Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-01-03

NucSe scltntfsls DoNlng berOre the Deau-
tiful babe l see the prophecy OF the
time when all the telescopes and micro
scopes, and all the Leyden jars, and
| oil the electric batteries. and all the
observatories, and all the universities
shall bow to Jesus. IL Is much that
way already. Where Is the college that
does not have morning prayers, thus
| bowling at the Manager? Who have been
the greatest physicians? Omitting the
names OF the living lest we should be
| invidious. have we not had among
them Christian men likerJames Y.
Simpson and Rush and Valentine Mott
and Abercrombie and Abernethy? Who
have been our greatest scientists? Jo-
seph Henry, who lived and died i'm the
faith of the gospels. and Agassiz. who.
standing with his students among the
hills, took or his hat and said. Young
gentlemen. before we study these rocks
let us pray for wisdom to the God
who made the rocks" All geology viii
| yet bow before the Rock of Ages. All
botany will yet worship the Rose of
Sharon. All astronomy win yet recog-
nize the Star of Bethlehem.
Shepherds werc welcomed.
Behold also In that first Christmas
night that God honored the fields. Come
in, shepherd boys. TO Bethlehem and
see the child NO." they say; 1--WE are
not dressed good enough to come In"
Eyes, you are; come In" Sure enough.
the storms and the night dew and the
brambles have made rough work with
their apparel. but none has better
right TO come In. They were the first
to hear the music OF that Christmas
night. The first announcement OF a
Saviour's birth was made to those men
In the fields. There were wiseacres
that night In bethlehem and Jerusa-
lem snoring In ceep sleep. and there
were salaried officers OF government
who. hearing OF II afterward may have
thought that they ought TO have had
the first news Of such a great event,
some one dismounting from a swift
camel at their door and knocking till
at some sentiners question. "Who
comes there" the great ones Of the
palace might have been told OF the &C.
lestiai arrival. No; the shepherds
heard the first two bars OF the music,
the first in the major Key and the last
In the subdued minor. "Glory to God
In the highest and on earth peace, good
will to menr' All. yes. the fields were
honoredi
The old shepherds with plaid and
crook have for the most part vanished.
but we have grazing on our United
States pasture fields and prairie about
100000 sheep, and all their keepers
ought to follow the shepherds of my
text, and all those who toll In fields,
all vine dressers, all orchnrdists, all
husbandmen. Not only that Christmas
night, but all up and down the worlds
history. God has been honoring the
fields. Nearly all the nessiahs OF re-
form and literature and eloquence and
law and beuevolence have come from
the fields. Washington from the fields.
Jefferson from the fields. The presi-
dental martyrs. Garfield and Lincoln
and Mckinley. from the fields Henry
Clay from the fields. Daniel Webster
from the fields. Martin Luther from
the fields. Before this world 10 right
the overfiowing populations OF our
crowded cities will have 20 take TO the
fields. Instead OF ten merchants In
rivalry as TO who shall sell that one
apple we want at least eight OF them
to go out and raise apples. Instead of
ten merchants desiring 10 sell that one
bushel OF wheat. we want at least eight
or them 10 go out and raise wheat. The
world wants now more hard hands,
more bronzed checks, more muscular
arms. To the fields! God honored
them when be woke up the shepherds
by the midnight anthem. and he will.
while the world lasts. continue to hon.
Or the fields. When the shepherds
crook was that famous night stood
against the well of the Bethlehem
khan. 1t was prophecy OF the time
when thrasher's fan and farmers pillow
and woocman's AK and ox's yoke and
shear binders rake shall surrender &c
the God who made the country. as man
made the town.
Motherhood Cousecrated.
Behold also that on that Christmas
night God honored motherhood. Two
angels on their wings might have
brought an infant Saviour TO Bethle
hem without Mary's being there at all
When the villagers on the morning OF
Dec. 20 awoke, by divine arrangement
and In some unexplained way the child
Jesus might have been found In some
comfortable cradle OF the village. But
40. no! Motherhood for all time was e
be consecrated. and one OF the tender
est relations was to be the maternal re
lation and one OF the sweetest words
mother" In all ages God has honoree
good motherhood. John Wesley had
good mother; st. Bernard had a good
mother; Samuel Budget, good moth
er; Doddridgo. a good mother; Walter
Scott, good mother; benjamin. West,
good mother. In n great audience, most
or whom were Christians, asked thai
al those who had been blessed OF
Christian mothers arise, and almost
the entire assembly stood up. Do you
not see how important II IL that al
motherhood be consecratsdi Why DID
1ltian. the Italian artist when he
sketched the Madonna make IT an Ital
Ian face7 Why did Rubens, the Ger
man artist. in his Madonna make IL q
German face? Why did Joshua Reyn
oids. the English artist In his Madonna
make It an English facet Why did
Murillo, the Spanish artist, In his Ma,
donna make 1t Spanish face? l new.
or heard, but think they took theiI
own mothers as the type Of Mary, the
mother OF Christ. When you hear some
one in sermon or Grafton speak In tho
abstract Of a good, faithful, honest
mother, your eyes FL up with tears
while you say to yourself. THAT was
my mother
Waiting at the Throne.
The first word a child utters Is ant
TO be mother" and the cid man In his
dying dream calls; 'Motheri Mother
1t matters not whether she was brought
up In the surroundings of city and
In afiiuent home and was dressed ap-
propriately with reference to the de
inands or modern life or whether she
MOre the old time can q nd srraaf round