West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1889-01-10

world but wept aud thrilled and shouted.
On yes, our world is only a silver rung OF a
great ladder, at the top OF which IS our
tathers's house. No more stellar solitariness
for orr world, not a friendless planet spun
out into space TO freeze, but a world in tho
bosom Of divine maternity. A star harnesed
20 a manger.
". Again, / remark that that night born
In that village barn was the offenders hope.
Some sermonizers may say 1 ought TO have
projected this thought at the beginning Of
the sermon. oh, no 1 wanted you to rise
toward it i wanted you TO examine the
COMEDIANS and the jaspers and the emeralds
ana the ehrysalis before L showed you the
kohinoor-the crown jewel Of the ages.
Obi That jewel had a very poor setting.
The cub Of bear is born amid the grand old
pillars of the forest. the whelp of the lion
takes its 1rst step from the jungle of lux
urlant leaf and wild flower, the kid of goat
is born in cavern chandellere1 with stalactite
and pillared with s~tnlagmito. Christ was
born IN a bare barn. Yet that nativity was
the offender hopa. over the door OF heaven
are written these words: 'tNone but the sin.
less may enter here
"Oh, horror" you say, that shuts us all
out" No. Christ came to the world in one
door and lie departed through another door.
lie came through the door OF tbs mangcr
and He departed through the door OF the sep
ulcher, and His one business was so TO vast
away our sins that one second after we are
dead there will be no more sin about as than
about the eternal God.
know that is putting IL strongly, but that
is what / understand by full remission. All
erased, all washed away, all secured out, oil
gone. That undergirding and overreaching
and i~rradiating 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 70
celebrate such an event! Do you wonder
that we take organ and cornet and youthful
voice and queenly solOist to celebrate itf DO
YOU wonder that RanhaQl and RuIanc and
Titan and Giotto and Ghirlandajo, and all
the old Italian and German painters gave
the mightiest stroke of the pencil to sketch
the Madonna, Mary and her boyl
Oh now / see what the manger was. Not
so high as the giided and ieWeled and en-
broidered cradle of the Henrys Of England.
or the Louises of France, or the Fredericks
OF Prussia. Now / find out Of that Bethle-
hem crib fed not so much the oxen OF the
stall as the white horses of Apocalyptic Wis
ion. Now i find the swaddling clothes en-
larging and emblazoning into an imperial
roUe for a ~conqueror. Now / find that the
star Of that Christmas night was only the
diamond sandal of HIN who hath the moon
under His feet. Now L come 10 understand
that the music of that night was not com
plete song, but only the stringing of the in
struments Tor a great chorus of two worlds,
the bass to be carried by earthly nations
saved, and the soprano by Kingdoms of glory
won.
ooh, heaven. heaven, heavenl / shall meet
you there. After all our imperfections are
gone l shall meet you there. 1 look out to
day, through the mist of years, through the
fog that rises from the cold Jordan, through
the wido open door Of solid pearl, to that re-
union. expect to see you there as certainly
as l see you here. What a time we shall
have in high converse, talking over sins par
doned, and sorrows comforted, and battles
triumphant
family with me- am going to take all my
church with me. / am going TO take all my
friends and ~neighbors with me. | have so
much faith in manger and cross ] feel sure
OF 1T | am going TO coax you in. / am going
to push you in. BY holy strategem 1 am 90,
ing to surprise you in. Yea, with all the con-
centrated energy OF my nature-physical,
mental, spiritual and immortal am going
to compel you TO go in. like you so well 1
wan to spend eternity with youl
Some of your children nave already gone.
Some time ago L buried one Of them, and
though people passing along the street and
seeing white Grape OF the doorbell may have
said: ut is only q child" yet when the
broken hearted father came to solicit my
service he said: "Come around and comfort
us, for though she Yves only fifteen months
old we loved her so much" Ahl it does not
take long for a child to get its arms around
the parents whole nature.
What a Christmas morning IL will make
when those with whom you used to keep the
holidays are all around you in heavenl Sill
yer haired old father young again, and
mother who had 50 many aches and pains
and decrepitudes well again, and all your
brothers and sisters and the little ones. How
glad they will 10 TO see you'll
They have been waiting. The last time
they saw your face 1T was covered with tears
and distress, and pallid from long watching,
and one of them / can imagine to-day, with
one hand holding fast Tho shining gate. and
the other hand swung out toward you, say
ing;
steer this way, father, steer straight for me:
Here anfo In heaven Il nm WAITING for fhao
Obi those Bethlehem angels, when thew
went back after the concert that night over
the hills, forgot to shut the door. All the
secret is out. No more use of trying to hide
from us the glories to come. IL is too late to
shut the gate. 1t is blocked wide open with
hosannas marching this way and halleluiahs
marching that way.
What almost unrnans me Is the thought
that it is provided for such sinners as Won
and / have been. If it had boen provided
only for those who had always thought
right. and spoken right and acted right. Won
and / would have had no interest in IL. had
no share in 10; you and | would have stuck
10 the raft mid ocean, and let the ship sail
by, carrying perfect passengers from a per.
feet life on earth TO a perfect life in heaven.
OH / have heard the Commander of that
ship is the same great and glorious and sym
pathatic One who hushed the tempest around
the boat on Galiloe, and 1 have heard that
all the passengers on the ship are sinners
! saved by grace. And so we hail the shin
and II bears Gown this way, aud we come by
the side of IL and ask the Captain two cues
tions: "Who art Thoui and whencep and He
says; "I am Captain OF Salvation, and / am
from the manger.' Oh bright Christmas
morning Of my souls delight Chime all the
bells. Wreathe all tho garlands. Rouse all
tno anthems. Shake bands in all the con-
CALCULATIONS.
Merry Christmas Merry with the thought
OF sins forgiveH, merry with the idea OF sor-
rows comfortod, merry with the raptures 10
come. OH lift that Christ from the manger
and lay Him down In all our hearts. We
may not bring TO Him as costly a present az
the magi brought, but we bring to His feet
aud TO the manager today the frankincense
OF GUS Joy, the pearls Of our tears, the kiss OF
our love, the prostration Of our worship.
Down az His feet, all churches. all ages. all
earth,all heaven. Down at His feet the four
and-tVenty elders on their faces. Down the
great multitude that no man can number. >
Down Michael, the archangeli Down al
worlds at His feet and worship. GLORY TO
Col in tho highest, and on earth peace. good
viii 70 menu
a privat3 letter from the poet Tenny-
ION las been published ia this country.
showing his belief in s%piritualism. This
I naH~aHaamNrmA - wAH 49, H-..