News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-01-10
!, what 7 understand nv full remission

is what understand by full remission. AL
erased, all washed away, all secured out, al
| gone. That undergirding and overreachine
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 Il
celebrate such an EVENT. Do you wonder
that we take organ and cornet and youthful
voice and queenly soloist to celebrate it: DC
| you wonder that Raphael and RubenS, anC
| Titan and Giotto ana Ghirlandaio, and al
! the old Italian and German painters gave
/ the mightest stroke of the pencil to sketch
/ the Madonna, Mary and her boy.
| Oh! now / see what the manger was Not
| SO high as the gi,ded and ieweled and EN-
| broidcred cradle of the Henrys of England
| or the Iouises of France, or the Fredericks
of Prussia. Now l find out of that Beth e.
hem crib fed not much the oxen of the
| stall as the white horses of Apocalyptic Wis
| ion. Now find the swaddling clothes en-
I larging and embiaZoning into an imperial
/ 70 e for conGueror Now l find that the
| star of that Christmas night was only the
| diamond sandal of Him who hath the moon
! under His feet. Now l come to understand
that the music OF that night was not COM
| plete song, but only the stringing of the in
struments for 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! I shall meet
| you there. Aftar all our imperfectlonS are
| gone shall meet you there look out to-
| day, through the mist of years, through the
| fog that rises from the cold Jordan, throug b
| the wido open door of solid pearl, to that re-
/ union. ! expect to see you there as certa My
| as see YOU here. What a time we sha
| have in high converse, talking over sins par
! donei, and sorrows comfortsd, and battles
| triumphant!
/ am going in am going to take all my
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 l feel sure
of it. am going to coax you IN. am gong
to push you i'll. BY holy strategem | am 60
ing to surprise you in. ca, with all the con-
centrated energy OF my nature-physical,
mental spiritual and immortal-I am going
| to compel you to go in. like you so well L
want to spend eternity with you'll
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 doort ell may have
said: at is only a 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" All! it does not
| take long for a child TO get its arms around
| the parents whole nature.
| What n Christmas morning it will make
when those with whom you used to keep the
| holidays are all around you in heaven! Sill
] haired OH IaIneF young again, ana
/ mother who had 50 many aches and pains
| AMI decrepitudes wei aga n, and all your
| brothers and sisters and the little ones. How
glad they will lie to see you!
They have been waiting. The last time
they 81 W your face 1t was covered with tears
and distress, and pallid from long watching
and on of them l can imagine to-day, with
one hand holding fast the shining gate and
the other hand swung out toward you, say
ing:
Steer this way, fIther, steer straight for nc;
Here safe in heaven am waiting for thee.
Oh! those Rethclehem angels. when they
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. 1t is too late to
shut the gate. 1t is blocked wide open with
hoSannas marching this way and halleluj ahS
marching that way.
What almost unrnans me is the thought
that it is provided for such sinners you
and 1 have been. If it had leen provided
only for those who had always thought
right and spoken right and acted right, you
and | would have had no interest in it, had
no share in 1t; you and | would have stuck
to the raft mid ocean, and let tho ship sail
by, carrying perfect ia 'sengerS from per
feet life on earth to a perfect lie in heaven.
OH have heard the Commander of that
shin is the same great and glorious and sym
pathatic One who hushed the tempest around
The boat on Galilee, and | have heard that
saved by grace And so we hail the ship,
and it bears down this way, an we come by
the side of it and ask the CAPITA n two ques-
tions: ''NEh art ] hou: and whence and He
saws: al am Captain of Salvation, and am
from the mancer OH bright Christmas
morning of my souls delight Chime all thu
bells. Wrelthe all the Garlands. Rouse all
tie anthems. Shake hands in all the CON
CALCULATIONS.
Merry Christmasl Merry with The thought
of sins forgiven, merry with the idea of sor
rows comforted, merry with the raptures to
come OH lift that Christ from the manger
and lay Him down in all our hearts We
may not bring to Him as costly present as
the magi brought, but we bring to His feet
aud to the manager to-day the franklncense
of Gus oy the pearls of our tears, the KISS OF
our love, the prostration OF our worship.
Down at His feet all churches, all ages, all
earth. all heaven. Down at His feet the four
and twenty elders on their faces Down the
Treat multitude that no man can number. J
I'Gwn Michael, the archaugeE Down al
worlds at His feet and worship. Cory &c
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good
will to men!"