Dodge City times., 1889-06-27

ward He was perfect man, In the time
of which speak He was a perfect boy
with the spring of boys foot, the
sparkle of boys eye, the rebound of 9
boys life and justine opposite Of those
| juveniles who sit around morbid and
unelastic, old men at ten; 1 warrant He
| was able to take His own part
and to take the part of 9TH
ers. In that village of Nazareth 1
am certain there was what is found in
all the neighborhoods of the earth, that
terror of children, the bully, who seems
born to strike, to punch, to bruise, to
oyerpower the less muscular and robust.
The Christ who afterward in no limited
terms denounced hypocrite and Phari-
see, l warrant, never let such juvenile
villain impose upon less vigorous child
hood and yet go unscratched and un-
defended. At ten years He was in SYM
pathy with the underlings as He was al
thirty and thirty-three. l want nc
further inspired or uninspired informa-
tion to persuade me that He was a splen-
did boy. radiant boy, the grandest,
holiest, mightiest boy of all the ages.
Hence commend Him as a.boy's Christ.
What multitudes between ten and fifteen
years have found Him out as the one just
suited by his own personal experience
to help any boy.
Let the world look out how it treads
on boy, for that very moment it treads
on Christ. You strike boy, you strike
Christ; you insult a boy, you insult
Christ; you cheat boy, you cheat
Christ. 1t is an awful and infinite mis-
take to come as far as manhood without
a Christ when here is boy Christ. That
was one reason, l suppose, that Jona-
than Edwards, afterwards the greatest
American logician and preacher of his
time, became Christian at years of
age; and Robert Hall, who afterwards
shook Christendom with his sacred elo-
quence, became Christen at IL years of
age; and Isaac Watts, who divided with
Charles Wesley the dominion of holy
song, became q Christian at years of
age; and if in any large religious assem-
blage it were asked that all the men and
women who learned to love Christ be-
fore they were fifteen years of age would
please lift their right hand, there would
De enough hands lifted to wave a corO-
nation. What is true in religious
sense is true in a secular sense. The
mistocles amazed his school fellows
with talents which in after years made
the world stare. Isaac Newton, the boy,
by driving pegs in the side of house to
mark the decline of the sun, evidenced
q disposition towards the experiments
which afterwards showed the nations
how the worlds swing. Robert Stephen
son, the boy, with his kite on the COM
mons experimental with electric cur
rents and prophesied work which should
vet make him immortal. Get out of my
way!" said a rough man to a boy, get
out of my way! what are You good for
anyhow" The boy answered.: They
make men out of such things as We are.
Hear it, fathers, mothers! hear it, phil
anthropists and patriots; hear it, all the
young! The temporal and eternal des-
tiny of the most of the inhabitants of
this earth is decided before fourteen
years of age. Behold the Nazareth
Christ, the village Christ, the country
Christ, the boy Christ.
But having SHOWN you the divine lad
in the fields, must show you Him in
the mechanics shop. Joseph, His father.
died very early, Immediately after the
famous trip to the Temple, and this lad
had not only to support himself but sup
port His mother, and what that is some
of you know. There is royal race of
boys on earth now doing the same thing.
They wear no crown. They have no
purple robe adroop from their shoulders.
The plain chair on which they sit is as
much unlike throne as anything you
can imagine. But God knows what they
are doing and through what sacrifices
they go, and through all eternity God
will keep paying, them for their filial
behavior. They shall get full measure
of reward, the measure pressed down,
shaken together and running over.
Tbav hova THAR avamn1a in this how
Christ taking care of His mother. He
had been taught the carpenters trade by
His father. The boy had done the
palmer work at the shop while His
father had put on the finishing touches
of the work. The boy also cleared away
the chips and blocks and shavings. He
helped hold the different pieces of work
while the father joined them. In our
day We have all kinds of mechanics and
the work is divided up among them.
But to be carpenter in Christs boy
hood days meant to make plows, yokes,
shovels. wagons, tables, chairs, sofas,
houses, and almost everything that was
made. Fortunate was it that the boy
had learned the trade, for, when the
head of the family dies, it is grand
thing to have the child able to take care
of himself and help take care of others.
Now that Joseph, His father, is dead and
the responsibility of family support
comes down on this boy, I hear from
morning to night His hammer pounding,
His saw vacillating. His AK descending,
His gimlets boring, and standing amid
the dust and debris of the shop find the
perspiration gathering on His temples
and notice the fatigue of His arm, and
as He stops moment to rest l see Him
painting, His hand on His side, from the
exhaustion. Now He goes forth in the
morning loaded with implements of
work heavier than any modern kit of
tools. Under the tropical sun he swell
ters. Lifting, pulling, adjusting, cleav-
ing, splitting all day long. At night
fall He goes homes to the plain supper
provided by His mother and sits down
too tired TO talk. Work! work! work! You
cannot tell Christ anything now about
blistered hands or aching ankles or
bruised fingers or stiff joints or rising
in the morning as tired as when you
it all, He felt it all, He suffered it all.
The boy carpenter. The boy wagon
maker! The boy house builder! o
Christ, We have seen Thee when full
grown in Pilates police court room, we
have seen Thee when full grown Thou
vert assassinated on Golgotha, but, o
Christ. let all the weary artisans and
mechanics of the earth see while yet un-
dersized and arms not yet muscularized
and with the undeveloped strength of
juvenescence trying to take Thy fathers
place in gaining the livelihood for the
family.
But, having seen Christ the boy of
the fields and the boy in the mechanics
shop, l show you a more marvellous
scene, Christ the smooth browed lad
among the long bearded, white haired,
high foreheaded ecclesiastics of the
Temple. Hundreds of thousands of
strangers had come to Jerusalem to
keep great religious festival. After
the hospitable homes were crowded with
visitors, the tents were spread all around
the city to shelter immense throngs of
strangers. 1t was very easy among the
vast throngs coming and going to lose
a child. More than two million people
have been known to gather at Jerusalem
f<,r bat