The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1895-12-27

than anything else-more helping hands
more sympathetic hearts, more kline
words that never die, more disposition
to give other people ride and to carry
the heavy end of the load and give 9th
er people the light end, and to ascribt
good motives instead of bad, and to fine
our happiness in making others happy
Out of that Bethlehem crib let the
bear and the lion eat straw like the OK.
"Good will to men," That principle
will yet settle all controversies, and I'M
der it the world will keep on improving
until there will be only two antagonists
in all the earth, and they will side by
side take the jubilant sleigh ride init
mated by the prophet when he said,
"Holiness shall be on the bells Of the
horses -
Union with other Worlds.
Again, Iremark that born that Christ
mas night in the village barn was SYM
pathetic union with other worlds. From
that supernatural grouping of the cloud
banks over Bethlehem, and from the
special trains that ran down to the scene
| I find that our world is beautifully and
gloriously and magnificently surround
ed The meteors are with us, for one Of
them ran to point down to the birth
place The heavens are with us, because
at the thought of our redemption they
roll hosannas out Of the midnight sky.
Oh, yes, lido not know but our world
may be better surrounded than we have
sometimes imagined, and when q child
Is born, angels bring it, and when It
dies, angels take it, and when an old
man bends under the weight OF years,
angels uphold him, and when heart
breaks angels soothe it. Angels in the
hospital to take care Of the sick Angels
in the cemetery to watch our dead.
Angels in the church ready to fly heav-
onward with the news of repentant
souls. Angels above the world. Angels
under the world. Angels all around the
world.
Rub the dust of human imperfections
out of your eyes, and look into the heav-
ems and see angels of pity, angels Of
mercy, angels of pardon, angels of help,
angels crowned, angels charioted. The
world defended by angels, girdled by
angels, cohorted by angels-clouds OF
angels. Hear David cry out; "The char
lots of God are 1000. Even thousands
of angels. - But the mightiest angel
stood not that night in the clouds over
Bethlehem; the mightiest angel that
night lay among the cattle-the angel
of the new covenant.
AS the clean white linen was being
wrapped around the little form of that
child emperor, not cherub, not a SER
aph, not an angel, not world but wept
and thrilled and shouted. Oh, yes, our
world has plenty of sympathizers Our
world is only a silver rung Of great
ladder at the top of which is our Fa-
theirs house. No more stellar solitari-
ness for our world, no other friendless
planets spun out into space to freeze,
but a world in the bosom of divine ma
ternity. A star harnessed to manger.
The Offenders Hope.
Again, remark that that night born
in that village barn was the offenders
hope. Some sermonizers may say /
ought to have projected this thought at
the beginning of the sermon. Oh. no! I
wanted you to rise toward it. l wanted
you to examine the carnelians and the
jaspers and the crystals before I showed
you the Kohinoor-the crown jewel Of
the ages. Oh, that jewel had very poor
setting The cub of bear is born amid
the grand old pillars Of the forest, the
whelp Of lion takes its first step from
the jungle of luxuriant leaf and wild
flower, the kid of goat is born in cavern
chandeliered with stalactite and pillar
ed with stalagmite. Christ was born in
a bare barn.
Yet that nativity was the offenders
hope. Over the door of heaven are writ
ten these words, "None but the sinless
may enter here. " "Oh, horror" you
say, THAT shuts us all out" No.
Christ came to the world in one door,
and he departed through another door.
He came through the door of the man.
ger, and he departed through the door
of the sepulcher, and his one business
was so to wash away our sin that after
we are dead there will be no more sin
about us than about the eternal God.
know that is putting it strongly, but
that is what understand by full remis-
sion. All erased, all washed away, all
secured out, all gone. That undergir
ding and overarching and irradiating
and imparadising possibility for you.
and for me, and for the whole race, that
was given that Christmas night.
Do you wonder we bring flowers to-
day to celebrate such an event? Do you
wonder that we take organ and youth
full voice and queenly soloist to cele-
brate it? Do you wonder that Raphael
and Rubens and Titan and Giotto and
Ghirlandajo and all the old Italian and
German painters gave the mightiest
stroke of their genius to sketch the Ma
donna, Mary, and her boy?
Oh now l see what the manger was. |
Not so high the gilded and jeweled and |
cradle of the Henrys of |
or the Louis of France, or the |
Fredericks of Prussia. Now l find out |
that that Bethlehem crib fed not so
much the oxen of the stall as the white
horses of Apocalyptic vision. Now 1
find the swaddling clothes enlarging and
into an imperial robe for
a counueror Now I find that the star /