The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1903-12-24

O~-s 10y 9Se412A &A1C 008O8 WIZ
three or ave o. ten. whether their
names were Melchior, Csspar and Bal
thasar, whether the star In the east was
the monster eye Of huge eagle or no,
whether there Is any truth among the
many legends that are told about these
noted travellers. this fact is certain =
they were wise men. The Bible dis
tinctly states that "there came wise
men from the east to Jerusalem, say
ing. "Where is he that 10 born King
Of the Jewsf"
We have seen hundreds Of pictures
descriptive of the wise men coming to
the manger. In every one Of which the
artist has tried to put the highest in
telligence into the faces Of the men
who were riding upon camel back or
trudging afoot over the deserts sands:
but. though It Is significant that the
first seekers after Christ were the wis
est men Of their time. the fact need
not astonish us. In every age since
that epoch the mightiest intellects Of
the world have been found among the
followers Of Christ. the wisest Of men
have entered that Bethlehem caravan
sary to learn Of him.
Where did the wise men come from?
The far eastl The word least" is very
indefinite. 1t might mean eastern Asia
or China. 1t might and probably does
mean Persia or India. At all events,
the east was FAR Of. 1t was so far OF
that these strange travellers must have
startled the Inhabitants Of the west
ern capital with their peculiar garb
and their foreign accent. II was 20
far OF that in all probability the wise
men would have been unable to find
the Jerusalem capital had they not
been led BY that wonderful star, the
star Of the east All, yeA the masi, In
order to nnd the manxsr, had many q
weary days march. Travelling In their
time had to be done on foot or on horse
or camel back They had to tramp
the parcAed dsserts- They
had to climb the loftiest Of mountains
and fathom many . dsep valley. How
tired they must have become! II Mel
chier was old in au probability he
would never have reached the manger
but for the strong arms Of his two
friends. Due wherever The three wise
men hailed frsm, that cleaning star
would beckon them ON and Oh and on.
And yet, ny friends, though the wise
men had to travel long distance, they
did not have to 90 any farther than
rome sinners will have to travel to And
Christ NJ, my. my. how Ioas q dis.
lance some Of % have wandered forth
Into the Land Of ak 1sn. twenty, thir-
y ysars ago We started Young man,
yea have not worshiped at the man.
ger since your mother sd3ed. Young
woman you have not felt the touch Of
the maager since the DAY you aimost
gave your heart to Christ in the vii.
lage Nvival-almcst. but refused Old
man. for . quarter Of q century you
have never uttered NE name Of Christ
except In blsspheny. Yes. yea, the
sinner will have long distance to trav.
b to fnd the manger. He must travel
back over the crooked paths Of many
! sinful year. But this Christmas, II
he win, hecan hnd the manger-nnd 1t
beckoAinS him from the far country Of
sin even as the star In the east guided
the three wise men to the infant Christ.
Oh. that today We might see great
emigrat tien .fTam the farof land Of sin
toward the manger. Oh. that today
the prodigals in the far country might
seek the old homestead Of mercy, even
as the Bethlehem. earayansary was
sought Of old. In imagination we can
picture how the wise men started. Per
haps weeks, perhaps months before
that first of all Chrktmases these ori-
entail sages were working diligently at
their allotted tasks. One Is studying
In one part Of the house, another in an
other and the third in still another.
Perhaps Melchior, the aged astrologsr,
with an astronomical glass is silently
and earnestly studying the heavens
the aged scientist is watching
and waiting for the. stars to change
their relative positions. Suddenly a
Of excitement shakes his frame.
swiftly, awfully, divinely,
there passes before the lens a strange
light. 1t does not look 20 much like q
star as q great orb Of light, like q dia-
mond ghttering upon the finger Of God.
always beckoning In great
the old man staggers to his
feet and calls his two comrades. Cas-
par. the smooth faced sage, rushes
quickly into the room because he 10
younger than the swarthy middle aged
Moor. At first the three say nothing.
They are too absorbed to speak. Then
opens q musty parchment
written hundreds Of years before, and
begins to read from the Hebrew prophet
Micah: But thou Bsthiehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thou
sands Of Judah, yet out Of thee shall be
come forth unto me that IL to be ruler
10 Israel. whose goings forth have besn
from Of Old, from everlasting" YES"
answered the old man Aelchior, that
me OF another passage from
the HebrOw prophet Isaiah: Unto us q
Id L. ..-s- a.