Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-01-12

of millions Of miles In second, him
self rich in love, rich in alteration, rich
in power. rich in worship. rich in holt
ness, rich in "ali the fulness of the
Godhead bodily"
But one day there was a big disaster
in department of Gods universe A
race fallen! A world in ruins! Our
planet the scene Of catastrophe! A
globe swinging out into darkness, with
mountains. and seas, and islands, an
awful centrifugal, of sin seeming to
overpower the beautiful centripetal of
righteousness, and from it a groan
reached heaven. Such sound had
never been heard there. Plenty Of
sweet sounds, but never an cutlery of
distress or an echo of agony At that
one groan the Prince rose from all the
blissful circumference. and started for
the outer gate and descended into the
night of this world. Out of what
bright harbor into what a rough sea!
Stay with u.s. cried angel after angel,
and potentate after potentate. mo-"
said the Prince, Il cannot stay; must
be or for that wreck of world. / must
stop that groan. | must hush that dis
tress. / must fathom that abyss. / must
redeem those nations. Farewell,
thrones and temples. hosts cherubic,
seraphic, archangelic! wiz come
back again. carrying on my shoulder a
ransomed world. Till this is done l
choose earthly scott to heavenly ac-
clamation, and cattle pen to kings
palace, frigid zone OF earth to atmos-
phere OF celestial radiance. have no
time to lose. for bark we to the groan
that grows mightier while wait! Fare
we'll! Farewell! 'Ye know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ. that though
he was rich. yet for your sakes he be-
came poCr'" -
Was there ever q contrast so over
powering as that between the MONDAY
of Christ's celestial departure and the
midnight OF his earthly arrival? Sure
enough. the angels yers~otrs that night
In the SKY. AMIR an especial meteor act
Ell aS~escort. but all that was from 9TH
er| worlds. and not from this world.
hC Cai LII maNc III athOuStTdAlOH Oh
welcome. II one OF the great princes
OF this world steps out at a depot,
cheers resound, and the bands play,
and the flags wave. But for the ar
rival of this missionary Prince of the
skies not torch fiared, not trumpet
blew. not plume futtered. All the
music and the pomp were overhead.
Our world opened for him nothing bet
ter than a barn-dOOr. The Rajah of
Cashmere seat to Queen Victoria a
bedstead OF carved gold and a canopy
that cost seven hundred and fifty thou
Prince of Heaven and Earth only lit
ter of straw. The crown jewels in the
Tower of London amount to fifteen mil
lion dollars. 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 Beth
iehem. To know how poor he was ex-
anime all the records of real estate in
all that Oriental country, and see what
vineyard or what field he owned. Not
one OF what mortgage was he the
MORTGAGE? OF what tenement was he
the landlord? OF what lease was he
the lessee? Who ever paid him rent Z?
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 to pay
his tax he had to perform a miracle.
putting the amount of the assessment
in fish's mouth and having it 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.
For your sakes he became DOOR,
The world could have treated him
better if it had chosen. It had all the
means for making his earthly condition
comfortable. Only a few years before
when Pompey, the general, arrived in
Brindisi he Was greeted with arches
and costly column which celebrated
the twelve million people whom he had
killed or conquered, and he was al
lowed to wear his triumphal robe in the
senate. The world had applause for
imperial butchers, but buffeting for
the Prince OF Peace. Plenty of golden
chalices for ne favored to drink out
of. but our Prince must put his lips
to the bucket of the we'll by the road
side after he had begged for drink.
Poor? Born IN another mans barn.
and eating at another mans table. and
cruising the lake in another mans
flshing-smack, and buried In another
mans tomb. Four inspired authors
wrote his biography. and innumerable
lives OF Christ have been published,
but he composed his autobiography in
a most compressed way. He said. II
nave trodden the wine-press alone"
But the Crown Prince of all heavenly
dominion has less than the raven. less
than the chamois. for he was homeless.
Aye, in the history of the universe
there Is no other Instance OF such COM
ing down. Who can count the miles