The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1888-01-06

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may the Christ Of the Bethlehem cattle
pen have mercy on the suffering stock.
yards that are preparing diseased and
fevered meat for our American house
holds.
Behold also in this Bible scene how on
that Christmas night God honered child
hood. Christ might have made his first
visit to our world in cloud. - he viii
descend on his next visit in cloud. In
what . chariot Of illumined vapor be
might have rolled down the sky, escorted
by mounted cavalry, with lightning Of
drawn sword. Elijah had . arriage Of
Ore to take him up, why not Jesus . car.
riage Of fire to fetch him down? Or over
the arcbed bridge Of q rainbow the Lord
might have descended. Or Christ might
have had his mortality built up on earth
out of the dust OF . garden, as was Adam,
in full manhood at the start, without tho
Introductory feebleness of infancy. No,
no! Childhood was to be honored by that
advent. He mu<t have q child's lisht
limbs. and chill DIS dimpled hand. and a
child's beaminy eve. and a chiid's faxen
hair, and babyhood was TO be honolsd fer
all time to come. and a cradle was to
mean more than q grave. Mighty God!
May the reflection of that one caild's face
be seen in all infantile faces. Enough have
those fathers and mothers on hand il
they have O child in the house. A throne,
crown, q scepter, a kingdom under
charge. Be careful how you strike him
across the head, Earring the brain. What
you say to him will he centennial and
millennial, and a hundred years and a
thousand years will not stop the echo and
reecho Do not say. 'It is only a child. +"
Rather say, SIT is only an immortal" 1t
is only masterpiece of Jehovah. It Is
only a being that shall outlive the sun and
moon and stars and ages Guadrillennial.
God has infinite resources, and he can
give presents OF great valu,, but when he
wants to give the richest possible gift to
household he looks around all the worlds
and all the universe and then gives a
child. The greatest present that God ever
gave our world he gave about 1897 years
ago. and he gave it on Christmas night,
and 1t was of such value that Heaven ad.
journsd for q recess and came down and
broke through the clouds to look at
it. Yea. in all ages God has honored child.
hood. He makes almost every picture a
failure, unless there be a child either
playing on the floor, or looking through
the window, or seated on the lap gazing
into the face of its mother. 1t was a child
in Naaman's kitchen that told the great
Syrian. warrior where he might go and
get cured of the leprosv. which. at the
seventh plunge in the Jordan. was left at
the bottom Of the river. II was to the
cradle of leaves in which a child was laid
rocked by the Nile that God called the at
try 81 hi GO nj oh; u
that evoked Christ's curative sympathies.
1t was sick child that Christ set in the
midst of the squabbling disciples to teach
that wolf, and leopard, and lion
a little child shall lead them.
A child decided Waterloo. show
ing the army Of Butcher how they could
take o short cut through the fields when,
il the old road had been followed, the
Prussian General would have come up too
late to save the destinies OF Europe. It
was a child that decided Gettysburg, he
having overheard two Confederate Gen.
erals in a conversation in which they de-
cided to march for Gettysburg instead Of
Harri sburg, and this, reported to Gov.
ernor Curtin. the Federal forces started
to meet their opponents at Gettysburg.
And the child of to day is to decide all
the great battles. make all the laws, set
tie all the destinies and usher in the
worlds salvation or destruction. Men,
women, nations. all earth and all Heaven,
behold the child! Il there any velvet
50 soft as child's cheek? Is there any
sky so blue as a child's eve? Is there any
music so sweet as the child's voice? Is
there any plume so wavy as child's hair?
Notice al so that in this Bible night scene
God honored science. Who are tbs three
wise men kneeling before the divine in
FAINT. Not Doors, not ignoramuses. but
Caspar, Belthasar and Melchior, men who
knew all that was to be known. They
were the Isaac Newtons. and Hsrschels,
sud Faradays of their time. Their al.
cl.my was the forerunner of our sublime
chemistry, their astrologv the mother of
our magn ificent ASTRONOMY. Thew had
studied stars, studied metals, studied
physiology, studied every thing. And
when l see these scientists bowling before
the beautiful babe. see the prophecy of
the time when all the telescopes and mi.
croscopes. and all the Lsyden jars. and
all the electric batteries, ald all tbs OBJ.
servatories, and all the universities shall
bow to Jesus. It is much that way al
ready. Where is the college that does not
have morning PRAYERS, thus bowling at the
Manager? Who have been the greatest ply
sicians? Omittiny the names of the liv-
ing, lest we should be invidious, have we
not had among them Christian men like
our own Joseph c. Hutchinson. and Rush.
and Valentine Mott. and Abercrombie,
and Abernethy? Who have been our
greatest scientists? Joseph Henry, who
lived aud died in the faith Of the Gospel,
and Agassiz, who, standing with his
students among the hills, took of his hat
and said, "Young gentlemen, before we
study these rocks, let us pray for wisdom
to the God who made the rocks" To-day
the greatest doctors and lawyers Of Brook
Ign and New York, and Of all this land,
and of all lands, revere the Christian re-
ligion. and are not ashamed to say so be-
fore juries and Legislatures and Senates
All geology will yet bow before
the Rock OF Ages. All botany will
yet worship the Rose Of Sharon. All
astronomy will yet recognize the Star
of Bethlehem. And physiology and anat-
omy will join hands and say: We must,
by the help of God, get the human race
up to the perfect nerve. and perfect mus
Gle, and perfect brain, and perfec. form Of
that perfect child before whom nigh two
thousand years ago Caspar, aud Bel
thasar, and Meichoir bent their tired knees
in worship.
Behold. also. in that first Christmas
night that God honored the fields Come
in. shepherd boys. to Bethlehem, and see
the child. ''No," they say, I'VE are not
dressed good enough to come in." Yes,
you are; come in" Sure enough, the
storms, and the night dew, and the bram-
bles, have made rough work with their ar
parel, but none have q better right to
come in. They were the first to hear the
music Of that Christmas night. The