Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1889-02-27

| letters OF constellation and galaxy on ID
blue scroll of heaven, to writing on th
ground in the dust, which the feet Of tn
crowd had left in Herod's temple. If !
January you have ever stepped out of
princes conservatory that had Mexica
cactus and magnoliss in full bloom, into th
outside air 10 degrees below zero, you ma
get some idea of 'Christ's change of atmos
| phere from celestial to terrestrial. Ho,
many heavens there are know not, bu
there are at least three, for Paul wa
| s'caught up into the third heaven" Chris
came down from highest heaven to the sec
ond heaven, and down from second heavel
to first heaven, down swifter than meteor
ever fell, down amidst stellar splendors tina
| himself eclipsed, down through clouds
| through atmospheres, through appalling
space, down to where there was no love-
depth. From being waited on at the ban
quet of the skies to the boiling of fish TO
his own breakfast on the banks of the lake
From emblazoned chariots of eternity tt
the saddle of mules back. The homag'
chernbie, arehangelis, to the paying o
slxty.two and a half cents Of tax to Cesar
the deathless country to a tomb, built tt
hide human dissolution. The uplifted wave
of Galilee was high, but he had to CONT
down before, with his feet, he could touch
it, and the whirlwind that rose above the
billow was higher yet. but he had to come
down before, with his lip, he could kiss II
into quiet. Bethlehem STOPPING down
Nazareth STOPPING down. Death between
two burglars STOPPING down. Yes. it was
in consonanee with humiliations that had
gone before and with self-abEegaIions thai
came after, when on that memorable day IL
Herod's temple he stopped down and wrote
on the ground.
Whether the words he was writing were
In Greek, or Latin. or Hebrew, cannot
say: for he knew all those languages. But
he is still STOPPING down and with his fin.
ger writing on the ground; in the winter
in letters of crystals, in the spring in let.
ters of flowers, in summer in golden letters
of harvest, in autumn in letters Of flre on
fallen leaves. How it would sweeten ur
and enrich and emblazon this world could
we see Christ's caligraphy all over it. This
world was not flung out into space thou
sands of years ago and then left to look out
for itself. 1t is still under the divine care.
Christ never for half second takes his
hand off of it, or it would soon be a ship.
wrecked world, a defunct world, an OBJ
solete world, an abandoned world, a dead
world. "Let there be light" was said at
the beginning. And Christ stands under
the wintry skies and says, Let there be
snowfakes to enrich the earth; and under
the clouds of spring and says, Come ye
blossoms and make redolent the orchards
and in September, dips the branches into
the vat of beautiful colors and swings them
in the hazy air. No whim Of mine is this,
"Without him was not anything made that
L. he Nd
If we could see his hand in all the passing
seasons, how it would illumine the world
All verdure and foliage would be allegoric
and again we would hear Him say as o.
old, "Consider the lilies of the field, how
they grows" and we would not hear tht
whistle of a quail or the cawipg of raver
or the roundelay of brownthresher, with.
out saying, "Behold the fowls of the air
they gather not into barns, yet YOU
Heavenly Father feedeth them;" and &
cluck for her brood, yet we would heal
Christ saying as of old, Chow often woult
have gathered thy children together, ever
WINGS" and through the redolent hedges
we would hear Christ saying, 81 am the
rose of Sharop;' we could not dip the seas
oning from the salt cellar without thinking
of the divine suggestion, 'sYe are the sail
of the earth, but if the salt have lost its
SAVIOR, it is fit for nothing but to be cast ou
and trodden under foot of men," Let u.
wake up from our stupidity and take the
whole world as a parable. Then if with
gun and pack of hounds we start off before
dawn and see the morning coming dowr
off the hills to meet US, we would cry out
with the evangelist, "The day spring from
on high hath visited us;'' or caught in 9
snow storm, while struggling home, eye
brows and beard and apparel all covered
with the whirling fakes, we would cry ou
with David, wash me and shall bs
whittier than snow" In picture gallery OF
Europe, there is en- the ceiling an exquisite
fresco, but people having to look straight
UP, it wearied and dizzied them, and bent
their necks almost beyond endurance, so g
great looking glass was put near the 1ool
aud now visitors only need to look easily
down into this mirror and they see the
fresco at their feet. And so much of al
the heaven of Gods truth is reflected il
this world as in mirror, and the things
that are above are copied by things al
around us. What right have we to throw
away one Of Gods Bibles, aye, the frs
Bible He ever gave the race? We tall
about the Old Testament and the New
Testament, but the oldest Testament con
tains the lessons of the natural world
Some people like the New Testament 81
we'll they discard the Old Testament. Shal
we like the New Testament and the OF,
Testament so we'll as to depreciate tn
| oldest-namely, that which was writer
| before Moses was put aaoat on the boat O
leaves which was coated with asphaltum; O
reject the Genesis and the Revelation tha
were written centuries before Adam lost
rib and gained wife? No, no; whel
Deity stOOps down and writes on th
ground, let US read it. | would have n
less appreciation of the Bible on pape
that comes out of the paper mill, but
would urge appreciation of the Bible in th
grass, the Bible in the sapd hill, the Bibl
| in the geranium, the Bible in tho asphodel
the Bible in the dust. Some one asked a
ancient king whether he had seen tn
eclipse of the sun. 'No," said he, 81 hav
so much to do on earth, / have no time
look at heaven" And if our facultie
were all awake in the study of God, W
would not have time to go much furthe
than the first grass blade. | have no fea
that natural religion will ever contradie
what we call revealed religion. ] have n
sympathy with the followers Of Aristotle
who after the telescope was invented
would not look through it, lest it contradic
some of the theories of their great master
1 shall be glad to put against ono lid OF th
Bible the microscope, and against the othe
lid of the Bible the telescope.
But when Christ stopped down and wrot
on the ground, what did he writer Th
Pharisees did rot stop to examine. Th
towards, whipped of their own corsciences
fed pel-mell. Nothing will fay man lik
an aroused conscience. DIR. Stevens, in hi
"History of Methodism," says that whe
Rev. Benjamin Abbott OF olden times wa
preaching, he exclaimed: "For aught
know there may be q murderer in thi
house." and man rose in the assemblag
and started for the door and bawled aloud
confessing to murder he had committe,
fifteen years before. And no wonder thes
Pharisees, reminded of their sins, took t.
their heels. But what did Christ white OF
the ground? The Bible does not state
Yet as Christ never wrote anything excep
that once, you cannot blame US for wantin,
to know what he really did write. But