Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-01-18

His self sacrifices ani divine charity that
all round the earth the village of B.thle.
hem has its name woven In garland. and
chanted in "Te Deums" and built in Lousei
| OF prayer.
But 1t is time we see some OF the sun
shine breaking through the shadows OF
that cradle. For we must have jnbilancs
dominate the Christmas festival THAI
wns Walter Scott's opinion when IN MAR.
mion" he wrote.
A Christmas gambol oft would cheer
A poor mans heart through half the year
II was while the peasan. and his wife were
on visit for the PURPOSES OF enrolment
that Jesus was born. The Bible translators
got tho wrong word when they said TINT
Joseph and Mary had gone to Bethlehem tc
be "taxed." People went no farther then to
get taxed than they do now. The effort Of
most people always has been to escape
taxation. Besides that, these two humble
| folk had nothing to tax. The mans tur
ban that protected his head from the sun
was not worth taxing; the womau's sandals
which kept her feet from being cut by the
limestone rock, OF which Bethlehem is
mostly made up, were not worth taxing.
| No; the fact is that u proclamation had
been made by the emperor that all tho peo.
pie between Great Britain and Parthia and
| OF those lands included should go to soma
| appointed place and give their names In.
| be re yistered and announce their loyalty to
| the Roman emp ror.
They had walked eighty miles over n
rough road to give their names and take
the oath OF allegiance. Would we walk
| eighty miles to announce our allegiance to
our king. one Jesus? Caesar Augustus
wanted to know by the record on which
| that man and that woman wrote their
names or had them written. just how many
people in his empire he could depend on In
| case Of eNigency. How many men would
unsheathe sword for the Roman eagle and
how many women could be depended On to
| take care of the wounded ou bait etlelds?
The trouble Is that in the kingdom OF
| Christ we do not know how many can be
depended on. There are so MANY men and
women wso never give in their names.
They serve the Lorl on the sly. They do
not announce their allegiance to the king
! who, In the battles to come, will want
all His troops. In all our churches
there are so many half AMI half disci-
| pies, so many one-third espousers.
They rather think the Bible is true, at any
ratio parts OF 1t, and they hope that some-
how Christianity will disenthral the ma.
tions. They stay away from church on
communion days and hope when they have
| lived as long as they can In this world they
can somehow sneak into heaven. Oh, give
| in your names! Be registered on the church
record down here and in the Lambs Book
of Life up there. Let all the world know
| where you stand, il you have to go as far
as Joseph and Mary walked, ii you have to
| go eighty miles before you find just the
right form of worship and just the right
| creed.
Another CLEAN OF sunshine striking
through the shadows above that Christie
cradle was the fact of Il special divine
protection. Herod was determined upon
the child's destruction. The monster put
all his wits together in stratagem for the
stopping OF that yong life just started.
He dramatized piety; he suddenly got re-
ligious; he would leave his palace and take
| chariot and have steed5 whipped up so
that he could kneel at that cradle. We
have to smile Mt what the imperial villain
said when he ordered, $50 and search
diligently for the young Child, AMI when
| ye have found Him bring me word, that
may go aud worship Him Also" Dore's
| picture OF the "1Iassacre of the Inn nocents"
ut Herod's command-a picture full OF
! children hurled over walls and dashed
| against streets and writhtng under assas.
| sins foot-gives US u littlo impression Of
the manner in which Herod would have
once got his hands on 1t. But Herod
could not find that cradle. All
the detectives he sent out failed
In the search. Yet it had been
pointed out by aashight from the
midnight heavens All tho neighborhood
| knew about 1t. The angelic chorus in the
! cloud had called musical attention to it.
| No sentinel guarded 1t with drawn sword,
passing up ani down by the pillow OF that
Bethlehem earavansary. Why. then, was
| it that the cradle was not despoiled OF its
| treasure? Because it was divineiy pro-
| tected. There were wings lowering that
| mortal eye could not sec; there were armed
| immortals whose brandished sword mortal
eye could not follow; there were chariots
OF the Omnlpotent the rumble OF whose
wheels only supernaturals could hear. God
had started through the cradle to save our
! world
You cannot reasonably account for that
unhurt cradle except on the theory of a
special. divine protection. And most
cradles are likewise defended. Can you
understand why so many children, with all
| the epldemics that assault them, and all
their climbing to dangerous heights, and
| all their perilous experiments with eXplo-
sives and their running against horses
hoofs. and daring OF trolleys and carts fast
driven, yet somehow get through. especi
ally boys of high spirit and that are going
to amount to much? l account for their
coming through all right, with only a few
wounds and bruises by the fact that they
are divlnely protected. All your charges
of "Don't do this and Don't do that"
and I'D ont go there seem to amount to
| nothing. They are the same reckless crea-
lures about whom you are constantly anx-
ious and wondering what Is the matter
now. Dlvinely protected
Another CLEAN Of light, scattering some
| OF the gloom OF that Christie pillow IN
Bethlehem, was the fact that 1t was the
starting place of the most wonderful Of nil
careers. Looking at Chrlst's life from
mere worldly standpolnts it was amazing
beyond ali capacity OF pen or tongue or
canvas to express. Without taking n years
curriculum IN any college or even II day at
any school, yet saying things that the
mightiest intellects OF subsequent days
have quoted ard tried to expound! Great
literary works have for the most part been
| the result OF much elaboration. Edmund
Burke rewrote the conclusion OF his speech
against Warren Hastings sixteen times.
Lord Brougham rewrote his speech in be.
half OF Queen Caroline twenty times. but
the sermon on the mount seemed extern
| poraneous. Christ was eloquent without
ever having studied one OF the laws OF ora
tory. He was the greatest orator that ever
| lived 1t was not an eloquence Demos
| thenic or Ciceronic or like that OF Jean
Baptiste Massillon or like that which Wilt
lam Writ, himself great orator, was over
come with In log cabin meeting house of
| Virginia, when the blind preacher cried
| out in his sermon, socrates died like II
philosopher, but Jesus Christ died like
| noI