Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1890-01-30

But IL was also to be mission OF peace
to man. Infinite holiness-accumulated
deprayity. How could they ever cont
together? The Gospel bridges over the
distance. 1t brings God to rs. 1t takes
us to God. God in us, AMI we in God
Atonement Atonement! Justice salts
fed, sins forgiven, eternal life secured,
heaven built on manger.
But it was also to be the pacifcation
of all individual and international anS
mosities. What 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
Caesar-all men of blood. What contempt
they must have had there for the penni-
less, unarmed Christ in the garb
of Nazarene, starting out to
conquer all nations. There never
was a 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
all the blood that has been shed in bat
tie could be gathered together 1t 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-five thousand millions of dollars, or
what would BIO equal to that; but he had
not seen into our times, when in our
own times, when in our own day, in
America, we expended three thousand
millions Of dollars in civil war.
O, if we could now take our position
op some high point and see the worlds
armies march pastl What spectacle
it would bel There go the hosts of
Israel through a score of Red seas-one
of water, the rest of blood. There go
Cyrus and his army, with infuriate yell,
rejoicing over 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 a trench in
which there lie 1000, 900 Northern and
Southern dead.
o, the tears! O, the blood! o, the long
marches o. the hospital woundsl o, the
martyrdoml 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 q
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 THAI now inhabit it. Only a very
few, compared with the populations to
come. And what a small part cultivated
Do Won know it has been automatically
estimated that three-fourths OF Europe
is yet All barrenness, and that nine hun
dred and ninety-ono one-thousandth
parts OF the entire globe is uncultlvated?
This is all to be cultivated, all inhabited,
and all gospelized. o, what tears Of re-
pentance when nations begin to weep O,
what supplications when continents be-
gin to pray! O, what rejoicing when
bemispheres begin to singl Churches
will worship on the places where this
very hour smokes the blood of human
sacrifice, and wandering through the
snake infested iungles 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 upon
every town brighter than that which
fell upon Bethlehem, and more over
whelming than the song that fell on the
pasture fields where the focks fed,
there will be a song louder than
the voice Of the storm lifted
oceans, "Glory to God in the
highest" and from all nations aud
kindred and people and tongues viii
come the response, "And on earth peace,
good will toward menl" On this Christ
mas Eve / bring you good tidings of
great Joy. Pardon for all sin. comfor,
for all trouble and life for the deaS
Shall we now take this Christ into our
hearts? The time is passing This is
the closing of the year. How the time
speeds BY Put your hand on your
heart-one, two, three. Three times
less it will beat. Life is passing like
gazelles over the plain. Sorrows hover
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 a merry Christmas, not |