The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1899-02-02

INC Ocdu yOuuS Hudu anu SltdllLeu ulIu
ard said to- the widowed mother:
'Here he is, alive and well!" and she
cried: "My boy, my boy!" and he re-
sponded: Mother, mother!" And the
sea, tossing too roughly, some of His
friends, by word easier than a
nurses word TO petulant child, He
made it keep still. The very Judge who
for other reasons allowed Him to be
put to death, declared: II find no
fault in HIM" Was there ever life
SO thoroughly ransacked and hyper
criticised that turned out to be SO per.
feet life? Now, can you imagine
what would have been the calamity to
earth and Heaven, what bereavement
to all history, what swindlipg not only
of the human race, but Of the cherubim
and seraphim and archangel, if because
of internal incursion upon the bed OF
that Bethlehem Babe this life of Divine
and glorious manhood had never been
lived? The Christie parallels would
never have been uttered, the sermon on
the mount, all adrip with benedictions.
never preached, the golden rule, in pic
ture frame of everlasting love, would
never have been hung up for the uni
verse to gaze upon and admire.
Can you imagine what sterilization
of the worlds literature would be the
removal of all Christ ever did and said?
II would tear down the most important
shelves of yonder congressional library,
and Of the vatican library, and Of Brit
ish museum, and Berlin and Bonn and
Vienna and Madrid and st. Petersburg
libraries, and st. Paul's life would have
been an impossibility, and his epistles
would never have been written, and ST,
John, from the basaltic caverns of
Patmos, would never have heard the
seven trumpets Or seen the heavenly
wall with IL layers of illumined crystal
lization. Oh, wise men OF the east, l
am 80 glad you did not report to the i'm
perial scoundrel at Jerusalem where
the babe was, for the hounds would have
soon torn to pieces the Lamb, and 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 travel
ing expenses and those of Joseph and
Mary in that long and dangerous flight
to Cairo, in Egypt, and paid their lodg-
irg and board there and paid their way
backagain! Well enough to bring to the
barn of the Saviour's nativity the
flowers, for they aromatized the dread
full atmosphere Of the stables, but the
geld 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 expenses of taking
Christ to all nations.
Still further remarking upon the mar
row escape which you and I and tn.
world had in the diversion Of the per
secutors from the place of nativity, lei
me say that had that Herodic raid upon
the swaddling clothes been successful
the world would never have known thu
value Of a righteous peace Much has
been made of the fact that the worlt
was at peace when Christ came. Yes
But what kind Of peace was it? L
was peace worse than war. 1t was the
peace of a graveyard. The Roman
eagles had plucked out the worlds eye
sight and plunged their beaks through
the heart Of dead nations. It was
peace like that spoken of by dying In
dian chieftain when Christian hom,
missionary said to him: "You hav
been warrior and, suppose have beer
in many feuds, but you must be at peac,
with all your enemies in order to di
Alright" The dying chieftain replied
That's easy enough. I am at peac
with all my enemies, for have kille.
all of them"
That was the style of peace on cart
when Christ came, but the spirit of al
bitration, which is to garland the toni
of this century and coronet the brow o
the coming century, is consequent upol
the midnight anthem above Bethlehem
two bars to that music, the first OF Di
vine ascription, and the second Of earth
ly pacification. "Glory to God an
peace to men," In His manhoo
,, Christ pronounced the same doctrine
BLESSED are the merciful." Before tn
Bethlehem star flashed it's signifcanc
the theory was: BLESSED Is wholesal
cutthroatery. Blessed are those VIII
, can kill the most antagonists. Blesse
are those who can most skillfull
WELD the battleax. Blessed are thos
who can stab the deepest with spear Q
roll chariot wheel over the mos
wounded or put his chargers hoof 0
the most dead" The entirely new tn,
!. ory of our Christ was blessing for cur,
!, ing; prayer for those who despitefull
!. use you; foundries to turn spears int
! pruning hooks, redhot furnaces I
|. melt swords into molds shaped lik
!. plowshares. If gigantic acerbities an
: worldwide tigerisms had, without an
. Gospel opposition, gone on until no
, and been augmented by 1895 years I
ferocity, by this time what would TIL
world have been turned into? Yo
need not remind me Of the awful wal
since the opening OF the year of OF
| Christian era, for If the earth has bee
/ again and again lacerated into an Ace