The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1891-01-09
holstered forests. But he was born In

1t was in closing December that He
was born to show that this is Christ
for people in sharp blast, for people un-
der clouded sky, for people with frosted
hopes, for people with thermometer
below zero. That is the reason He is so
often found among the destitute. You
can find Him on any night coming off
the moors. You can see Him any night
coming throught the dark lanes of the
city. You can see Him putting His hand
under the fainting head in the pauper's
cabin. He remembers how the wind
whistled around the caravansay in
Bethlehem that December night, and
He is in sympathy with all those who
in their poverty hear the shutters clatter
on a cold night.
But notice also in this account the
three Christmas presents that are
brought to the manger. Gold, franklin
cense and myrrh. Gold to Christ-that
means all the aff1uence of the world
surrendered to Him. For lack of money
no more asylums hmping on their way
like the cripples whom they helped,
feeling their slow way like the blind
people whom they sheltered. Millions
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
Lenoxes no rarity, Bank of England,
Bourse of France, United States Treas
ury, 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 sill
yer for Christ, the jewels for Christ
Australia, Nevada and Golconda for
Christ. The bright, round, beautiful
jewel of world set like a solitaire on
the bosom of Christ.
But notice that these wise men also
shook out from their sacks the myrrh.
The cattle came and they shifted at it.
They did not eat it, because it was bitter.
The pungent gum resin of Abyssinia,
called myrrh, brought to the feet of
Christ. That means bitterness. Bitter
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. 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 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 wrapped in the shroud
of a crucifed Christ. The myrrh. Oh,
the height, the depth, the length, the
breadth of the Saviour's sorrow. Well
might the wise men shake out the
myrrn.
But notice also from another sack
they shake out the frankincense. Clear
up to the rafters of the barn the air is
filed with perfume, and the hostlers
and the camel drivers in the furthest
part of the building inhale it, and it
floats out upon the air until passers-by
wonder who in that rough place could
have by accident dropped box of ala
baster. Frankincense! That lis what
they burned in the censor in the ancient
temple. Frankincense! That means wor-
ship. Franl1incense! That is to fill all the
homes, and all the churches, and all the
capitals, and all the nations, from Gel
lar of stalacitited cave clear up to the
slivery rafters of the starlit dome.
Frankincense. That is what we shake
out of 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 a
worlds alteration. Frankincense.
Frankincense in song, and sermon, and
offertory, and handshaking, and
decoration. Praise Him, mountains,
and hills, valleys and seas, and skies, and
earth, and Heaven-cyclone with your
trumpets, northern lights with your
flaming ensign, morning with your
castles of cloud, and evening with your
billowing clouds of sunset. Do you
know how they used to hold the censer
in the olden time, and what it was made
of? Here is 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 perforated cover. In a
square box the frankincense was
brought to the temple. This franklin
cense was taken out and sprinkled over
the living Goals, and then the perfor-
ated cover was put on, and when they
were all ready for worship, then the
cover was lifted from this censer and
from all the other censers, and the per-
fumed 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 temples,
rising clear up toward the throne of
God. So we have two censers to-day
of Christmas franxincense. Here is
the one censer of earthly franxincense.
On that we put our thanks for
the mercies of the past year, and
mercies of all our past lives, individual
mercies, family mercies, social mercies,
national mercies, and our hearts burn
ing with gratitude send aloft the in
cense of praise toward the throne of
Christ Bring on more incense, and
higher and higher let the columns of
praise ascend. Let them wreath all
these pillars and hover amid all these
arches and then soar to the throne. But
here is the other censer of Heavenly
and worship. Let them
bring all their frankincense, the
cherubim bring theris and the
seraphim theirs and the one hun
dred and forty and four thousand
theirs. and all the eternities theirs, and
let them smoke with perfume on this
Heavenly censer until the cloud can
opies the throne of God. Then take
these two censers-the censer of earth
Iy frankincense and the censer of
Heavenly frankincense-and / swing