Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1891-01-16

or Car1sr- Australia, Nevada and Golconda
for Christ. The bright, round, beautiful
jewel OF a world set ike solitaire on the
bosom Of Christ.
But notice that tl5ese wise men also shook
put from the sacks the myrrh. The cattle
came and they snufed at it. They did not
eat it because it was bitter. The pungent gum
resin of Abyssinia called myrrh brought 10
to the feet OF Christ. That means bitterness
Bitter BETRAYAL, bitter persecution, bitter
lays OF suffering, bitter nights OF woe.
Myrrh. That is what they put into His cup
when He was dying. MyITh. That is what
they put under His head iii the wilderness.
Myrrh. That is what they strewed His path
with all the way from the cattle pen in Beth
lehem to the mausoeum at Joseph 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 toe
Marys twisted in the shroud of a cruciied
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 myrrh.
But l notice also from another sack they
shake out the frankincense. Clear up to
the rafters Of the barn the air is 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 alabaster. Frankincense. That is what
they burned in the censor in the ancient tenn
pie. Frenkincense. 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 70 the silvery rafters of the
starllt dome. FrankincenSe. That is what
we shake out from our hearts to-day so that
the nOstrlls of Christ once crimsoned with
the hemorrhage of the cross shall be flooded
with the perfume of a worlds alteration.
Erankincense. Frankincense in song and
sermon and otfertory and handshaking and
decoration.
Praise Him. mountains and hills, valleys
and seas, and skies and earth and heaven
cyclone with yOnr trumpetS northern lights
with your flaming ensign. morning with
your castles of cloud, and evening with your
billowiug clouds of sunset Do YOU know
how they use1 to hold the censor 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
temples. This frankincense was taken oTS
and sprinkled over the living Goals, anu
then the perforated cover was put on, and
when they were all ready for worship. then
the cover was lifted from the censor and from
ali the other censers and the perfumed smoke
arose until it hung amid all the folds and
dropped amid all the affairs, and then rose III
great columns of praise outside or above the
temple, rising clear up toward the throne of
God. So we have two censers to-day OF
Christmas frankncense. Here is the one
censor of earthly frankincense.
On that we put our thanks for the mercies
of the past year, the mercies of all our past
lives, individual mercies, family mercies, So
cial mercles national mercies, and our hearts
burning with gratitude send aIoft the incense
of praise toward the throne of Christ
Bring on more incense and higher and high
or let the columns of praise ascend
Let them wreathe all these pillars
and hover amid all these arches,
and then soar to the throne. But here is
the other censor of heavenly Thanksgiving
and worship. Let them bring all their
frankincense-the cherubim bring theirs,
and the seraphim theirs, and the one hun
dred and forty-four thousand theirs, and
all the eternities theirs, and let them
smoke with perfume on this heavenly CEN
ser until the cloud canopies the throne of
God. Then [ take these two censers--the
censor of earthly frankincense and the censor
OF heavenly frankincense-and I swing them
before the throne, and then I clash them to-
gether in great hallelujah unto Him
whom the wise men of the East brought the
gold and the myrrh and the frankincense.
Blessed be His glorious name forever!