The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-07-13

What, Mary! no food? None" she
says, "only that which was brought
in the sack on the journey" Let
the Bethlehem woman who has
come in here with kindly atten-
tions put back the covering from
the babe that we may look upon it.
Look Look! Uncover your head.
Let us kneel. Let all voices be hushed.
Son of Mary! Son of God! Child of day
Monarch of eternity! In that eye the
glance of God. Omnipotence sheathed
in that babes arm. That voice to be
changed from the feeble plant to the
tone that shall wake the dead,
Hosanna Hosanna! Glory be to God
that Jesus came from throne to manager
| that we might rise from manger to
throne and that all the gates are open.
and that the doors of Heaven, that once
swung this way to let Jesus out, now
swings the other way to let us in. Let
all the bellmen of Heaven lay hold the
| the rope and ring out the news: Behold,
l bring you glad tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. for to-day
which is Christ the Lord'
The second installment paid for our
souls clearance was the scene in Quar-
antania, mountainous region, full of
caverns, where there are to this day
panthers and wild beasts of all sorts, so
that you must now 60 there armed with
knife or gun or pistol. 1t was there
that Jesus went to think and to pray,
and it was there that this monster of
| hell-more sly, more terrific than any
thing that prowled in that country
Satan himself-met Christ.
The rose in the cheek of Christ-that
Publius Lentullus, in his letter to the
Roman senate, ascribed to Jesus-that
rose had scattered its petals. Absti-
nencc from food had thrown him into
emaciation. A long abstinence from
food recorded in profane history is that
of the crew of the ship Juno; for TWEEN
ty-three days they had nothing to eat.
But this sufferer had tasted month
and ten days before he broke fast.
Hunger must have agonized every
fiber of the body, and gnawed On
the stomach with teeth of death.
The thought of morsel of bread or
meat must have thrilled the body with
something like ferocity. Turn out
pack of men hungry as Christ was
a-hungered, and if they had strength,
with one yell they would devour you
as lion kid 1t was in that pang of
hunger that Jesus was accosted, and
Satan said: Now change these stones,
which look like bread, into an ACTUAL
supply of bread" Had the temptation
come to you and me, under those circum-
stances we would have cried: Bread
it shall be!' and been almost impatient
at the time taken for mastication; but
Christ with one hand beat back the
hunger, and with the other hand beat
back the monarch of darkness. o, ye
tempted ones Christ was tempted.
We are told that Napoleon ordered a
coat of mail made; but he was not quite
certain that it was impenetrable, so he
said to the manufacturer of the coat of
mail: Put it on now yourself and let
us try It," and with shot after shot with
his own pistol the Emperor found out
that it was just what it pretended to be
"a good coat of mail. Then the man
received large reward
bless God that the same coat of mail
that struck back the weapons of temp
tation from the head of Christ we may
now all wear; for Jesus comes and says:
81 have been tempted and know what
it is to be tempted. Take this robe that
defended me and wear it for yourselves
| shall see you through all trials and
shall see you through all temptation"
But" says Satan still further to
Jesus, come and will show you some
thing worth looking at" And after a
half days journey they came to Jerusa-
lem, and to the top of the temple. Just
as one might go up in the tower of Ant
werp and look off upon Belgium, so Satan
brought Christ to the top of the temple
Some people at great height feel dizzy
and strange disposition to jump; so Sa-
tan comes to Christ in that very crisis
Standing there at the top of the temple
they looked off. magnificent reach
of country. Grain fields, vineyards,
olive groves, forests and streams, cattle
in the valley, flocks on the hills and vii
lagos and cities and realms. "Now,"
says Satan, IN make bargain. just
jump off. l know it is great way from
the top of the temple to the valley, but
if you are divine you can fly. Jump
off. 1t won't hurt you. Angels will
catch you. Your Father will hold you
Besides, I'll make you large present
if you will. I'll give you Asia Minor,
I'll give you China, I'll give you Eth
opia, I'll give you Italy, I'll give you
Spain, I'll give you Germany, I'll give
you Britain, I'll give you all the world. :"
What a temptation it must have been.
Go tomorrow morning and get in an
alteration with some wretch crawling
up from gin cellar in the lowest part
of your city. NO" you say, II would
not bemean myself by getting into
such contest" Then think of what
the King of Heaven and earth endured
when he came down and fought the
great wretch of hell, and fought him in
the wilderness and on top of the temple
But / bless God that in the triumph
over temptation Christ gives us the as
surance that we also shall triumph.
Having Himself been tempted He is
able to succor all those who are
tempted. In a violent storm at sea the
mate told boy-for the rigging had be-
come entangled at the mast-to go up
and right it A gentleman standing
on the deck said: Don't send that
. | hor- nm. he uill be dashed 70 doafh ~