Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-12-27

| dnI dqueuuct are sui useu, ana pear WIZ
ness to the wonderful engineering OF he
wise King.
THE tomb Of Rachel stands not far
from the wall of Bethlehem, and near
| the city gate Is Davids well.
| The stable or cave, in which Christ
was born, is now under a church. built
over the spot In the fourth century by
| Helena, the mother OF Constantine the
Great There Is little doubt about this
being the identical spot where Jesus was
| born. The exact spot Of the birth Is
| marked with a silver star set in the
| stone floor Of the cave, or grotto. This
star all devout visitors kiss. At the time
OF my visit a Roman Catholic service In
Latin was going on in the church. a
choi" OF seventy-five monks and boys
sang, and the music was most inspiring.
Long ago over this venerable town of
Judea rang out the hymn, Glory to God
In the Highest sung by "A multitude of
the heavenly host and this is one of the
most sacred OF all places on earth"
The absence OF the pastor, Rev. G. r.
Hyde, i'm Florida, was greatly regretted.
He was reported as much improved al
ready by his sojourn In the fiowery PENN
sula. The church was beautifully deco
rated with evergreens, conspicuous among
which was a quantity of gray moss sent
from Florida FOR the purpose by Mr..
Hyde. The singing Of Christmas songs
by the choir and Sunday school was beau
tiful and greatly enjoyed.
The Humanity of Christ.
At the Second Presbyterian church there
was no special Christmas music on ac-
count OF the critical condition Of DIR.
Hoge, the beloved pastor, for whom the
earnest prayers Of the congregation were
offered. Rev. Donald Guthrie preached a
sermon suitable to Christmas season,
taking for his text the words. Behold
the Man" and for the theme OF his dis
course. 1.-The Humanity Of Christ in Rela-
ton to His Redemptive Work"
In introducing his subject the speaker
referred to the blending of the super
natural and natural in the birth Of Christ.
The announcement of the archangel TO the
shepherds; the anthem OF the Heavenly
Host; the visit of the wise men under the
guidance Of the star-these displayed the
Divine On the other hand the lowiy
manger, the mothers pangs, the coming
and going of the travelling crowd, the
helplessness of the Babe-these speak OF
, the human. So throughout the whole lie
, of Christ we find manifestations OF the
divine and the human. On other occa-
sions the divine had been dealt with ana
, Christmas was a suitable time TO treat
OF the humanity OF the Son Of God.
Cd His humanity in relation 10 His
preaching. His divinity supplied two
things i'm regard 10 this-viz.: The au-
thority which characterized His preaching
and the subject matter Of that preaching
: AS God He had wandered throughout the
realms Of infnite'truth and had gathered
flowers to bring to earth; lie had pierced
into the very heart and mind OF the
Father in order to reveal that Father 10
men. But 1t was through His humanity
that He expressed In terms of ordinary
life His wondrous message. lie showed
I'm His human life that which none other
had been able in like manner to exhibit
viz, the reality of the Gods claims or
the affections OF men; the practicabllity
of the commands that the Father laid
upon men. and the possibility Of realizing
the PROJECTIONS of God IIimself-if not
here. then hereafter He was His own
ssage-"Follow thou Me"
q His humanity in relation to HI
work of reconciliation. In reconcillni
God and man Christ did two things: III
kept the law of God in its totally, and He
paid the penalty Of death. He did anc
He endured. He actively obeyed and III
| passively obeyed. In His hum9nlty IL
was the Representative Man, embraclht
Gin Himself the long unfolding Of hu
| HdDltN. Ilt DIf1fHN'h " N''N - 49,
humanity as complete a man as the on
that the Lord had made ''in the begin
: ming" The speaker then, in ap illustra
ton. went on TO show the necessity o
this absolute perfection of manhood II
Christ for the accomplishment of thu
reconciliation. 1t was also in His human
ity that He offered Himself as a sacrihc
to God. Divinity. as such, could not SUI
fer and die, and Christs body ard human
. ,xtfnf ei
He made atonement for sin; through
) which He fulfilled the will of God.
3. His humanity in relation to His pres
) ent exaltation. He Is more glorious II
person now than He was before He cam
, TO earth Then he was God; now He d
Goldman Ii is sometimes said tina
Christianity takes a degrading view o
/ human nature. Not so, IL eM9lts 1t II
the Redeemer to the Throne of Cos
Almighty. He is not God, but God ant
Man in one glorious, eternal person Whel
, in the person of the Babe of Bethlehem
an-wise. all-powerful Divinity becam
Joined TO Yrail humanity, an eternal unioi
was effected. This is the CHRISTMAS story
, God came 10 earth; He talked ana taught
He did and endured: He raised humal
nature to the throne Of the universe. An
when link one individual heart 20 Chris
Him on His Throne
2 Sermon on the Christmas Dinner
: Large congregations attended the ST
J vices at Centenary Methodist church, bou
morning and night. The music was OF
! high order and the sermons were I'M Keep
ing with the spirit Of the day. DIR. Tudo
; preached In the morning on the CHRIST
. mas Dinner" taking as his text Lux
l XIV. 16 a certain man made grea
supper" The speaker said, in part:
$ "The coming of Christ, no doubt. date
the turn Of the day of this worlds his
!, tory towards its end and contamination
< The meal called in the parable suppe
4 does not Indicate the evening time, bu
], was rather the principal meal according
10 Oriental custom, after noon, near tn
/ turn of the day towards its end. III
/ forenoon Of our world-befOre the Chris
came-had been big with events rushin
on 10 noon The entire eastern COntinen
was known. Julius Caesar had alread
. pushed discovery, conquest, and progress
to the British isles on the western out
post Of Europe, and the Roman empir
; embraced in its possession the fairest sec
2 lions Of Europe, ASIA and Africa. Ameri
ca remained for the afternoons work
: and was duly found 100 years afte
Christ. 1t had been a stirring forenoon
9 the passionate, ambitious youth of tn
world. The race Of Abraham, unde
, Moses, Joshua, and the Judges ha
swept over covering nations and plante
its own nationality i'm very land o
promise on the eastern coast OF TN
Mediterranean Sea. The Kingdom o