Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1890-11-08

Lord sitteth upon the circle of the earth !"
Scientists toiled On for centuries and found
out refraction or that the rays Of light when
touching the earth were not straight, but
bent or curved. Why, Job knew that when
ages before in the Bible he wrote of the light:
1T is turned as clay to the seal.
In the old cathedrais of England modern
painters IN the repair of windows are trying
to make something as good as the window
painting of four hundred years ago, and
always falling by the unanimous serdict OF
all who examine and compare. The color OF
modern painting fades in fifty years. while
the color of the old masters is as well pre-
served after five hundred years as after one
year. saw last winter on the walls of ex-
humed Pompeii paintings with color as fresh
as though made the day before, though they
were buried eighteen hundred years ago.
The making of Tyrian purple is an impossi-
biiity now. In our modern potteries we are
trying hard to make cups and pitchers and
bowels as exquisitely as those exhume1 from
Hercuianeuni, and our artifieers are at
tempting to make jewelry for ear
and neck and finger equal to that
brought up from the mausoieums of two
thousand years before Christ. We have in
our time glass in ell shapes and all colors
tut Piiny, more than eighteen hundred years
ago, described a maiieable glass which, il
thrown upon the ground and dented, could
be pounded straight again by the hammer OF
could be TWISTED around the wrists, and that
eonfounds all the glass manufacturers of
our own time | tried in Damascus, Syria,
10 buy Damascus blade, one of those swords
that could be bent double or tied in a knot
without breaking. | could not get one.
Why? The Nineteenth century cannot make
a Damascus blade. Ii we 90 on enlarging
our cities we may after a while get a city as
large as Babylon, which was five times the
size of London.
These aquaduets of Solomon that visit to-
day. finding them in good condition three
thousand years after construction make ma
think that the world may have forgotten
more than it now knows. The great honor
Of our age is not machinery for the ancients
had some styles of it more wonderful; nor
art, for the aneients had art more exquisite
and durable. nor architecture, for Roman
Coliseum aud 6rscian Acropolis surpass all
modern architecture; nor cities, for some of
the ancient cities wera larger than ours in
the sweep OF their pom }. But our attempts
must be III moral achievement and gospel
victory. In that we have already surpassed
them, and in that direction let the ages push
on Let us brag less of worldly achievement
and thank God for moral opportunity.
More good men and cool women is what the
world wants. Toward moral elevation and
spiritual attainment let the chief struggle
De. The source of all that | will show you
before shutdown of this day on which we have
visited the pools of Solomon and the gardens
OF the king.
We are on this December afternoon on the
way to the cradle of Him who called Himself
greater than Solomon. We are coming upon
the chief cradle of all the world, not lined
with satin, but strewn with straw; not
sheltered by palace but covered by barn;
not presided over by princess but lowered
over by a peasant girl; yet cradle the
Of
lullaby of which is the first Christmas carol
ever sung. and from which all the events OF
the past and all the events of the future have
and must take date as being b. G. or A. D.
before Christ or alter Christ All eternity
past occupied n getting ready for this cradle,
and all eternity to come to be employed in
celebrating its consequences.
1 SAID TO the tourist companies planning
our oriental journey, 'Put us in BethIe-
hem in December, the place and the month
of our Lords birth, and we had our wish.
| am the only man who has ever attempted
TO tell how Bethlehem looked at the sea-
son Jesus was born. Tourists and writers
are there in February, or March, or April,
when the valleys are an embroidered sheet
of wild flowers, and anemones and rauun-
cuus are flushed as though from atten pting
TO climb the sleeps, and Lark and but-
finch are flooding the air with bird orches-
ira But | was there in December, a winter
month, the barren beach between the two
oceans of redolence. 1 was told I must
not go there at that season, told 50 before
l started, told so in Egypt; the books told
me 50; all travellers that consulted about
1t told me SO. But | was determined to
see Bethlehem the same month in which
Jesus arrived, and nothing could dissuade
me. Was | not right in wanting to know
how the Holy Land looked when Jesus came
to it? He did not land amid flowers and
song. When the angels chanted on the
famous birthnight all the fields of -Palestine
were silent. The glowing skies were an
s~ered by gray rocks. As Bethlehem stood
against bleak wintry sky climbed up to
it, as through a bleak wintry sky Jesus de-
scendet upon it. His way down was from
warmth to Chill, from bloom to barrenness,
from everl 4stins June TO sterile December
# | were going TO Palestine as botanist and
to study the fora of the land l would go in
March; but | went as minister Of Christ to
study Jesus and SO l went in December. |
wanted to see how the worlts front door
looGei when the heavenly Stranger entered
it.
The town of Bethlehem to my surprise, is
in the saGpe of horseshoe, the houses ex-
tending clear onto the prongs Of the horse
shoe, the whole scene more rough and rude
than can be imagined. Verify, Christ did
not choose a SOFT genial place in which to be
born. The gate through which our Lord en-
tel ell this world was gate of rock hard.
cold gate, and the gate through which He de-
pa ted was a SWIM gate Of sharpened spears
We enter gloomy church built by CoDstan-
tine over the place IN which Jesus was born.
Fifteen lamps burning day and night and
from century 10 century light our way to ths
spot which all authorize Christian and Jew
and Mohammedau. sgree upon as being the
place OF our SariouF's hirsh and covered pv
marble slab marIed by a silver star sent
IRON Vienna, and the words: Here Jesus
Christ was born of the Tir-in Mary
SUI stanulng ahere | thought. though this
is the place of The nativity. how different tit e
surroundings OF the wntrv night in which
Jesus camel At that time il was a khan. or
cattle pen. / visited one of these khans.
now standing and oozin iuss as in Christ's
time. We rode in under the archeI entrance
and dismonnted. We found the building o.
stone, and around an open square, without
roof. The building is more than two thou
sand years OLD. 1t IS two stories high: in
the center are camels, horses and mules.
Caravans halt here for the night or during
long storm. The open square is large
enough to accommodate whole herd of cat
tie, flock OF sheep or caravan of camas
The neighboring Be louins here find market
Tor their hay; straw and meats. Of from
this center there are twelve rooms for hui
man Meditation. The only light is from the
door. went iuto one of these rooms and
found a woman cooking the evening meal.
There were SIX cows in the same room. On
a little elevation there was some straw where
the people sat and slept when they wished to
rest 1t was in u room similar to that our
Lord was born
This was the cradle of a King, aud yet
what cradle ever held SO much? Civiliza-
ton! Libertyl Redemption! Your par
y
heaven and miuel Cradle OF universal
Cradle of God The gardens of Solomon
We VISITED this morning were only type of
what all { e word will be when this Illus
trious parsonage now bora shall have COM
pleted His mission. The horses of finest limb,
and gayes6 champ Of bit and subimest arch
of nees. that ever brought Solomon down to
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
sb~u follow Him on white horses" The
Wa RS that ru3h down thess hills into yon-
der three great reservoirs of rock, and then
pour in marvellous aqueduct 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 tlis great ones coming, shall
roll on for the shaking of the thirst of all ma =
tons. The palace of Lebanon cedar. from
which the imperial cavalcade passed out in
the early morning. ana to which it returned
with glowing cheel. 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