelligently an old time joy as we
rejoice over him whom the wise men
were so glad to find. They found, as
they were guided by the star, the virgin
and the child--the child that had been
the mystery of all the prophetic writ
ings; on whose life lay the explanations
of all the tumultuous events and hopeful
promises which were substantially the
sum of all prophetic history. Jesus
Christ had been the absorbing theme of
all ages prior to his advent A circum-
stance that by itself makes him separate
from all other men. Thus, said the
preacher, he found the thou hit put by
another. The hope of Christ's coming
had kept society together, preserving it
from intellectual and moral annihilation.
When he came long chapters of proph-
ecy were closed like gates through which
king or conquerer had passed. In
Christ the prayers of many ages were
answered. The great paradoxes of
II
paradox of his life. In fact it
can be alleged that we cannot understand
the child of the star and manger without
at least recognizing that it is claimed he
came up from unbeginning time to
express audibly and visibly what other
wise could never have been known of
God. Well, it is worth while to think a
little now of the occasions of joy the ad-
vent of Christ brought to worshiping
Magi and their innumerable successors
who have bowed before him, confessing,
this is the promised, the needed redeemer
for whom humanity yearned
Some of the characteristics of the time
of the advent were here produced: What
is called in Roman history the golden age
of Augustus ended day before Christ ap-
peared. The grea com of literature had
passed and the onjusting of night was
betokened by the great persons that had
ended their brilliant careers. julius
Caesar, the author and warrior, the ora
tor and statesman, had been assassinated
forty -four years before the advent Cicero,
the pre- eminent name of the Roman
forum, was slain few years before Caesar.
Virgil died nineteen years before Christ
came Horace had been in his grave some
forty wears before Christ bepan to teach