Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1900-02-02
NUMBER 5.

emperor, and the reverse the words
"Pontifex MaXimus," the other title
of the EMPEROR and then came the
overwhelming answer of Christ;
Render to Caesar the things that
are Caesars and to God the things
that are Gods" Magnetic and cpl
grammutc this inspired peasant!
Useless attempts he declares as
"pcarls cast before swine;" mimpor-
tant results lie describes as the at
tempt to gather figs of thistles."
Allcgories! Why, the parallels are
all allegories, and how He flung them
out upon His audiences, whole arm
fuls of amethysts and emeralds and
diamonds and rubies!
But we must not only look at Him
from n worldly standpoint. How He
smote whirlwinds into silence, and
made the waves of the sea lie down,
and opened doors of light into tho
midnight of those who had been born
blind, and turned deaf ears into gall
leries of music, and with one touch
made the scabs of incurable leprosy
fall Off, and renewed healthy circula-
ton through severest paralysis, and
made the dead girl waken and ask
for her mother, and at His crucifiX-
ion pulled down the clouds until at
~ o'clock at noon it was as dark
as 10 o'clock at night, and started
an influence that will go on aiit
the last desert will grow roses, anH
the last case of paresis take healthfu ,
brain, and the last illness become
rubicund of cheek and robust of chest
and bounding of foot, and the. last
pauper will get his palace, and the
last sinner taken unto the warm
bosom of a pardoning God! Where
did all this start? In that cradle
within sound of blcating sheep aud
believing cattle and amid rough ban
tering of herdsmen and camel driv-
ers. What a low place to start for
such great heights! o artists, turn
your camera obscura on that village
of Bethlehem Take it all in-the
Willy HhlNS lbNNl lllSs lllt llONho
ering in the chill air Mary, the pale
mother and Jesus, the child. No
wonder that Paul Veronese and Cuyp
and Rubens and Tintoretto and Cor
reggie and PerugiRo and Ghirlandajo
and Raphael put their best pencils in
that scene. Lord God, by Thy graz
cious spirit, fix that Madonna in all
our souls! So these thoughts come in
upon us at this gladdest part of the
year.
Swing softly, bells, on Christmas morn,
Wake not the King of Glory!
Swing soft and swift across the snow
The old Judean story.
So have shown you the shadows and
the sunshine of that Christie cradle of
Bethlehem. In these Christian times |
realize that there are many cradles I'M
der shadows. Oh, TIE story of empty
cradles all up and down the earth, in
cabins and in palaces! There are stand
ing in garrets or in storerooms cradles
that will never rock again. 'Rachel
mourning for her children and will not
be comforted because they are not"
But through all the shadows break
CLEANS of sunshine, as the clouds of the
Christie cradle were cleft by glorious
light. Escaped from the struggles
through which we have all passed and
must yet pass, those little ones took
| Heaven at one bound Instead of an
earthly career it is Heavenly career,
with capacities, with yelocities, with
opportunities beyond our comprehen-
sion. Instead of celebrating on earth
the Saviour's birth they stand in the
iday celebrations of the old homestead
it is to them eternal jubilee at table
where the angels of God are the cup
bearers and amid festivities that re-
sound with a laughter and n music
and blaze with brilliance and glory
that eye hath not seen nor ear heard"
No use in wishing them merry Christ
mas, for the merliments of Heaven ring
out upon them from temples that are
always open, amid pleasures that never
die. Oh it is not a dull Heaven, but
a lively Heaven, for there are so many
children therel They throng the
streets; they look out of the blouse Of
Many Mansions;" they stand on the
beach to see the fleets cast anchor with
in the vale; they crowd the gates with
greetings when the old folks come in;
they clap their hands in an eternal
gladncss; they dance in an eternal glee.
See you not the sunshine that pours
into the shadows of that cradle until
they are all gone?
But shadows have their uses. There
must be a background to every good
picture. Turner always put at least
one flock Of clouds on his canvas, and
the clouds of earth will be the back
ground to bring out more nightly the
brightness of Heaven. And will it not
be glorious if after all this scene OF
earthly yicissitude we meet again In
our Fathers house and talk over the
past in an everlasting holiday. But
meanwhile look out for the cradles.
INV iihNh Ai'y htNlbt IOi lHIS WITH
and the neXtl When Wellington was
born at Mornington, England, that de.
cided Waterloo and saved Europe
When Handel was born in Halle, Sax.
ony, that decided the oratorios of "Ju.
das Maccabaeus" and ESTHER" and
Israel in Egypt" and "Jepthah" and
messiah" When Eli Whitney was
born at Westboro, that decided the
wealth of all the cotton fields of the
south. When Gutenberg was born al
Metz, Germany, that decided the libra.
ries Of all Christendom. When Clark.
son was born in Cambridgeshire, Eng.
land, that decided the doom of human
bondage. When Morse was born al
Breeds Hill, Mass, that decided that