The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1889-01-11

bit of a world for the achievements OF His
only begotten sou when He might have
| hal q vaster scale and vaster worlds!"
But my skepticism is all gone as come to
the manger and watch its surroundings.
Now l see all the worlds are sisters, and
that when one weeps they all weep, and
when one sings they all sing.
From that supernatural grouping in the
cloud thanks over Bethlehem, and from the
especial trains that run down to the scene.
] find that our world is beautifully and
| gloriously and magnifcently surrounded.
The meteors are with us, for one of them
ran to point down to the birthplace. The
| heavens are with US, because at the
thought OF our redemption they roll hosan-
mas out Of the midnight sky.
o! yes; l do not know but our world
| may be better surrounded than we have
sometimes imagined. and when Q child is
born angels fetch it, and when it dies
angels take it, and when an old man bends
under the weight Of years angels uphold
him, and when q heart breaks angels
soothe it Angels in the hospital to take
care Of the sick. Angels in the cemetery
to watch our dead. Angels in church
/ ready to fly Heavenward with the news Of
| repentant souls. Angels above the
world. Angels under the world. Angels
all around the world.
Rub the dust of human imperfection out
| OF our eyes, and look into the heavens and
see angels Of pity, angels OF mercy, angels
| Of pardon, angels of help, angels crowned,
angels charioted. The world defended by
angels, girdied by angels, cohorted by
angels-clouds Of angels. Hear David cry
| out: "The chariots of God are twenty
Thousand. Even thousands of angels"
| But the mightiest angel stood not that
| night in the clouds over Bethlehem; the
mightiest angel that night lay among the
cattle-the Angel of the New Covenant
As the clean white linen sent in by some
motherly villager was being wrapped
around the little form of that Child EN-
peror, not a cherub. not a seraph, not All
angel, not world but wept and thrilled
and shouted. o. yes, our world is only a
| silver rung of a great ladder, at the top Of
| which is our Fathers house. No more
| stellar solitariness for our world. not a
friendless o!-.et spun out into space to
freeze, but a world in the bosom Of divine
maternity. A star harnessed to a manager.
Fourth-Again remark that that night
| born in that village barn was the offenders
| hope. Some sermonizers may say ought
to have projected this thought at the be-
ginning of the sermon. o, no! / wanted
you to rise toward it. l wanted you to
examine the comedians and the jaspers
and the emeralds and the chrysalis before
l showed you the Kohinoor-,he crown
jewel Of the ages.
Oh that jewel had a very poor setting.
The cub of bear is born amid the grand
old pillars of the forest; the whelp Of
lion takes its first step from the jungle Of
luxuriant leaf and wild flower: the kid Of
goat is born in cavern chandeliered with
stalactite and pillsred with stalagmite.
Christ was born in a bare barn. Yet that
nativity was the offenders hope. Over
the door OF Heaven are written these
words: "None but the sinless may enter
here"
%, horror" you say, that shuts US all
out" No. Christ came to the world in
one door and He departed through another
door. He came through the door of the
manager and He departed through the
door of the sepulchre, and His one bust
ness was so to wash away our sin that
one second after we are dead there will be
no more sin about US than about the
eternal God.
know that is putting 1t strongly, but
that is what understand by full remis-
sion. All erased, all washed away, all
secured out, all gone. That undergrad
ling and overarching and irradiating and
imparadising possibility for you and for
me and for the whole race was given on
that Christmas night.
Do you wonder we bring flowers to-day
to celebrate such an event? Do you wonder
that we take organ and cornet and youth
full voice and queenly soloist to celebrate
it? Do you wonder that Raphael and Ru-
bens and Titan and Giotto and Ghirland-
ajo and all the old Italian and German
painters gave the mightiest stroke of the
pencil to sketch the Madonna, Mary and
her boy?
o! now l see what the manger was.
Not so high the gilded and jeweIed and
embroidered cradle of the Henrys Of En-
land, or the Louises of France, or the
Fredericks of Prussia. Now find out of
that Bethlehem crib fed not so much the
oxen of the stall as the white horses of
Apocalyptic vision. Now find the swad-
ding clothes charging and emblazoning
into an imperial robe for a conqueror.
Now find that the star Of that Christmas
night was only the diamond sandal of Him
who hath the moon under His feet Now
L
that night was not a complete song, but
only the stringing of the instru ments for
a great chorus OF two worlds, the bass to
be carried by earthly Nations saved, and
the soprano by kingdoms of glory won.
Oh! Heaven, Heaven, Heaven. l shall
meet you there. After all our Imperfect
tons are gone shall meet you there. 1
look out to-day through the mist of years,
81, g. &l.r -,
Jordan, through the wide open door of
solid pearl, to that reunion. expect to
see you there as certainly as l see you
here. What time we shall have in high
converse, talking over sins pardoned and
SORROWS comforted and battles triumph
ant!
my family with me. l am going to take
all my church with me. ! am going to
take all my neighbors with me. have so
much faith in manger and cross feel sure
of it. / am going to coax you in. lam 60
ing to push you in. By holy stratagem
am going to surprise you in. Yea, with all
tie concentrated energy Of my nature
physical, mental, spiritual and immortal
am going to compel you to go in. like
You so well want to spend eternity with
you!
Some of your children have already
gone. Some time ago l buried one of them,
and though people passing along the street
and seeing white Grape on the doorbell
may have said: at is only child" yet
when The broken hearted father came to
solicit my service he said: "Come around
and comfort US, for, though she was only
fifteen months old. we loved her so much"
4 N ApaS NOT 10 Ion for a child 70 vat |
its arms around the parents whole nature. |
What a Christmas morning it will make |
when those with whom you used to keep |