The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1891-01-08

dark days clouded with sickness, and
chilling with disappointment and suf-
locating with bereavement, and terrific
with wide open graves. Not SPRING
tlme Christ, not a summer Christ. not
an autumnal Christ, but a winter
Christ. On. this suffering and struggling
world needs to be hushed and soothed
and rocked and lullabied in the arms of
sympathetic Omnipotence! No moth
er ever with more tenderness put her
loot on the rocker of tho cradle of a
SICK child than Christ comes dow to US,
TO the invalid world, and he rocks it in
TO placldlty and QuietneSs as he saws.
MY peace give unto you; not as the
world giveth give unto you"
ALL TIE WORLD Is Ills.
But notice also in this account the
Ihree Christmas presents that are
brought TO the manger--gold, franklin
| cense and myrrh. Gold to Christ
that means all the allluence of the world
surrendered to him. For lack of money
no more asylums limping on their way
IKE the crlppleS 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 Lawrcnces and James Lenoxes
no 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 ChristS way shall he paid all
around the world. The gold for Christ,
the silver for Christ, the jewels for
Christ. Australia, Nevada and Golcon-
"a tor Christ. The bright, round, beau
| tlful jewel Of a world set like solitaire
on the bosom Of Christ.
But notice that these wise men also
shook out from the sacks the myrrh.
The cattle came and they Snuffed at it.
They did not eat it because it was bit
ter. The pungent gum resin of Abys-
slana called myrrh brought to the feet
OF Christ. That means bitterness. Bit
ter betrayal, bitter persecution, 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. That is what they strewed
his path with all the way from the cat
tie pen in Bethlehem to the mausoleum
at Joseph's country seat. Myrrh. Yea,
says the Psalmist. "All thy garments
smell of myrrh." That is What the
wise men wrapped in the swaddling
clothes Of the babe. That is what the
Marys twisted in the shroud Of a cruci-
lied Christ. The myrrh. Oh, the
height, the depth, the length, the
breadth of the Saviour's sorrow! Well
might the wise man shake out the
myrrh.
FRANKINCENSE MEANS WORSHIP.
But notice also from another sack
they shake out thefrankincensq. Clear
filled with perfume, and the hostlers
and the camel drivers in the farthest
part of the building inhale it, and it
floats out upon the air until passersby
wonder who in that rough place could
have by accident dropped box of ala
baster. Frankincense. That is what
they burned in the censor in the an
cient temple. Frankincense. That
means worship. 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 starlit dome. Frankincense. That
IS what we shake out from our hearts
to-day, SO that the nostrils of Christ
once crimsoned with the hemorrhage
of the cross shall be flooded with the
perfume of worlds alteration
ErankincenSe. Frankincense IN song
and sermon and offertory and hand
shaking and decoration.
| Praise him, mountains and hills, val
leys end seas, and skies and earth and
heaVen-cyclone with your trumpets.
northern lights with your flaming en-,
| SID .t,,{ Q
cloud, and evening with your billow-
ing clouds of sunset. DO you know
how they used to hold the censer in the
olden time, and what it was made of =
llere is metal pan and the handle by
which 1t was held. In the inside Of
this metal pan were put living Goals,
on the top of them a perforated cover
In square box the frankinCense was
brought to the temples. This franklin
cenSe was taken out and sprinkled over
the living Goals, and then the perrora-
ted cover was put on, and when they
were all ready for worship, then the
cover was lifted from the censer and
from all the other cenSerS. and the per
TUNED smoke arose until it hung amid
all the folds and dropped amid all the
altars, and then rose in great columns
Of praise outside Oh above the temple
rising clear up toward the throne of
God. SO we have two cenSers to-day of
Christmas frankincense. Here is tEc
one censer Of earthly frankincense
On that we put our thanks for the
merces Of the past year, the mercies of
All our past lives, Individual mercies
family mercies, social mercies, national
mercies, and our hearts burning with
gratitude send aloft the incense of
praise toward the throne Of Christ
Bring on more incense, and higher and
higher let the icolumns Of praise as.
cend. Let them wreathe all these pil,
lars and hover amid all these arches
and then soar to the throne. But here
IS the other censer of heavenly thanks
giving and worship. Let them bring
all their frankincense-the cherubin
bring theirs, and the seraphim theirs
and the one hundred and forty.four
thousand theirs, and all the eternities
theirs, and let then smoke with per-
fume on this heavenly censer until the
cloud canopies the throne of God
Then l take these two censers-tbe
censer Of earthly frankincense and the
censes of heavenly frankincense-an