Morning journal and courier., 1888-12-24
oaRIsrmAs sERmoN.

Dr. TyvitcheIl at Dwight Place Church
 The NaffvIty-Scenes of the Past at
 ncient Greece andROme
 Ruth i'm she Fields of BOaz.
 A Christmas sermon was preached by Dr.
 Twitchen at Dwight Place church yesterday
 morning upon Matthew 2, vi: "And thou
 Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not
 least among the princes of Judah; for out of
 thee shall come governor that shall rule my
 people Israel" After dwelling upon the
 cherished recollections that Christmas arouses
 the minister continued:
 The day is one of intense joy to the chil-
 dren and however observed cannot help but
 shed it's joy in forms to be long remember
 ed. We may we'll twine wreaths for our
 Sabbath school as emblems of our renem-
 brance of the blessed Master. Let bells ring
 and candles burn and general joy prevail.
 Let all our homes be lighted up with love and song and let every heart be made glad
 with the thought of the coming God. Let
 everything herald the coming of the Messiah.
 Considering all these things would not for the world have the blessed day of Christmas eliminated from our observance
 As 8 rule, great men, the great benefactors of church and State are born in compara- lively insignificant towns. Seven cities claimed Homer, so indefinite was It as to ms birthplace Whatever towns or cities you find conspicuous for ages are so consplcuous for the men born in them or for the men liv- ing in them. We turn to look at the won- derful town of Bethlehem. It is situated about six miles southwest of Jerusalem. It is surrounded by green spreading pastures. North are high woodlands; still farther north l the snow capped range ot Lebanon can De seen Here the giant cedars grow. This Ht- tie town of Bethlehem, too small of itself to become one of the thousands of Judea, still stands one of the proudest in the eye of the human race. It's earliest name was Efr1ca. The book of Ruth is but asingle page from the domestic annals of the town. There David was born and thither the prophet Samuel was sent to anoint him king of Jeru- salem. Close by were the fields of Boaz. To me it is no wonder this little town was always held as a sacred place. Now there are the same scenes as when Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz, aud the olden history can everywhere be seen repeating itself to-day. Let us think we enter the town next Tues- day morning, the morn of the nativity. Hundreds of thousands have spent the night at the temple. At midnight the bell in the tower is rung announcing mass Families 1 who have lost any of their members during | the year invite the priests to eat unleavened bread with them on this morning. We are impressed with the fact that there is much superstition here, but the morning of our Saviour's birth is nevertheless more reverently observed there ! than anywhere else. Out of the centuries | come the echoes of divine melody, and the | songs of David finger still upon the breath ot \ ever fleeing time. The spirits of the past, \ that broke the old Roman yoke and raised | the banner of their own nation over the ram parts of the eternal city, look forth from | glittering eyes and stony countenances. This \ we see in our outlook from the granite walls of that age-long city.
 In Athens we sec the culture of the past. | There Aristotle was born. In that proud city ! stood statues of costly marble which the \ world beheld with wonder and now are dis | covered as the noblest efforts of an overmas- ! tering art Athens was considered the center | of the world in Christ's time. There questions | of profoundest moment were being asked. l The old philosophers of the Lyceum were be- | sieged by earnest enquirers after truth and | for revelations as to the mystery of human ! life.
 I There is not Grecian place that has not l shaken with the tread of the Roman legions They recognized no divinity. They belonged | to Rome and Rome meant conquest.
 ! We come back to Bethelem and there get l ap answer that satisfies our soul. And how | different You have no conception ot the diff | ference between Christian lands in this nine- ! teenth century and heather lands in the first | century. How different is the Athenian l mother, the Hebrew mother, the Roman mother Here is where Jesus in his theory
 of life and death stands apart. By his com- | ing he brings us a golden pledge, bringing comfort to this life to come. No town in all | the East is more conspicuous than Bethelem Ohl Christian men and women, take up the l reform sounded upon the Judean hills and sound it to future ages. Dearly beloved, happy Christmas to you all.