The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1891-12-26

Il ~ DA1L hhONIIO- ~ L
! Bearing His great name and welding His
mighty scepter, she went forth from Call
| vary and Jerusalem; to shatter the forces of
/ darkness, to dethrone earthly dominions
and municipalities, 10 build UP her en-
pre- and gather in her subjects from every
class and from every cline; speedy was
her success, astonishing were her
triumphs.
No less beneficent than ample were
those triumphs. They brought into a
| dead and darkened world the light of
| life. They spread on every hand such
| blessings as victory is not wont to bestow.
They were prolific of peace, such as earth
cannot give; OF joy such as it cannot take
! away. They lifted up besotted nations
from the slough of ignorance and vice
and started them upon new plane OF
thought and progress. They inspired
man given over to carnal lust
and plunged into the grossest folly
with an ambition worthy of his
nature and of his destiny. They woke
! civilization from its grave, and rescued
knowledge, truth and morality from utter
humiliation. They made the wilderness
a standing water, and water springs of q
dry ground. They unrolled the piano.
rama of life, and pointed out its dangers
and Its duties. They unveiled the secrets
OF the tomb, and let in upon it the glory
OF heaven. They stopped the ravages of
sin, COMPOUNDED the policy of Satan, Sc
cured the prey from The grasp of the
fspoiler, and from a ransomed race evoked
the angelic anthem, Glory to God in the
highest, peace on earth good will to men,"
! The review of this magnificent prophecy
urges with special force two virtues of no
mean account in the Christian character;
| gratitude in view of the past, and faith in
! the future.
What hath God wrought may we well
say. in looking back upon the course of
his providence and grace. Momentous
and most blessed have been the changes
which have taken place since Isaiah ut
! tered his sublime oracleS. One dispense
ton has passed away; another and bet
ter one has taken its place. Types have
| been exchanged for realities; Shadows
| turned into substance;
PROPHECY HAS BECOME HISTORY.
That which holy men of old dimly fore
casted, and yearned with mex pressible
desire to see, we gaze upon with open
vision.
The cloud has rolled away, and upon
the land OF shadows and darkness hath
arisen a great light. Not the mingled
emotions of seed time and Of conflict
are ours, but the assured joy of harvest
and of victory. God hath actually sent
His Son into the world, to be born of a
woman, to be manifested in flesh. God
hath seated Him upon the throne of His
father David, to order it, and to establish
it from henceforth, even forever. The
story OF the incarnation is familiar to our
ears; its results are written out upon the
sacred pages of the Gospel, and in char
acters, If possible, still more legible and
luminous, upon the living heart of hui
manity. The Redeemer is ours; His
church is our portion.
BEHOLD THAT CHURCH!
Not as of old, tossed upon the waters of a
drowning world, not the sanctuary of a
household, not pitching her tents in the
barren wilderness, not shrined within a
temple made with hands, not oflocal inter-
est and of transient Duration; but behold
her, immutable and eternal, radiant with
heavenly beauty and marching on to uni
versal empire. This church is ours, and
we are Christ's, and Christ's is Gods.
Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
gift Thanksgiving and praise, are the
fragrant incense and the pure offering
which should burn on every Christian
altar, and ascend without ceasing from
every true Christian heart. Let the graf
itude of His children bear some proper
ton to the freeness and the fullness of
their Heavenly Fathers grace. Is not
not this prophecy also a mighty stinu-
lus to faith? God is immutable. What
He has been, He will ever be. Fulfilled
promises are the first fruits of a ripening
harvest.
BY the light of both scriptures, with the
sublime visions of Isaiah and his fellows,
with the sure word of Jesus and His
! apostles, we traverse the course of ages.
and anticipate the generations which are
to come.
ON THIS FESTIVAL OF THE NATIVITY,
Which the church so joyfully celebrates.
eighteen centuries from Bethlehem.
proud as we are to gather up the old asso-
Citations and review the venerable record
of our faith, with loftier pride we con-
template its final issues. We accompany
it to its conflicts and to its victories; we
behold the grandeur of its career and the
felicity Of its achievements. Sure are we
that no weapon formed against it car
prosper, that every obstacle will be
pushed aside, that all opposition will
come to naught.
We see this child of virgin, this son
of a manger, seated upon a throne OF
universal dominion, great beyond COM
parison, and no less good than great
The government rests upon His shout
ders of the increase of His government
and peace there shall be no end.
This is our comfort in sorrow, oul
strength in adversely, our hope and our
joy in labor and in prayer. We are sure
of the past, we have faith in the future.
Christ is our Savior and our King. With
joyful heart we lift the shout of praise,
Glory to Thee, root and offspring of David!
Hail, thou bright and morning star!
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