Marble Hill press., 1890-02-13

like Paul, be shipWreckoos out eAs
you to be Of good cheer, for you shall Gl
escape safe to the land. Religion does not
show itself in the elonRstion OF the facs
and the cut of the garb. The Pharisee
who puts his religion into his phylsctery
has none left for his heart Fretfulness
and complaining do not belong to the
family Of Christian grsces which move into
the heart when the devil moves out Chris
tianity does not frown upon amusements
and recreations. 1t is not cynic, it 10 not
shrewd, it chokes no laughter, It quenches
no light, it defaces no art Among the hap
py, it is the happiest 1t Is Just a. much at
home on the playground as It 10 In the
church. It 10 Just as graceful in the charade
as It is in tho psalm book 1t sings Just a.
well In Surry gardens a. It prays in st
Paul's. Christ died that we might live.
Christ walked that we might ride Christ
wept that we might laugh.
Again my subject imnresses mo with the
fact that glorious endings sometimes have
very humble beginnings Tho straw palate
was the starting point but the shout in the
midnight sky revealed what would be the
glorious consummation. Christ on Mary's
lap, Christ ON the throne OF universal do
glorious ending! Grace begins on small
scale in the heart You see only men as
trees walking. The grace Of God in the
heart is feble spark. and Christ has to keep
both hands over it lest it he blown out What
an humble beginning But look at that same
man when he has entered heaven. No crown
able to express his royalty. No palace able
to express his wealth. No scepter able to
express his power and his dominion Drink
ing from tho fountain that drips from the
everlasting Rock. Among the harpers
harping with their harps. On q sea Of
glass mingled with fire. Before the throne
of God, to go no more out forever. The
! spark OF grace tnat Christ had to keep both
hands over lest it come to extinction, hav-
ing famed up into honor and glory and i'm
mortality. What humble startingl What
glorious cOnsummati0n!
The New Testament church was ON
small scale. Fishermen watched it
Against tho uprising walls crashed infer.
mai enginery The world said anathema.
Ten thousand people rejoiced at every
seeming defeat, and said: "Aha! aha! 80
we would have it." Martyrs on fire cried:
"How long o Lord, how lonRn Very
humble starting, but SEQ the difference at
the consummation, when Christ with his
almighty arm has struck off the last
! chain OF human bondage, and
/ Himalaya shall be Mount Zion; and
! Pyrenees, Moriah; and oceans, the
walking place OF him who trod the wave
cliffs Of stormed Tiberias, and island shall
call to island. sea to sea, continent to con-
tinent, and, the song OF the worlds redemp-
tion rising, the heavens, like great sound
ing board, shall strike back the shout OF
salvation to the earth until 1t rebounds
again TO the throne Of God, and all heaven,
rising on their thrones, beat time with
their scepters. Oh, what an humble be-
ginning! What a glorious ending!
Throne linked to q manger heavenly man
slons to stable.
My subject also impresses me with the
effect of Christ's mission upward and
downward. Glory to God, peace to man.
When God sent his son into the world, an
gels discovered something new in God,
something they had never seen before
Not power, not wisdom, not love. They
knew all that before. But when God sent
his son into this world then the angels saw
the spirit of self denial in God, the spirit
of self sacrifice in God. 1t is easier
to love an angel on his throne than
q thief on the cross, q seraph In
his worship than an adultress in her crime.
When the angels saw God-the God who
would not allow the most insignificant
angel In heaven to be hurt-give up his
Son, his Son, his only, only Son, they saw
something that they had never thought of
before, and l do not wonder that when
Christ started out on that pilgrimage the
angels in heaven clapped their wings in
triumph and called on all the hosts OF
heaven to help them celebrate it, and sang
so loud that the bethlehem shepherds heard
it: "Glorv to God in the highest"
But it was also to be u mission of pc ice
to man. Infinite oliness-accumulated de.
pravity. How could they ever come togeth-
er! The Gospel bridges over the distance.
1t brings God TO us. 1t takes us to God.
God in us, and we in God. Atonement! !
Atonementl Justice satisfied, sins forgiv.
en-, eternal life secured, heaven huilt on
manger
But it was also to be the pacifcation Of
all individual and international animoslties.
What sound this word of peace had in the
Roman empire that boasted of the number
of people it had massacred, that prided it.
self on the number Of the slain, that re-.
ioiced at the trembling provinces. Sicily
and Corsica and Sardinia and Mrcedonia
and Egypt had bowed to her sword and
crouched at the cry Of her war eagles She
gave her chief honor to Scipio and Fabius
and Cesar-all men Of blood. What contempt
they must have had there for the penniless,
unarmed Christ in the garb of Nazarene,
starting out to conquer all nations. There
never was place on earth where that word
peace sounded so extensively to the ears of
the multitude as in the Roman empire,
They did not want peace. The greatest
music they ever heard was the clanking
chains of their captives. II oil the blood
that has been shed in battle could be gath.
cred together 1t would upbear navy. The
club that struck Abel to the earth has its
echoe in the butcheries of all ages. Ed.
mund Burke, who gave no wild statistics,
said that there had been spent In slaughter
thirty-fve thousand millions Of dollars, or
what would be equal to tnat; but he had
not seen into our times, when in our own
day, in America we expended three thou.
sand millions Of dollars in civil war.
Oh II we could now take our position on
some high point and see the worlds armies
| uioAeh Po"ot w NOV u oP0CboCAo ~ WOuku w
There 20 the hosts Of Israel through score
of Red seas--one of water, the rest of blood.
There 60 Cyrus and his army, with inturi.
ate yell rejoicing over the fall of the gates
of Babylon. There goes Alexander, lead
ing forth his hosts aud conquering all the
world but himself, the earth reeling with
the battle cash Of Arbela and Persepolls.
There goes Ferdinand Cortes. leaving his
butchered enemies on the table lands once
fragrant with vanilla and covered over
with groves Of Towering caoao. There
goes the great Frenchman, leading his
army down through Egypt like one Of its
plaques, and up through Egypt like one Of
its own icy blasts. Yonder il the grave
trench under the shadow Of Sebastopol.
There are the ruins Of Delhi and Allahabad
and yonder are the inhuman Sepoys and
the brave regiments under Havelock
avenging the insulted flag Of Britain while
cut right through the heart of my native
land 10 trench In which there lie one
million northern and southern dead.
Oh, the tears! Oh, the blood! Oh, the
long marches Oh, the hospital wounds
On, the death! But brighter than the
light which flashed on all these shields and
J ulrotu t. - ~