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

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[ when the Mayfiower wbarfed at Plymouth
rock, and in the years that went by the
graves digged were more in number than
the houses built Oh. tell you, we want a
December Christ, not a Christ for fair
weather, but a Christ for dark days
clouded with sickness, and chilling
with disappointment and sufocating
with bereavement, and terrific with
wide open graves. Not spring-time Christ.
not a summer Christ, not an autumnal
Christ, but q winter Christ. Oh, this suffer
ing and struggling world needs to be
hushed, and soothed, and rocked, and lula
bied in the arms Of sympathetic Omnipo-
tence. 10 mother ever with more tender
IT IS put her foot on the rocker OF cradle
OF a sick child than Christ comes down TO
US, to this invalid world, and he rocks 1t
into placidity and quietness as he says:
MY peace l give unto you; not as the
world giveth. give i unto you"
Notice also q fact which no one seems to
notice, that this Christ was born among the
sheep, and the CATTLE and the horses, and
| the camels, in order that he might be an
alternating influence to the whole animal
creation. 1t means mercy for overdriven,
underfed, poorly sheltered, CALLED and mai
| treated animal creation. Hath the Christ
who conn AIRED him elf to a dove no care for
the cruelties Of the pigeon shootingi Hath
| the Christ who compared himself to lamb
| uO care IOT bu6 SUecp IudL are lTttu
contOrted. and with neck over the sharp
edge of the butchers cart. or the cattle
train in hot weather from Omaha
to New York, with no water-ffteen
hundred miles OF agony! Hath the Christ
whose tax was paid by a fish, the coin
taken from its mouth, no care for the
| tossing fins in the fish market! Hath the
| Christ who strung with his own hand the
nerves of dog and cat no indig lation for the
| horrors n Vi Vi ar iSf
| who said go to the anti no watchfulness
for the transfixed insects! Hath the Christ
who said 'BeIold the fowls of the air. him.
self never beheld the outrages heaped upon
the brute creation, which cannot articulate
| its grief! This Christ came not only To lift
the human race out of its trouble, but to
| lift out of pang and hardship the animal
creation. In the glorious millennial time
! the child Shall lead the lion and play with
the cockatrice only because brute and rep
| tile shall have no more wrongs to avenge.
| To alleviate the condition of the brute crea-
ton Christ was born in cattle pen. The
first bleat of the Lamb Of God heard amid
the tired f1ocks of the Bethlehem shepherds.
The white horse Of eternal victory stabbed
in barn.
But notice also in this account the three
| Christmas presents that are brought to the
manger. Gold, frankincense ard myrrh.
| Gold to Christ-that means all the affluence
| Of the world surrendered to him. For lack
| of money no more asylums limping on their
! way like the cripples whom they helped,
| feeling their slow way like the blind people
| whom they sheltered. Millions of dollars
| for Christ where there are now thousands
for Christ. railroads. owned by christian
stockholders and governed by christian
| directors and carrying passengers and
freight at christian prices. George Peabodys
and Abbott Lawrences and James Len
oxes no rarity. Bank Of England, Bourse
of France, United States treasury all the
| moneyed institutions of the world for
Christ. The gold for Christ ~. Gold not
merely paid the way Of Joseph and Mary
and the divine fugitive into Egypt, but it
was typical of the fact that Christ's way
shall be paid all around the world. The
| gold for Christ, the silver for Christ, the
| jewels for Christ. Australia, Nevada and
Golconda for Christ. The bright, round
beautiful jewel of a world set like solitaire
on the bosom of Christ
But l notice that these wise men also
shook out from their sacks the myrrh. The
| cattle came and they suuffed at it. They
| did not eat it because 1t was bitter. The
pungent gum resin of Abyssinia called
| myrrh brought to the feet of Christ That
means bitterness. Bitter betrayal, bitter
| prosecutions. bitter days of suffering, bitter
nights of woe. Myrrh. That is what they
put into his cup when he was dying. Myrrh.
! That is what they put under his head in the
| wilderness Myrrh. That is what they
strewed his path with all the way from the
cattle pen in Bethlehem to the mausoleum
at Joseph's country place. Myrrh. Yea,
says the Psalmst: ''All thy garments smell
of myrrh." That is what the wise men
wrapped in the swadding clothes of the
babe That is what the Marys twisted in
the shroud Of a crucified Christ The myrrh
Isr.aN -
| breadth of the Savior's sorrow. Well might
the wise men shake out the myrrh.
But notice also from another sack they
shake out the frankincense. Clear up to
the rafters of the barn the air is filled with
| perfume, and the hostlers and the camel
drivers i'll the furthest part of the building
inhale it, and it floats out upon the air until
passers-by wonder who in that rough place
coule have by accident dropped box of
alabaster. Franlincense. That is what
| they burned in the censor in the ancient
temple. Frankincense That means wor-
ship. Frankincense. That is TO fill all the
homes. and all the churches, and all the
capitals, and all the nations, from
cellar of stalactited cave clear up
to the silvery rafters of the starlt
dome. Frankmcense. That is what we
shake out from our hearts today, so that
| the nostrils of Christ, once crimsoned with
the hemmorrhags of the cross, shall be
flooded with the perfume Of a worlds adora-
ton. Frankincense. Frankncese in song,
and sermon, and offertory, and handshak-
ing, and decoration. Praise him, mount
aims and hills, valleys and seas, and skies
| and earth and heaven-cycone with your
trumpets, northern lights with your flaming
ensign, morning with your castles Of cloud,
and evening with your billowy clouds of
sunset. Do you know they used to hold the
censor in the olden time, and
what it was made of. Here is a metal pan
and the handle by which it was
held. In the inside Of this metal pan were
put living Goals, on the top of them a per-
forated cover. In a square box the frank
incsse was brought to the temple. This
frankincense was taken out and sprinkled
over the living Goals, and then the per-
forated cover was put on, and, when thew
were all ready for worship, then the cover
was lifted from this censor and from all the
other censers, and the perfumed smoke
arose until it hung amid all the folds and
dropped amid all the affairs, and
then rose in great columns of praise
outside or above the temple, rising
clear up toward the throne of God. SO
we have two censers to-day of Christ
mas frankincense. Here is the one censor
of earthly frankinceuse. Ga that we put
our thanks for the mercles of the past year,
the mercies of all our past lives, Individual
mercies. family mercies, social mercies, ma
tional mercies and our hearts burning with
gratitude send aloft the incense of praise
| toward the throne of Christ Rripo, ON