The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-07-21

Many centuries before the coming of Christ, Solomon,
at the dedication of the temple asked tins, "Wll GOD II
very deed dwell with men on the earth p Impossible, ne
thought, that God should dwell with men; although Solo
mon had built a temple to be the house of God, he yet fell
that God could not make his home among men. And So
in the prayer in which he consecrated this temple to God
and his worship, he exclaimed, Twill God in very deed
dwell with men on the earth ," And yet we today do com
memorate Gods life on this earth among men, and as q
man. We today do recall as actual fact that which seem
ed to Solomon too grand and glorious to be true. And sc
Solomon said, The heaven of heavens cannot contain thee
how much less this house which l have buided." That
house was a veritable creation of strength and grandeur
and beauty. Seven years of unremitting labor and effort
had passed away since it was begun. Unnumbered treas
ure, gold and precious stones and costly wood had gone
into that temple upon it had been expended the loving
and patient and devout thought and skill OF the foremost
artisans of the time. But when all had been done, Solo
mon felt that this house which he had builded could not be
the abode of Him whom 'heaven and the heaven Of hea,
vens could not contain" And yet we, to-day, do call tc
mind the time when for our Lord a home and resting place
were found on this earth and were found IN a manager
That gorgeous temple at Jerusalem, that lordly pile, whlcf
the sacred writer declared to have been Exceeding magnltl
cal" did not have the honor which weak and mortal hu
manity had of furnishing for more than thirty years a home
and shrine for the dwelling of our God and Saviour. "Wll
God in very deed dwell with men on the earth p On vii
He not come to US, and dwell among US? That has beer
the longing cry of men in all the past and IN striving tc
find an answer they have builded Ancient Delphi, and the
Parthenon at Athens, and Dianas shrine at EPhesus, and
thousand other temples of antiquity, all '%eXceedlng magnltl
call some of them remaining to this day, the highest crea
tons of mans artistic genius. Will God indeed dwell
among men Our ancestors in England tried to find an
answer to that in the strong and sturdy oak, hoary anc
crowned with the mistletoe. At Stonehenge IN England
we see another effort to find an answer to this same prob.
lem; its few stones, uncarved and crude, set upright al
intervals, was an effort to form a vast unroofed temple thai
might contain our Lord and Creator. Efforts, these that
were vain and futile and yet powerfully witnessing to a
felt want, that God should dwell among His creatures; eo'
quently pointing forward to a time when such a universal
want of our humanity should be satisfied. Will not Goo
dwell with His creatures on the earth? That has been the
heart-cry of our race in all the past. Christ's birth al
Bethlehem is Gods response to this universal cry and pray,
er of His creatures F.; for it gave us ''Emmanuel, which is
being interpreted, God with US, God in very truth coming
and dwelling among men on this our earth. And so we
on this Christmas day, this feast of the Nativity, common.
crate Christs incarnation, His taking to Himself a body
and temple that He might live among US.
But again, in the midst of all our JOY and exutation is
there not in the minds Of some, perhaps, as they revert to
that day long ago in Bethlehem, a secret misgiving and un-
Certainty? We know there was such a thing as the ofense
of the cross. Christ's cruel and shameful death on the
cross offended many, made it difficult for them to accept
Him.. May there not be likewise the ofense of His ma
tivity9 We love and adore Christ for the strength and
purity that belonged to His matured character and life
we worship Him as we contemplate Him risen and ascend.
ed into heaven. And yet can we so readily and fully wor-
ship and adore Him as the sacred writer's present Him tc
us at Bethlehem, an Infant All Infant of a day weak
and %insensible, with no voice but a cry? Is this our God
and Saviour? We usually form our conception of God as
one who is infinitely and UNNECESSARILY great. How, then,
shall we worship the helpless Babe of Bethlehem And
yet, if we will but diligently consider, at no time perhaps
has God so manifested His greatness and power as on the
day of our Lords Nativity. For what do we know Of
greatness and power? We know a certain kind of great
ness, the power and majesty that God showed in creation,
and in upholding and preserving creation. We call that
greatness. And we also know a greatness among men
somewhat similar to this, greatness of intellect, and OF
accomplishment. But on Christmas day we are brought
face to face with a greatness of another kind. In Gods
work of creation, and in mans works, there is greatness,
that of growth, action, increase. But in Chrlst's being
born into the world there is greatness different in kind, and
more wonderful and marvellous, the greatness of decrease
the majesty and power that does belong to one who could
thus humble Himself. We know in this world the great.
ness that belongs to vast knowledge, great requirements,
and increasing possessions; and our ideas of greatness and
strength are largely limited to these. But in Christs ma
tivty we see the majesty and glory there is in having pow.
er to resign all these, and to become a helpless Infant.
Great and marvellous, then, are Gods works in creation but
greater and more wonderful and adorable still in the Incar.
nation of Jesus Christ. No more matches exhibition did
Deity ever give of omnipotence than in the event which we
celebrate to-day. We do not wonder that Deity should be
great we expect and demand that He should be that.
But we have reason for wonder and alteration that Deity
should become lowly and humble. And so to-day, with de.
vout Joy and gratitude we praise God that His Son Jesus
Christ came to visit US in great humility.
''And they shall call his name Emmanuel, which, being
interpreted is, God with us" Emmanuel, God with US, God
taking our nature upon Himself, and dwelling among us
that is the great event that we call to mind to-day and
that is the great event that has forever ilumined and trans