The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1890-01-02

uoeS NOT iroWn upon amusements
and recrcatlons. IL is not synic, IL Is not
shrow, IL chokes no laughter, IL queuches no
light it defaces no art Among the happy,
1t is the happiest. IL Is Just rs much at homo
on the playground as IL Is in the church. It
Is just as graceful in the charade as IL is in
the psalm book II sings just as well in Sur
rey gardens as II prays In St Paurs. Christ
died that we might live Christ walked that
we might ride Christ wept that VIZ might
laugh.
Again, my subject impresses mo with tho
fact that glorious endings sometimes have
very humble beginnings The straw pallet
was the starting point but tho shout In the
midnight sky revealed what would bs the
glorious consummation. Christ on Marys
lap, Christ on the throne OF universal do
minion-what an humble starting! What n
glorious endingl Grace begins on n small
scale in the heart You see only mon rs tress
walking. The grace Of God in the heart is
feoble spark, aud Christ has 81 keep both
hands over II lest IL be blown out What an
humble beginning But look at that same man
when He has enterel heaven. No crown able
to express His royalty No palace able to OK.
press His wealth. No sceptrc abo 10 oxprass
His power and His dominion. Drinking from
the fountain that drips from tho everlasting
Rock. Among the harpers harping with their
harps. On sea OF glass minglc with iirc.
Before tho throne Of God, TO 20 no more ont
forever. The spark of grace that Christ had
20 keep both hands over lest IL come 20 OK.
tnction, having famed up into honor ani
,Sory and immortality. What humble start.
ihgl What glorious contamination!
The New Testament Church was on
small scale. Fishermen watched IL. Ayninst
the uprising walls crashed informal enginrry.
The world said nnathcml. Ton thDus,ul
people rojoiced Mt every seeming dcfclt, onl
said: "Ahal aha 81 We would have it,
Martyrs on fire cricl "How long, o Lord
how longY Very humble starting, but SEQ
the difference at the con,umn1tiDn, wh'n
Christ with His almighty arm has struck or
the last chain of human bondage and
Himalnya shall b. Mount Zion. aud
Pyreneos, Moriah and oceans, tho walking
place Of Him who trod the wave cliffs of
stormcd Tiberias, and island shall call to
island, sea 10 sea, continent to continent, aud
the song of the worlds redemption rising
the heavens like n great sounding board
shall strike back the shout of salvation 10
the earth until itrcbounds again TO the throne
of God, ami all heaven, rising on their
thrones, beat time with their scepters. oh,
what an humble beginning What glorious
endingl Throne linked 10 manger, heavenly
mansions to a stable.
My subject also impresscs me with the cf-
fcct OF Christs mission upward and down.
ward. Glory, to God, peace 10 man. When
God sent His Son into the world, angels dis
covered something new in God, something
they had never seen before. Not power, not
wisdom, not love. They knew all that be-
fore. But when God sent His Son into this
world then the angels saw the spirit OF self
denial In God, the spirit Of solf-sacrihce in
God II is easier To love an angel on His
throne than n thief on the cross u seraph
in his worship than an adultereSs 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,
Ills Son, His only, only Son, they saw
something that they had never thought OF
before, and do not wonder that when Christ
started out en- that pilgrimage the angels in
heaven clapped their wings in triumph and
called on all the hosts of heaven To help them
celebrate IL, and sang SO loud that the Beth
lehem shepherds heard it, "Glory to God in
tho highest"
But it was also to be mission OF peacc to
man. Infinite holineSs-accumulated de-
pravity. How could thcy ever como TO-
gethcr! Tho Gospel bridges over tho dis
God. God in us, and we in God. Atone
lnentl Atonementl Justice satisfied, sins
forgiven, eternal life secured, heaven built
on a manger.
But it was also TO be the pacitlcation of all
individual and international auimosities
What sound this word of peace had In the
Roman Empire that boosted of the number
OF people it had massacred, that pridcd itself
on the number of the slain, that roioicel
at the trembling provinces. Sicily and Cor
sica and Sardinia and Macedonia and Egypt
had bowed To her sword and crouchcd at the
cry of her war eagles. She gave her chief
honor to Scpio and Fabius aud C;esar-al
mon of blood. What contempt they must
have had there for the pcnnilcSs, unarmed
Christ in the garb of NaZarns, starting out
20 conquer all nations. There never was
place on earth whore that word peace sounded
~ extensively 10 the cars of the multitude rs in
the Roman Empire. They did not want peace.
Tho greatest music they ever heard was tho
clanting chains Of their captives. II all tho
blood that has bean shed IN blttlo could bo
gathered together il would upbcar "A navy.
The club that struck Abel b. tho earth has is
echo In the butchcrics Of all ages. Edmund
Burke, who gave no wild statistics, said that
there hal been sp,nt in slaughter thirty-iiye
thousand millions of dollars or what would
be equal to that; but he had not seen into
our times, when in our own day, IN America,
we expended three thousand millions of dol.
lars in civil war.
Oh, II We could now take our position on
some high point AMI $50 the worlds armies
march past! What nspsctacle IL would be!
There go the hosts Of Israel through n scoro
OF Red scas-one OF wator, tho rest OF blood.
There go Cyrus and his army with inturiats
yell rejoicing over the fall of ths gates OF
Babylon. There goes Alexander, leading
forth his hosts ani conlusriny all the world
but himself, the earth reeling with the bat
tle cash OF Arb3la AMI Persepolis There
goes feriinRni CDrte5, leaving his buJhcrAl
enomies on tho table lands one, fra.
grant with vanilla and covered over
with groves OF towering cacl1. Thsr1
goes the great Frenchman, leading his army
down through Egypt like one OF It's plaques,
and up through Russia like ono of iti own icy
blasts. Yonder is the grave trcnch under tho
shadow OF Sebastopol There ara the ruins
OF Delhi and Allahaba1, and yonlcr aro the
! inhuman Sepoys AMI tho bravo regiments
under Hlvclock aycnging the in3utcl nag OF
Britain; while cut right through tho hsart of
my native land Is n trench in which there lic
| one million Northern AMI Southern deal.
Oh, tho toarsl Oh, the blooll On, the long
marchesl Oh, the hospital wounds! Oh, tbs
martyrdom Oh, the death But brighter
than the light which haShel on all these
swords and shields aud mus,;etry is the II sht
that fell on Bethlehem nnl Ion ler than the
bray OF the trumpsts, all tho u1ighing OF tho
chargers, and the crash of tIe walls, aud tho
groaning OF the dying armies, is the song
that unrolls this moment from tho sky,
, sweet rs though all the bells OF heavsn
ruug jubilee; "Peac9 on earth good will
toward men" Oh, when VIII the day come
God hasten it!-when the swords shall ba
turned into plowshaTes, and tho fortre,,es
shall be remodelel into churches aud the
men Of blood battling for renown shall bs-
come good soldiers OF Jesus Christ, and the
cannon now striking down whole columns OF
delth shall thunder thS victories of tho