The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-01-11

would tear down the most important
shelves Of yonder Congressional library.
and OF the Vatican library; and OF British
museum, and Berlin and Bonn and Vienna
and Madrid and St. Petersburg libraries,
and St. Paul's life would have been an i'm.
possibility, and his epistles would never
have been written, and st. John, from the
bassltic cayerns Of Patmos, would never
have heard the seven trumpets or seen the
heavenly walls with twelve layers OF illum.
ined crystallization. o wise men OF the
east! I am so glad you did not report to
the imperial scoundrel at jerusalem where
the babe was, for the hounds would
have soon torn to pieces the Lamb, and
I am so glad that not only did you bring
the frankincense and the myrrh to the
room In that caravansary. but that you
brought the gold which paid His travelling
expenses and those OF Joseph and Mary in
Egypt, and paid their lodging and board
there and paid their way back again. Well
enough to bring to the barn OF the Saviour's
nativity the flowers. for they aromatized
the dreadful atmosphere Of the stable, but
the gold was Just then the most important
Offering. So now the Lord accepts your
prayers, for they are the perfume OF heaven,
but He asks also for the gold which will
pay the expense OF taking Christ to all
nations.
Still fusther romarking upon the narrow
escape which you and and the world had
in the diversion Of the prosecutors from the
place Of nativity, let me say that had that
Herodic raid upon the swaddlin9 clothes
been successful the world would never have
known the value Of g righteous peace.
Much has been made OF the fact that the
world was at peace when Christ came.
Yes. But what kind OF peacs was It? 1t
was peace worse than war. It was the
peace OF graveyard. The Roman eagles
had plucked out the worlds eyesight and
plunged their beaks through the heart OF
dead nations. It was peace spoken OF by
a dying Indian chieftain when Christian
home missionary said to him, "You have
been a warrior, and 2ays- been in many
feuds, but you must be at peace with all
your enemies in order to die Alright" The
dying chieftan replied: "Thats easy
enough. I am at peace with all my ene-
mics, for have killed all Of them"
That was tho style OF peace on earth
when Christ came, but the spirit OF ar
bitration, which is to garland the tomb
OF this century and coronet the brow OF
the coming century, Is consequent upon
the midnight anthem above Bethlehem,
two bars to that music, the first of d.
vine ascription and the second OF earth
ly pacifcation. "Glory to God and
peace to men," In His manhood Christ
are the merciful." Before the Bethle-
hem star flashed its significance, the
theory was: BLESSED is wholesale cut
throatery. Blessed are those who can
kill the most antagonists. Blessed are
those who can most sklllfully, WELD the
'battleax. Blessed are those who can
stab the deepest with spear or roll
chariot wheel over the most wounded
or put his chargers hoof on the most
dead" The entirely new theory OF our
Christ was blessing for cursing, prayer
for those who despitefully use you,
foundries to turn spears into pruning
hooks, redhot furnaces. to melt swords
into molds shaped like plowshares. II
gigantic acerbities and worldwide tiger
isms had, without any gospel oppost-
tlon, gone on until now and been aug
mented by 1893 years of ferocity, by this
time what would this world have been
turned into? You ueed not remind me OF
the awful wars since the opening OF the
year one OF our Christian era; for II the
earth has been again and again lacerated
into an Aceldama through improved weap'
onry OF death and more rapidtty or fre,
Prussian brsechloader which in 1855 startled
the nations with unprecedented havoc
eclIpsed by contrivances that can sweep
vaster nuEbers to death by one volley and
ties for slaughter by Instantly ordering
armies to where they can do the most
wholesale murder-I say II all this woe has
been wrought, how much worse would 1t
have been II the Chrlstly revelation had
not been let down from heaven on five
runged ladder OF musical scale and thore
had been no preaching OF good will all up
and down Christendom for nineteen cen.
turiesI The Bethlehem manger has given
the most potent suggestion OF peace tho
world has ever received. The cavalry
horses cannot eat out Of that manger.
Itake another step forward In showing
the narrow escape you and had and the
world had IN the secretion Of Chrlst's birth
place from tho Herodic detectives, and the
clubs with which they you'd have dashed
the babes life out, when say that without
the life that began that night In Bethlehem
the world would have lad no illumined
deathbeds. Before the time OF Christ good
people closed their earthly lives In peace,
while depending upon the Christ to come,
and there were antediluyian saints and
Assyrian saints and Egyptian saints and
Grecian saints and Jerusalem saints long be-
fore the clouds above Bethlehem becamea q
balcony filed with the best singers OF 8
that there was anything more than quiet
ing guess that came to those before Christ
deathbeds. Job said something bordering
on the confident, but It was mixed up with
story of "skin worms" that would de.
stroy his body. Abraham aud Jacob had
little light on the dying pillow, but. com.
pared with the after Christ deathbeds 1t
was like the dim tallow candle Of old be-
side>the modern cluster Of lights electric.
know Elijah went up in memorab bic man
ner, but 1t was terrible way to goa
whirlwind of fire that must have been
splendid to look at by those who stood on
the banks Of the Jordan, cut it was style
Of ascent that required moro nerve than
you and ever had, to be placid oc-
cupant of a chariot drawn by such
wild team. The triumphant death5eds,
as far as know, were the after Christ
deathbads. What procession OF hosan-
mas have marched through the dying room
OF the saints of the last nineteen centurtesl
What cayalcade Of mounted halleluiahs
has galloped through the dying visions OF
the last 1000 years save 1901 Peaceful death
beds In the years B. C.l Triumphant death
beds, for the most part, reserved for the
years A. d. Behold the deathbeds OF the
Wesleys, OF the Doddridges, OF the Leigh
Richmonds, Of the Edward Paysons; OF
Vara, the converted heather chieftain,
crying in his last moments: 1.-THE canoe Is
in the sea. The sails are spread. She Is
ready for the gale. have good Pilot to
guide me. My outside man and my inside
man differ. Let the one rot till the trum-
pet shall sound, but let my soul wing her
way to the throne OF Jesus" or dying
John Fletcher, who entered his PULPIT to
preach, though his doctors forbade him,
and then descended to the communion
table, saying, IT am going to throw my
self under tho wings OF the cherubim be-
fore the mercy seat" thousands OF people
Z few days after following him to the
grave, singing:
With heavenly weapons he has fought
The battles OF the Lord,
Finished his course and kept tho faith
And gained the great reward.