Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1904-12-31

low we are Ia Ice redeemed on account
OF those divine sufferingS. And further
more. when we know that Christ to-
day in heaven is glad that lie was able
10 suffer for Us in order 10 save us,
what II happy day Christmas ought to
lie for all. Salvation for all. life for
all. eternal emancipation for all who
will today kneel by the side of the
manager. Am | right W zen | declare
that the angelic messenger of the first
Christmas morn should be the most
honored of I'LL messengers when he
announced the redeml ton of the
world through the birth of Gods Son
IN the Manager:
The Nativity. in the next place. meant
joyful tidin.S. because BIZ the incarna-
ton OF the Son of God in the body of
Il little babe the human race was able
TO grasp the great doctrine that God
WAS God of love and not Il God of
hate OF Il God of indifference. 1t is
one fact to preach truth it is another
To preach truth so that it is under
stood by the common people 1t Is one
fact 10 talk about God rs II spirit; 1t
is another 10 talk about God as Christ,
who was bone of our boz and flesh of
our flesh and who was tempted as we
are tempted. God was the same God
before the first Christmas morn as he
is today. But since Jesus Christ came
10 earth we. the common people. have
been able To understand him i'll way
we would never have been able to do
without the incarnation.
Let me illustrate how the beauty of
Gods love is simpliiied in Christ's life.
Charles Lamb and some of his bosom
friends were met together one even
ing in Il London house 10 talk ON liter
airy topics During the conversation
some one said: Think if Dante was
to come to life again and enter this
room, How we would welcome the
man whose feet had trod the fiery
pavemcntS of the inferiio whose eyes
had pierced the twilight. whose lungs
had breathcd the still, clear air of the
Mount of Purgatorio. whose mind had
contemplated the mysteries of glory
in the highest heavens" Suppose"
said another. "ShakeSDea was to
come To lis tonight or VI lton or Homer
or Nirgil:" "Ah.' said Lamb. his
whole face Frightening. how | should
fin. my arms up. How we would
welcome those kings of thoughtful
men," suppose" said nother. Christ
WAS TO come. what would we do:"
With that Charles Lambs face chang
ed instantly as he said of course we
would fall upon our knees and wor-
ship him.
God Is God of Love.
All. YES. Charles Lamb was right. No
man can look upon or study the race
of Christ without clearly and simply
grasping the great truth that God is a
God of love and not Il God of hate. AS
n famous unbeliever wrote in reference
to Christ: Where is the man. where is
the sage. who knows how TO act to suf-
fer. to die without weakness and with
out display: My friends, men do not
invent like this. and the facts respect
ing Socrates. which no one doubts. are
not so we'll attested as those about
Jesus Christ. If the death of Socrates
be that of Il sage. the life and death or
Jesus are those of II G. ID" Jean Paul
Richter wrote these words about
Christ: The hottest among the mighty,
the mightiest among he holy. lifted
with his pierced han Is empires of
their hinges and turned the stream OF
centuries out of its channel and still
governs the ages" oh, my friends. can
not. will not you see the truth that the
birth of Jesus Christ has simplified the
divine truth: that God is a God of love
and not Il God of hate: Can you not
feel through the simple story of the life
and death of Jesus Christ that we are
able 10 learn that God loves us even
with Il greater love than any human
parent bears his own child? Thank
God today for the message of his love.
\ short time after Jesus was born, in
order to satisfy jealous fear. Herod
ordered all the little boys in the region
of Bethlehem to be slain by his sol
diers. Think of ruler having such
power as that and being able to use it
as he would. But Il slaughter of
t0OSe DdnE DONS WIS oliIy Siidii puit
of IIerod's nfamieS. Herod'S whole
reign can he tracked with blOOdshed.
Herod brutally slew his wife's brother
Joseph and her mother and his wife.
He slew every one who dared to lift a
voice against him in his kingdom. Then
in order that his death might be time
of national mourning we learn from Jo-
sephus that he gave orders for the chief
men of the Hebrew nation to be gath
cred in the hippodrome and to be there
slain on the night of his own death. If
the people. as he knew. would not be-
wall his death he took measures to in
sure their sorrow for another cause He
would not have the night of his death
a period of joy and rejoicing. Such a
man was the ruler of Judaea in that
day. All. yes. there never was n dark
err or more hopeless time in Jewish
history than when Jesus was born.
Thus we find the Hebrew people long
ingly-oh. so lonsingly-looking for a
Messiah at this time.
Christ Has Not FOrsaken Us.
My brother. as Christ came to Jeru-
salem ut the darkest time of Hebrew
hts.ta ha m this