The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-01-16

R'athers's house. No more stellar solitariness
for our world, not friendless planet spun
out into space to freeze, but world IN the
bosom of divine maternity. A star harnesed
to manger.
il. 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 beginning OF
The sermon. Oh, no. WANTED you to rise
toward it. l wanted you to examine Gne
coruelians and the jaspers and the emeralds
and the chrysalis before showed you the
Kohinoor-the crown jewel of the ages
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.
uriaut leaf and wild flower, the kid OF goat
is born in cavern chandeliered with stalactite
and pillared with stalagmita. Christ was
born in bare barn. Yet that nativity was
the offenders hope. Over the door OF heaven
are written these words: "None 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 He departed through another door.
He came through the door of the mangcr
and He departed through the door OF the sep
ulcber, and His one business was SO to wash
awsy our sins that one second after we are
dead there will be no more sin about us than
about the eternal God.
know that is putting it strongly, but that
IS what I understand by full remission. All
erased, all washed away, oil secured out, all
gone. That undergirding and overreaching
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 youthful
voice and queenly soloist to celebrate it! Do
you wonder that Raphael and Rubens, 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 boy!
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 I find the swaddling clothes en-
larging and emblazoning into an imperial
rote for 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 I come to understand
that the music OF that night was not COM
plete song, but only the stringing OF the in
struments 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! 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 cold Jordan, through
the wide open door of solid pearl, to that re-
union. expect to see you there as certainly
as see you here. What a time we shall
have in high converse, talking over sins par
doned. and sorrows comforted, and battles
triumphant
l 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. l have so
much faith in manger and cross feel sure
OF it. I am going to coax you in. am going
to push you in. BY holy strategem am 60
ing to surprise you in. Yea, with all the con-
centrated energy OF my nature|physlcai,
mental, spiritual and immortal-1 am going
to compel you to 20 in. like you so well
want to spend eternity with you
Some of your children have already gone:
Some time ago I buried one of them, and
though people passing along the street and
seeing white Grape on the doorbell may have
said: "It is only child" yet when the
broken hearted father came to solicit my
service he said: "Come around and comfort
us, 1Or Cnouen SDe WIS oHiy Htteei inohVho
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 50 many aches and pains
and decrepitudes well again, and all your
brothers end sisters and the little ones. How
glad they will be to see you!
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
ing:
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 l have been. If it had been provided
only for those who had always thought
and l would have had no interest in it, had
no share in it; you and l would have stuck
to the raft mid. ocean, and let the ship sail
by, carrying perfect passengers from per-
feet life on earth to perfect lie 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 I 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 con.e by
the side of it and ask the Captain two ques-
tions: '.Who art Thou? and whenceW and He
says: 81 am Captain of Salvation, and l am
from the manger." Oh. bright Christmas
bells. Wreathe all tho garlands. Rouse all
tie anthems. Shake hands in all the con-
gratulations.
Merry Christmas! 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
and to the manger to-day the frankincense
of Gus Joy, the pearls Of our tears, the kiss OF
our love, the prostration of our worship. :,
Down at His feet all churches, all ages, al
earth, 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 archangel! Down al
worlds at His feet and worship. "Glory *
God in the highest, and on earth peace. gooc
will to men,n
The Death of Clear Thought.
'Some Of the old poets thought the drink
mg-cup was cup Of poetry and eloquence,