The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-12-29

the British museum have specimens Of
meteoricstones picked up in the fields, frag-
pents flung of from other worlds, leaving
q fiery trail on the sky. So that IL is not to
me at all improbable, the stellar or the
meteoric appearance on that night Of which
we speak only care TO know that it was
bright, that it was silvery, that il flashed
and swayed and swung aud halted with JOY
celestial, as though Christ IN haste to save
our world had rushed down without his
coronet, and the angels OF God had hurled
it after him.
Not a black cloud of threat, but gleam-
ing star of hope is our glorious Christianity.
One glimpse of that stellar appearances
kindled up the soul of the sick and dying
college student until the words flashed from
his pale fingers and the star seemed 10 pour
its Light from his white lips as Kirke White
wrote these immortal words:
Wien marshaled on the nightly plain
The gl.tering hosts bestud the sky,
One star alone of all the train
Can fix the sinners wandering eye
Hark. bark to God the chorus breaks,
From every host, from every gem,
But one alone the Savior speaks,
II is the star Of Bethlehem.
Once on the raging seas rode,
The storm was loud, the night was dark,
And rudeiy blew the wind that tossed
Ny frail and laundering bark;
Deep horror then my vitals froZe,
Death struck, ceased the tide to stem;
Wien suddenly a star arose,
It was the star of Bethlehem.
Notice also in this scene that other worlds
seemed to honor our Lord and Master.
Bright star of the night, wheel on in thine
orbit NO" said the star, 81 must
come nearer, and must bend, and l must
watch and see what you do with my Jesus
Another world that nigh joined our world
in worship. That star made bow of
obeisance l sometimes hear people talk of
Christs dominion as though it were to be
W thu Sauv thousand milnS of the
worlds circumference: but | believe the
millions and the billions and the quad
rillions of worlds are all inhabited, if not
by such creatures as we are,
still such creatures as God de-
signed to make, and that all these
worlds are a part of Christ's dominion.
Isaac Newton, and Kepler, and Herschel
only went on Columbus voyage to find
these continents of our Kings domain.
think all worlds were loyal but this.
The great organ of the universe, its pedals
and its pipes and its KEYS all one great
harmony save one injured pedal save one
broken stop-the UOr humdnd of the human
race, the dlsloyal world. Now you know
that however grand the instrument may be,
il there be one key out of order, it spolls
the harmony. And Christ must mend this
KEY. He must restore this broken SOD
You know with what bleeding hand, and
with what pierced side, and with what
crushed foot, he did the work. But the
world shall DO attuned and all worlds will
yet be accordant Isle of Wight
larger in comparison with the Brit~
ish empire than our island of a. world as
compared with Christ's vast domain. If
not, why that celestial escort? II not, why
that sentinel with blazing badge above the
caravansaryl II not, why that midnight
Waterman in the balcony of heavena
Astronomy surrendered that night to Christ.
This planet for Christ. The solar system
IL. Ill
burnt out-all worlds for Christ. Intensest
microscope cannot see the one side of
that domain. FurtheSt reaching telescope
cannot find the other side Of that domain.
But 1 will tell you how the universe is
bounded. 1t is bounded on the north aud
south and east and west aad above and
beneath by God, and that God is Christ,
and that Christ is God, and that God is
ours. Oh, does it not enlarge your ideas of
a Savier's dominion when l tell you that
ali the worlds are only sparks struck from
his anvil that all the worlds are only the
that all the islands of light in immensely
are one great archipelago belonging to our
King
But this scene also impresses me with the
fact that the wise men Of the east came to
Christ. They were not fools, they were
not imbecies. The record distinctly says
that the wise men came to Christ. We say
they were the magi. or they were the
alchemiSts, or they were the astrologists
and we say it with depreciating accentua-
tioD. Why, they were the most splendid
and magnificent men of the century. They
were the naturalsts and the scientists.
They knew all that was known. You must
remember that astrology was the mother of
astronomy. and that alchemy was the
mother Of chemistry. and because children
are brighter than the mother you do not
despise the mother.
1t was the lifelong business of these
astrologers to study the stars. Twenty-Five
hundred and fifty years before Christ was
born the wise men knew the procession of
the equinoxes, and they had calculated the
orbit and the return of the comets Pro-
fessor Smith declares that he thinks they
understood the distance of the sun from the
earth We find in the Book of Job that the
men of olden time did not suppose the world
was fiat as some have said, but that he
knew and the men of his time knew the
world was globular. The pyramids were
built for astrological and astronomical
study. Then, the alchemists spent their
lives in the study of metals and gases and
liquids and solids, and in filling the worlds
library with their wonderful discoveries
They were vastly wise men who came from
the East and tradition says the three wisest
came, Caspar, young man; Balthazar,
a man in mid-life. and Melchoir, an octo-
genarian. The three wisest men of all the
century. They came to the manger.
So it has always been-the wisest men
come to Christ, the brainiest men come to
the manger. Who was the greatest meta
physician this country ever has produced?
Jonathan Edwards, the christian Who was
the greatest astronomer of the world! Her.
schel the christian. Who was the greatest
poet ever producedl John, Milton, the chris
tian. Who was the wisest writer on lawl
Blackstone, the christian. Why is it that
every college and university in the land has
chapelG They mnst have a place for the
wise men TO worship. Come now, let us
understand in ounces and by inches
this whole matter. In post norton
examination the brain of distin-
guished men has been examined, and
will find the largest, the heaviest, the
mightiest brain ever produced in America,
and l will ask what that brain thought of
Christ. Here it is, the brain weighing sixty
three ounces, the largest brain ever pro-
duced in America. Now let me find what
that brain thought Of Christ. In the dying
moment, that man said: Lord l believe,
help thou mine unbelief. Whatever else |
do. Almighty God, receive me to thyself for
ChrisJ's sake. This night shall be in light
and Joy and blessedness." So Daniel
Webster came to the manger. The wise
men of the east followed by the wise men of
the west