Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-09-18
The Prince of Peace
At His Name Every Knee Shalt
Bow and Every Tongue Confess

m VERY country of earth offers
w an apotheosis in the person of
some great man who distin-
guished himself in some great crisis
in its affairs. Switzerland idolizes
William Tell, Russia her Peter the
Great, Prussia her Frederick the Great
France her Napoleon, Italy her Carl
baldi, England her Alfred the Great
and the United States her Washington
1t is food for reflection that in the
selections of heroes and in hero wor-
ship it is an invariable rule. not sin
gle exception being known in all his
tory, that choice is made of one who
has crowned his life with deeds done
in battle. By and through the fash
OF the sword alone has Immortality of
fame been won by mortals.
The scimiter of Mohammed and not
his Koran conquered Arabia, Armenia
and the Balkans. Moses was a law
giver, but he also was a mighty war
rlor and led his followers on from
one victory to another. 1t is he and
Joshua and David and John Hyrcanus,
all intrepid soldiers, who have made
glorious the history of the Jewish peo-
pie. The history of Mohammedanlsm
is written in blood and Omar and
Saladin stand out prominent in its rec
ords. So with other nations. Deeds,
deeds only, and these calling for great
holOcauStS of human lives, to make
imperishable some individual name
Christmas day offers an anomaly,
however, in the history of men who
have lived and wrought wonders. The
Christ was a man of peace, deploring
war. What is yet more strange, He
is glorified through His words and not
through His deeds. The Heavenly
voice said to the simple shepherd on
the plains of Bethlehem: Behold!
which shall be unto all the people;
for unto you is born this day in the
city of David a Saviour which is Christ
the Lord" And the accompanying choir
with ineffable melody sang the re-
frain: GLORY to God in the highest
and on earth peace"
The Christ-birth and the Christ-1ife
stand forth the opposite of all other
great lives that have filled pages in
earth's history. Born of humble par
entage in stable, amid the lowing
of kline and the raucous complaining
of disconnected cattle, reared in the
far-away bleak hills of Galilee, en-
gagged daily'in saving logs into boards,
or planning the latter into smOOthness,
He steps forth suddenly, at the age
of %, as a teacher of Righteousness.
Not among strangers, but in the midst
of His own people, He appeared, and
they were astounded at the prOfundity
of His knowledge. AS though to per-
suade themselves that they were not
mistaken as to His identity, they asked
of one another: us not this the car
penter'S sOn?''
His life work was brief, but four
short years! Compare this with the
years spent by other illuminate of
earth in perpetuating their fame.
Without use of money, or influence, or
numbers, and without counting favor
of the rich and powerful, He went
about from town to town preaching
His gospel of peace and love. Those
who gathered to Him were poor men
fishermen, publicans, small farmers or
herdSmen, rather.
The waters of the sea of Judea were
but little stirred by His presence. So
little was His presence felt that no
contemporaneous historian of His
time, outside of His immediate follow
ers, makes any reference to His life
or His works. Josephus, voluminous
and very just historian, ignores Him
utterly. No record has been found at
Rome of His death, so little impress
sion did it make upon the mind OF
PLATE.
True it is that He healed sick men,
cleansed lepers, raised the dead and
cast out devils. But these were SUBJ
ordinate and incidental only to His
life-work, which was that of proclaim
ing a new gospel-that men should
love one another He made no parade
of miracle-working. 1t was only when
the suffering were brought into His
presence that He made exercise of His
divine power in healing.
He died the most shameful, disgrace
full death known to His generation.
In his extremity He was deserted even