The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-11-19
what all the worlc viii be when this illus.

| what all the worlc VIII be when this Illus
trious persoDage now born shall have COM
pleted His mission. The horses Of finest limb,
and gayest champ Of bit, and sublimest arch
these adjoining gardens was but poor type
Of the horse upon which this conqueror born
In the barn, shall ride, when according to
apocalyptic vision all the 'armies Of heaven
| shall follow Him on white horses" The
waters that rush down these hills into yon-
der three great reservoirs Of rock, and then
pour in marvellous aaueduct into Jerusa-
lem till the brazen sea is full, and the baths
| are full, and Sloan Is full, are only an i'm
perfect type Of the rivers Of delight, which,
as the result Of this great ones coming, shall
roll on for the slaking of the thirst of all na
| ions. The palace Of Lebanon cedar, from
which the imperial cavalcade passed out in
tne early morning, and to which it returned
with glowing cheek and gingling harness and
lathered sides, is feeble of architecture
compared with the house Of many mansions
into which this one born this winter month
! on these bleak heights shall conduct US when
our sins are all pardoned, our battles all
fought, our tears all wept, our work all
done.
Standing here at Bethlehem dc you not
see that the most hoaored thing In all the
earth Is the cradle? To what else did
loosened star ever point7 To what else did
heaven lower balconies Of light filled with
chanting immortals? The way the cradle
rocks the world rocks. God bless the
mothers all the world over! The cradles
decide the destinies of nations. In ten thou
sand Of them are this moment the hands that
will yet give benediction Of mercy or hurl
bolts OF doom, the feet that will mount the
sleeps toward God or descend the blasted
way, the lips that will pray or blaspheme.
ho ie f-or xboS
the grave. Where are most of the
leaders Of the twentieth century soon
to dawn upon us? Are they on
thrones? No. In chariots? No. In pull
pitsP No. In forums? No. In senatorial
hallsp No. In counting houses? No. They
are in the cradle. The most tremendous
thing in the universe and next to God is TO
be mother. Lord Shaftesbury said, "Give
me generation Of Christian mothers and I
twelve months" Oh, the cradlel Forget
not the one in which you were rocked.
Though old and worn out that cradle may be
standing in attic or barn, forget not the foot
that swayed it, the lips that sang over it,
the tears that dropped upon it. the faith in
God that made way for it. The boy Walter
Scott did we'll when he spent the first five
guinea piece he ever earned as a present to
his mother.
Dishonor not the cradle, though it may,
IKE IKE the s one ne m my sermon celebrates have
a Christian cradle. That was a great cradle
in which Martin Luther lay, for from it
came forth the reformation Of the Six
teenth century. That was great cradle in
which Daniel O'Connel lay, for from it
came forth an eloquence that will be in
spring while men have eyes to read or ears
to hear. That was great cradle in which
Washington lay, for from it came forth
the happy deliverance Of nation. That
v.aa Vas great o cradle eo j. in o.a which foth John
mercy that will not cease until the last
dungeon gets the blpls ana light and fresh
air. Great cradles In which the John Wes-
leys and the John Kno1es and the John
Masons lay, for from them came forth an
all conquering evangelizatlon. But the
greatest cradle in which child ever slept, or
woke, laughed or cried was the cradle over
which Mary bent and to which the wise men
brought frankincense and upon which the
heavens dropped song Had there been no
manger, there had been no cross. Had there
been no Bethlehem, there had been no Col
gotha. Had there been no incarnation, there
had been no ascension. Had there been no
start, there had been no close.
Standing in the chill khan Of Saviour's
humiliation, and seeing what He did for us,
I ask, What have we done for Him? There
is nothing can do" says one. As Christmas
was approaching in the village church a
good woman said to group Of girls in lowly
do something for Christ" After the day
was over she asked the group to tell her what
they had done. One said: II could not do
much, for we are very poor, but I had
beautiful flower had carefully trained In
our home. and thought much of it, and
put that flower on the church altar" And
another said, 81 could not do much, for we
are very poor, but can sing little, and so
I went down to poor sick woman in the lane,
and sang as well as could, to cheer her up. q
Christmas song" swell, Helen, what did
YOU do?' She replied, "Icould not do much.
but wanted to do something for Christ, and
I could think Of nothing else to do, and so
went into the church after the people who
had been adorning the altar had left, and I
scrubbed down the altar back stairs" Beau
tiful! I warrant that the Christ Of that
Christmas Day gave her as much credit for
that earnest act as He may have given to the
robed official who on that day read for the
people the prayers of a resounding service.
Som ,thing for Christ! Something for
A plain man passing fortress saw Rus
sian soldier on guard in terribly cold night,
and took off his coat and gave it to tie sol.
dier, saying, twill soon be home and warm,
and you will be out here all night" So the
soldier wrapped himself in the borrowed
coat. The plain man who loaned the coat to
the soldier soon after was dying, and In his
dream saw Christ and said to Him, You
have got my coat on" YES" said Christ;
''this is the one you lent Me on that cold
night by the fortress. was naked, and ye
clothed Me-" Something for Christ! By the
memories of Bethlehem l adjure you!
In the light Of that star
Lie the ages empesrled.
That song from nfar
Has swept over the world.