The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-01-13

LlC9 anu pllldrou VIII St6ldSl lulUti ouu
Christ born in the manger. And yet frcra
that nativity comes the offenders home.
Over the door of heaven were written the
words, and are written the words now:
"None but the sinless can enter here" "Ah," "
you say, that is a great horror for our souls,
then none of us can enter if none but the
sinless" But have to tell you that Christ
came into one door and He went out the
other door of the world; He came into the
through the door of the sepulchre.
His one business was to wash us
from sin so thoroughly that one second after
we are dead we will have no more sin about
us than there is about the eternal Col You
say that is putting the case very strongly. !
know it is, but that is what I understand
about full remSsion-all erased all washed
away, all secured out, all gone. That under
girding and over-arching and irradiating
and unparading opportunity for you and for
me was born that night in the Bethlehem
caravausary. Do you wonder then that we
bring the flowers! Do you wonder then that
we bring the music! Do you wonder that
Raphael and Titan and Rubens and Gate
and Ghirlanjo, and all the German
and Italian masters with their
mightiest stroke sketched the Madonna,
Mary and her boy? Now understand what
the manger was. Higher than the unpearled
cradle of the Henrys of England, the louisea
of France, the Fredericks Of Prussia Now
QUITO this Bethlehem crib not so much feed
the oxen Of the stall or the white horses OF
apocalyptic vision. Now tho swaddling
clothes enlarge and emblazon until they be-
come the robes Of conqueror. Now l find
that the star that shone that night was only
the diamonded sandal Of Him who hath the
moon under His feet. Now 1 find that the
song that night was not the complete song,
but only the stringing of the instruments for
a chorus Of two worlds, the bass carried by
earthly nations sacred, the soprano carried by
Eindgoms of glory won. And all that heaven
made possible to us through the birth, the
sufferings and the death OF the.Son of God. I
shall meet you there on a brighter Christmas
Day than this. Hook this morning through
the dim distance, and I look through the fog
through the wide open door of solid pearl, and
see our reunion. Oh, what high converse
you and will have over sin pardoned, over
sorrow comtorted, and over battles fought
How then we will talk over manger and over
cross. am going there, am going to take
s.ll my family with me. l am going to take
sIl my church with me- lam going to take all
my friends with me if can. I am going to
call you to enter the kingdom of God and be
ready for it. I am going to push you in. I
am by holy stratagem going to surprise you
in. With all physical and mental and spirit
ual anu immortal energy shall compel you
10 come in. l like you so we'll on earth l
would like your eternal companionship in
heaven. Into that brightness and joy many
Of those who used to celebrate Christmas
with us are now gathered. l was called to
bury a little child, and I suppose the people
passing along the street, seeing the signal on
the door-bell, said lit is only q child" but
broken-hearted father said to me: rome
around and comfort us. for though she was
only Is months cd, we all loved her so much"
Ahl it does not take child great while to
get both arms around the parents entire ma
ture. What glorious Christmas morning
when we all get together again. The silver
haired father young again. The mother with
the aches and pains and decrepitude we'll
again. All the young and all the old, and
how we will all talk over the past, how glad
we will be to see them, how glad they will be
to see us. One Of the little ones this morning
seems to stand at the gate and holding with
one hand the SHINING gate, waves thu other
hand out toward you, saying:
"Come this way, father,
Steer straight for me;
Here safe in heaven
am waiting for thee"
Oh, I am so glad that when the angels
closed their concert that Christmas night
over the hills of Bethlehem and they departed,
they forgot to shut the door, and it cannot be
shut again. 1t is wide open now. You can
not shut out from us the glories that are to
come. The gate is blocked open by hosannas
marching this way, and hallelujahs marching
that. What more than all unnerves me is
the thought that all this is for sinners such rs
you ant | are-all this humiliation Of the
manger and all the suffering Of the cross. lfit
had been only for those who had always done
right and always thought right, and always
acted right, we would have had no interest in
it, would have had no share in it. We would
have stuck to our raft in mid ocean and let
the great ship Of heaven 20 by taking perfect
passengers from perfect life on earth to
perfect lite in heaven. But no. Ihave heard
that the captain Of that ship is the loving, the
kind, the sympathetic one who hushed the
tempest all around the boat on Galilee, and
that all his passengers are sinners saved by
grace. So hail that shin and it bears down
toward us, and as it comes near by
I shout the two questions, "Who art
thou" and "Whence art thou" and
the answer is, 81 am the captain Of
salvation, and came from a manger.' Oh,
bright Christmas morning of my souls de-
light. Chime all the bells. Wreathe all the
garlands Rouse all the anthems. Shake
hands in all the congratulations. Merry
Christmas Merry at the thought of sins
pardoned and grieis solaced. Merry at the
mas! Let Christ be lifted from the manger
this day. and let down in all our hearts We
may not be able to bring to Him such treas
ures as the magi brought, but we will bring
to Him :the trankincsnse Of our joy, the
pearls of our tears; the kiss of our love, the
prostration of our worship. Down at his feet
all the churches, all the earth, and all the
heavens. Down at His feet the four and
twenty elders on their faces. Down at His
feet the great multitude that no man can
number" Down at His feet Michael, the
archangeL Down at His feet all worlds in
wol ship. "Behold I bring you glad tidings
of great joy which shall be to all peonlei"