The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-01-13

ever shown, and in this marvellous BIZ
BILE picture of the Nativity, while you
point out to them the angel, show them
also the camel, and while they hear the
celestial chant, let them also hear the
cows moan No more did Christ show
interest in the botanical world when he
said, Consider tho lilies" then he
showed for the pathological when he
said, "Behold the fowls of the air.
and the quadrupedal world when lie
allowed Himself to be called in one
place lion and in another place a
lamb. Meanwhile, may the Christ OF
the Bethlehem cattle pen have mercy
on the suffering stock yards, that are
preparing diseased and fevered meat
for our American households.
Behold, also, in this Bible scene, how,
on that Christmas night, God honored
childhood. Christ might have made
His first visit to our world in cloud, as
He will descend on His next visit in
cloud In what a chariot of illumined
vapor He might have rolled down the
sky, escorted by mounted cavalry, with
lightning for drawn sword. Elijah had
a carriage of fire to take Him up; why
not Jesus carriage of fire to fetch Him
down? Or, over the arched bridge OF
rainbo the Lord might have descended.
Or Christ might have had His mortality
built up on earth out of the dust OF
garden, as was Adam, in full manhood
at the start, without the Introductory
feebleness OF infancy. No, no! Child
hood was to be honored by that event.
He must have a child's light limbs, and
a child's dimpled hands, and a child's
beaming eye, and child's tiaxen hair;
and babyhood was to be honored for all
time to come, and cradle was to mean
more than grave. Mighty God! May
the reflection of that one child's face be
seen in all infantile faces
Enough have all those fathers and
mothers on hand if they have child in
the house. A throne, a crown, a scep-
ter, kingdom under charge. BE care
full how you strike him across the head,
Earring the brain. What you say to him
will be centennial and millennial. and
a hundred years and a thousand years
will not stop the echo and re-echo Do
not say, at is only child" Rather say,
ut is only an immortal" 1t is only a
masterpiece of jehovah 1t is only a
being that shall outlive sun and moon
and star and ages quadrillennial. God
has infinite resources, and He can give
presents of great value, but when He
wants to give the richest possible gift
to a household, he looks around all the
worlds and all the universe and then
gives a child. The greatest present
that God ever gave our world he gave
about 1891 years ago, and he gave it on
Christmas night, and it was of such
value that heaven adjourned for a re-
cess, and came down and broke through
the clouds to look at it, Yea, in al
ages God has honoreo childhood. He
! makes almost every picture failure
unless there be child either playing
on the floor, or looking through the
window, or seated on the lap, gazing
into the face of the mother
1t was child in Mammals .lSitc& \
that told the great Syrian warrior whers
he might go and get cured of the lep
rosy, which at his seventh plunge in the
Jordan, was left at the bottom of the
river. 1t was to the cradle of leaves
in which child was laid, rocked by the
= Nile, that God called the attention o
{ history. 1t was a sick child that evoked
t Christ's curative sympathies. 1t was A.;
child that Christ set in the midst of thu
t squabbling disciples, to teach the lessor
l of humility. We are informed tina
> wolf and leor ard and lion shall be We
r so domesticated that little child shall
$ lead them. a child decided Waterloo
4 showing the army of Butcher how the,
: could take a short cut through the fields
I when, if the old road had been followed
e the Prussian general would have com
: up too late to save the destinies o
A of Europe. 1t was a child that decide,
e Gettysburg, he having overheard tw
r Confederate generals in conversation
| in which they decided to march TO
0 Gettysburg instead of Harrisburg; an
Y this, reported to Gov. Curtin, the fed
Q eral forces started to meet their oppC
S nents at Gettysburg. And to-day tn
u
d make all the laws. settle all the desti
e MES. and usher in the worlds salvation
h or destruction. Men, women, nations
f all earth and all heaven, behold tn
e child! Is there any velvet so soft as
# child's cheek? Is there any sky so blu
e as childs eye? Is there any music S
d sweet as the child's voice? Is ther
o any plume so wavy as child's hair?
l. Notice also that in this Bible nigh
e scene God honored science. Who ar
d the three wise men kneeling before tn
o Divine Infant? Not Doors, not ignoran
j. uses but Casper. Belthaser and Mel
!, choir, men who knew all that was to b
e known. They were the Isaac Newton
n and Herschels and Faradays of thei
d time. Their alchemy was the forerur
u ner of our sublime chemistry, their a.
e trology, the mother of our astronomy
}, They had studied stars, studied metal.
d studied physiology, studied everything
st And when I see these scientists bowin
h before the beautiful babe, see tn
q prophecy of the time when all the telt
& scopes and microscopes, and all tn
o Leyden jars, and all the electric ba
/, teries, and all the observatories, an
!, all the universities shall bow to Jesu,
# 1t is much that way already, Where
= the college that does not hare nornin
prayers thus bowling at the manager
}, Who have been the greatest physicians
l. Omitting the names of the living les
e we should be invidous, have we not ha