Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1897-01-08

tres9. must IdtHOLH tudt doy On. AeNSs
redeem those nations. Farewell, thrones
and temples, hosts cherubic. seraphic.
archangelicl l will come back again,
carrying on my shoulder a ransomed
world. Till this is done | choose earthly
scott to heavenly acclamation, and a
cattle pen TO a kings palace, frigid zone
of earth to atmosphere Of celestial radi-
ance. have no time to lose, for harkye
to the groan that grows mightier while
waitl FAREWELL FAREWELL" "Ye
know the grace Of our Lord Jesus Christ
that, though he was rich, yet for your
sakes he became poor.
Was there ever a contrast so overpow-
ering as that between the MONDAY OF
Christ's celestial departure and the mid
night of his earthly arrivall Sure
enough, the angels were out that night
in the sky, and an especial meteor acted
as escort, but all that was from other
worlds, and not from this world. The
earth made no demonstration Of well
come II one Of the great princes OF this
world steps out at depot, cheers re-
sound, and the bands play, and the flags
wave. But for the arrival Of this mis-
sionary Prince Of the skies not torch
hared, not trumpet blew, not a plume
fluttered. All the music and the pomp
wero overhead. Our world opened for
him nothing better than barn door.
The rajah of Cashmere sent 70 Queen
Victoria a bedstead OF carved gold and
a canopy that cost $3.50, 900, but the
world had for the Prince Of heaven and
earth only litter Of straw. The crown
Jewels in the Tower Of London amount
to $4,000, 900, but this member OF eter-
nal ROYALTY had nowhere to lay his head.
To know how POOR he was, ask the camel
drivers, ask the shepherds, ask Mary,
ask the three wise men OF the east who
afterward came to Bethlehem. To know
how Door he was, examine all the rec
ords of real estate in all that oriental
country and see what vineyard or what
field he owned. Not one. OF what mort
gage was he the mortgageel OF what
tenement was he the landlOrdI or what
lease was he the lessee? Who ever paid
him rent? Not owning the boat on
which he sailed, or the beast on which
he rode, or the pillow on which he slept
he had so little estate that, in order 70
pay his tax, he had to perform a mir
acle, putting the amount Of the assess
- anH having N
hauled ashore. And after his death the
world rushed In to take an inventory OF
his goods, and the entire aggregate was
the garments he had worn, sleeping IN
them by night and travelling in them By
day, bearing on them the dust OF the
highway and the saturation OF the sea-
St. Paul in my text hit the mark when
he said Of the missionary Prince, "Foi
sakes he became poor.
A succinct Biography.
The world could have treated hin
better if it had chosen. 1t had all the
means for making his earthly condition
comfortable. Only a few years before
When Pompey, the general, arrived II
Brindisi, he WAS greeted with arches
and costly column which celebrated
the $4,000, 900 people whom he had
killed or conquered, and he was allowed
to wear his triumphal robe In the sen
ate. The world had applause for impe
rial butchers, but buffeting for the
Prince of Peace. Plenty Of golden ohal
ices for the favored TO drink out OF, bu'
our Prince must put his lips to the
bucket Of the well by the roadside after
be had begged for drink. Poorf Borr
in another mans barn and eating a.
another mans table and cruising the
lake in another mans fishing smacl
and buried in another mans tomb
-Four inspired authors wrote his biogra
nbv. and innumerable lives Of Chris
have been published, but be composed
his autobiography in most compressed
way. He said, Il have trodden the wine
press alone. q,
Poor in the estimation Of nearly al
the prosperous classes. They called hin
Sabbath breaker, wine bibber, traitor
blasphemer and ransacked the dictionar,
of opprobrium from cover to cover Y
express their detestation. / can thini
now of only two well to do men WHIT
espoused his cause, Nicodemus and 20
seph of Arimathea. His friends for th'
most part were people who, in that eli
mate where ophthalmia, OF infiamma
tion of the eyeball. sweeps ever and anol
as a scourge, had become blind, sici
I neonle who were. anxious TO get wei
and troubled people in whose famil.
there was some one dead or dying. l
| be had q purse at all, it was empty o
wa would have heard what the soldier
| did with the contents. Poor? The pigeol
In the dovecot, the rabbit in its bur
row. the silkworm in its cocoon, tn
bee in its hive is better provided for
better off, better sheltered. Aye, tn
brute creation has a home on earth
which Christ had not. A poet says;
fon windy days the raven
Gambol like a dancing skin,
Not the less he loves his haven
| On the bosom Of the clin.
II almost with eagle pinion
Der the Alps the chamois roam'
Yet he has some small dominion
Which no doubt he calls his home.
A Homeless Prince.
But the Crown Prince Of all heaveni
dominion has less than the raven, LEI
than the chamois, for he was homeless
Aye, in the history Of the universe thsi
ls no other instance Of such comm
down. Who can count the miles froi
the top OF the throne TO the bottom
the crossi Cleopatra. giving banqut
TO Antony, took a pearl worth 800. OO
and dissolved it in vinegar and swal
lowed IT, But when our Prince. accord
ing to the evangelist, in his last hou'
took the vinegar, in 1t had been dissol'
, ed all the pearls Of his heavenly royait.
Down until there was no other haras
! ment to suffer. poor until there was I
other pauperism to torture. Billions
| dollars spent in wars TO destroy mel
who will furnish the statistics OF q
value Of that precious blood that vi
: shed to save usi aye know the grace
, our Lord Jesus Christ, that though
r was rich, yet for your sakes ne becan
poor.