The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-01-17

OH That jewel had very poor setting
The cub Of bear is born amid the grand old
pillars Of the forest, the whelp OF the lion
takes its first step from the jungle OF lux
uriant leaf and wild flower, the kid Of goat
is born in cavern chandeliers with stalactite
and pillared with stalagmite Christ was
born in bare barn. Yet that nativity was
the offender hope Over the door OF heaven
are written these words: "None but the sim
less may enter here.n
"Oh, horror" you say, shat 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 sep
ulcher, and His one business was so to wash
away our sins that one second after We are
dead there will be no more sin about us than
about the eternal God. VI .,
know that is putting it strongly, but tina.
Is what understand by rul remission. An
erased, all washed away, all secured out, all
gone. That undergirding and overreaching
and irradiating and imparadising possibility
for you and for me and for the whole racs
was given on that Christmas night ,c
Do YOU wonder we bring flowers to-day TO
celebrate such an EVENT. Do you wonder
that we take organ and cornet and youthful
voice and queenly soloist to celebrate It'll DO
you wonder that Raphael and Rubens, and
Titan and Gio,to and Ghirlandajo, and all
the old Italian and German painters gave
the mightiest stroke of the pencil to sketch
the Madonna, Mary and her boyi
Oh! now | see what the manger was. Not
SO high as the gided and jeweled 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 l find the swaddling clothes en-.
larging and emblazoning into an imperial
70 for a conaueror. 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 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.
ooh, heaven, heaven, heavenl shall meet
you there After all our imperfections are
gone shall meet you there. look out to
day, through the mist of years, through the
fog that rises from the told Jordan, through
the wido open door of solid pearl, to that re-
union. expect to see you there as certainly
as see you here. What time we shall
have in high converse, talking over sins par
Toned, and sorrows comforted and battles
triumphant!
am going in. am going to take all my
family with ME. l am going to take all my
church with me- ! am going to take all my
friends and heighbors with me. have so
much faith in Manager and cross feel sure
of it. am going to coax you in am going
to push you in. BY holy strategem am 60
ing to surprise you in. iea with all the CON
centrated energy of my nature-physicai,
mental, spiritual and immortal-l 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" All! it does not
take long for a child to get its arms around
the parents whole nature.
What Christmas morning it will make
when those with whom you used to keep the
holidays are all around you in heaven! Sill
yer haired old father young again, and
mother who had so many aches and pains
and decrepitudes well again, and all your
brothers and sisters and the little ones. How
glad they will be to see you'll
They have been waiting. The last time
they saw your face it was covered with tears
and distress, and pallid from long watching,
and one of them l can imagine to-day, with
one hand holding fast the shining gate, and
the other hand swung out toward you, say
ng:
Steer this way, father, steer straight for me;
Here safe in heaven / am waiting for thee.
Oh! those Bethlehem 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 hallelujahs
marching that way.
What almost unrnans ME Is the thought
that it is provided for such sinners as you
and have been. If it had teen 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 it; you and would have stuck
to the raft mid ocean, and let the ship sail
by carrying perfect passengers from q per-
feet life on earth to 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 Galilee, and l have heard that
all the passengers on the ship are sinners
saved by grace. And so we hail the ship,
and it bears down this way, and we come by
the side of it and ask the Captain two ques-
tions: "Who art Thou? and whenceF and He
saws: 81 am Captain of Salvation, and am
from the manger' OH bright Christmas
VI my coui uohRuh SniuIc oil Uue
bells. Wreathe all tho garlands Rouse all
tie anthems. Shake hands in all the con-
gratulatons
Merry Christmas Merry with the thought
Of sins forgiven merry with the idea OF sor
rows comforted, merry with the raptures to
come. Obi lift that Christ from the manager
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
and to the manger to-day the frankincense
of Gus .oy, the pearls of our tears, the kiss of
our love, the prostrat n of our worship.
Down at His feet, all churches, all ages, all
earth,a all heaven. Down at His feet the four
and twenty elders on their faces Down the
great multitude that no man can number ="
Down Michael, the ar, hangel Down all
worlds at His feet and Worship. &c DRY to
God in the highest, and on earth peace. good
will to menl"