The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1890-01-15

depravity. How could they ever come
together? The Gospel bridges over the
distance. 1t brings God to us. 1t takes
us to God. God in us, and we in God.
Atonement! Atonement! Justice salts
fed, sins forgiven, eternal life secured,
heaven built on a manger.
But it was also to be the pacification
of all individual and international ami
mosities. What a sound this word Of
peace had in the Roman empire that
boosted of the number of people it had
massacred, that prided itself on the
number of slain, that rejoiced at the
trembling provinces. Sicily and Corsica
and Sardinia and Macedonia 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 penni-
less, unarmed Christ in the garb
of a 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 fesee. The
greatest music they ever heard was the
clanking chains of their captives. II
all the blood that has been shed in bat
tie could be gathered together it would
upbear a. navy. The club that struck
Abel to the earth has its echo in the
butcheries of all ages. Edmund Burke,
who gave no wild statistics, said that
there had been spent in slaughter thir-
ty-fve thousand millions of dollars, or
what would be equal to that; but he had
not seen into our times, when in our
America, we expended three thousand
millions of dollars in civil war.
0, if we could now take our position
on some high point and see the worlds
armies march past! What a spectacle
it would be! There go the hosts Of
Israel through score of Red seas-one
of water, the rest of blood. There go
Cyrus and his army, with infuriate yell,
reioicingover the fall of the gates Of
Babylon. There goes Alexander, lead
ing forth his hosts, and conquering all
the world but himself, the earth
Keeling with the battle cash of Arbela
and Persepolis. There goes Ferdinand
Cortes, leaving his butchered enemies
on the table lands once fragrant with
vanilla and covered over with groves of
towering cacao. There goes the great
Frenchman, leading his army down
through Egypt like one of its plaques,
and up through Russia like one of its
own icy blasts. Yonder is the grave
trench under the shadow of Sebastopol.
There are the ruins of Delhi and ALA
habad, 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 is trench in
which there lie 100000 Northern and
Southern dead.
o, the tears! 0, the blood! 0, the long
marches! o, the hospital wounds! 0, the
martyrdom! O, the death! But brighter
than the light which flashed on all these
swords and shields and musketry is the
| light that fell on Bethlehem, and louder
than the bray of the trumpets, and the
neighing of the chargers, and the crash
of the walls, and the groaning of the
dying armies, is the song that unrolls
this moment from the sky, sweet as
though all the bells of Heaven rung a
jubilee, "Peace on earth, good will
toward men," O, when will the day
come-God hasten it!-when the swords
shall be turned into plow-shares, and
the fortressess shall be remodeled into
churches, and the men Of blood battling
for renown shall become good soldiers
of Jesus Christ, and the cannon now
striking down whole columns of death
shall thunder the victories of the truth.
When we think of the whole world
saved we are apt to think of the few peo-
pie that now inhabit it. Only very
few, compared with the populations to
come. And what small part cultivated.
Do you know it has been automatically
estimated that three-fourths of Europe
is vet all barrenness, and that nine hun
bred and ninety-one one-thousandth
parts of the entire globe is uncultivated:
This is all to be cultivated, all inhabited,
and all gospelized. o, what tears of re-
pentance when nations begin to weep! O.
what applications when continents be-
gin to pray! o, what rejoicing when
hemispheres begin to sing! Churches
will worship on the places where this
very hour smokes the blood of human
sacrifice, and wandering through the
snake infested jungles of Africa, Christ's
heel will bruise the serpent's head. O.
when the trumpet of salvation shall be
sounded everywhere and the nations
are redeemed, a light will fall upor
every town brighter than that which
fell upon Bethlehem, and more over
whelming than the song that fell on the
pasture fields where the tlockS fed
there will be a song louder thar
the voice of the storm lifted
oceans, "Glory to God in the
highest and from all nations auG
kindred and people and tongues viii
come the response, sand on earth peace
good will toward menr' On this Christ
mas Eve l bring you good tidings o.
great Joy. Pardon for all sin, comfor
for all trouble and life for the dead
Shall we now take this Christ into oul
J hearts? The time is passing. This /.
the closing Of the year. How the time
speeds by! Put your hand on YOU
heart-one, two, three. Three times
less it will beat Life is passing like
gazelles over the plain. Sorrows hovel
like petrels over the sea. Death swoops
: like vulture from the mountains
: Misery rolls up to our ears like waves
Heavenly songs fall to us like stars.
: l wish you merry Christmas, no
with worldly designations, but merr,
with gospel gladness, merry with par
doned sin, merry with hope of reunion
in the skies with all your loved one'
who have preceded you. In that grand
!, est and best sense merry Christmas.
And God grant that in our final mo
ment we may have as bright vision a.
, did the dying girl when she said
'Mother," pointing with her thin white
hand through the window, Mother, wha
, is that beautiful land out yonder be