The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1904-02-05

first seekers after Christ were the wis |
est men Of their time. the fact need /
not astonlsh US In every age since
that epoch the mlghtiest intellects Of
the world have been found among the
followers Of Christ, the wisest Of men |
have entered that Bethlehem caravan |
sary 10 learn Of him.
Where did the wise men come fromt
The far east? The word "east' is very |
indefinite. II might mean eastern Asia |
or China. II might and probably does
mean Persia or India. AT all events,
the east was far OF. It 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 1t was so
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, yes the magi, In
order TO find the manger, had many a !
weary days march. Travelling IN their
time had to be done on foot or on horse !
or camel back They had TO tramp !
through the parched deserts. They |
had to climb the loftiest Of mountains
and fathom many a deep valley. How
tired they must have become. If Mel |
chior was old in all probability he
would never have reached the manger
but for the strong arms Of his two
friends. But wherever the three wise
men hailed from, that cleaning star
would beckon them on and on and on.
And yet, my friends. though the wise
men had to travel long distance, they
did not have to 90 any farther than
some sinners will have TO travel to find
Christ. My, my, my, how long dis
lance some Of us have wandered forth
into the land OF SIM Ten, twenty, thir-
ty years ago we started. Young man,
you have not wOrshiped at the man
ger since your mother died. Young
woman. you have not felt the touch Of
/ the manger since the day You almost
gave your heart TO Christ in the vii
! lage revival-almost, but refused Old
man, for a quarter Of a century you
have never uttered the name of Christ
except in blasphemy. Yes, yes, the
sinner will have a long distance TO tray
el to find the manger he must travel
| back over the crooked paths Of many
sinful year. But this Christmas. IL
he will. he can find the manger-fnd It
beckoning 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
/ emigration from the faron land Of sin
toward the manger. Oh, that today
the prodigas in the far country might
seek the old homestead Of mercy. even
as the Bethlehem caravansary was
sought Of old. In Imagination we can
picture how the wise men started. Per
haps weeks, perhaps months before
that first Of all Christmases these orl-
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 astrologer,
with an astronomical glass Is silently
and earnestly studying the heavens.
| Patiently the aged scientist is watching
and waiting for the stars 10 change
their relative positions. Suddenly a
tremor Of excitement shakes his frame.
Silently, swiftly, awfully, divinely,
there passes before the lens a strange
light II does not look so much Ike a
star as n great orb Of light, like dia-
mond glitterng upon the finger Of God,
beckoning. always beckoning. In great
excitement 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 is
younger than the swarthy middle aged
Moor. At first the three say nothing.
They are too absorbed to speak. Then
Balthasar opens a musty parchment
written hundreds Of years before, and
begins 10 read from the Hebrew prophet
Micah: But thou Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thou
sands OF Judah. yet out Of thee shall he
come forth unto me that is 10 be ruler
in Israel. whose golngs forth have been
from Of old. from everlasting" Yes "
answered the old man Melchior that
reminds me OF another passage from
the Hebrew prophet Isaiah: Unto us a
child is born, unto rs son Is given,
and the government shall be upon his
shoulder. and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God,
the Everlasting Father, the Prince Of
Peace" "Yes," may have answered
the poetic young sage, Caspar, that
reminds me Of what the Hebrew psalm
ist wrote. Thou are my son; 10, l come;
in the volume it Is written OF me- p"
"Come. comrades" they shout to each
other. "Come, the star IS beckoning
us. Comet Conner And they leave
their instruments and their manu-
scripts and set out on their journey.
Would that before the dawn Of next
Christmas many exiles from Christ
might start and take this Journey with
the wise men! Would that all who are
lost in the mountains Of sin might leave
behind their dead selves and seek the
manger. which IS afar Off in the land
= Of purity and lovel
What did the wise men do when
? they found the manger? They knelt
and worshiped. Yes, but more than
2 that. They gave their presents, because
from time immemorial, the gold, the
! frankincense and the myrrh have al
p ways been suggestive symbols In wor'
q ship. It is one act to bow at the man
5 ger; il is another act TO give yourself
, as an offering to Christ The motive
J which prompts the Christmas gifts Is
s Of more Importance than the intrinsic
+ value Of the gifts themselves.
: Where did the wise men 20 after
e they had seen the infant Christ and
s rendered their homage at the mangerl
Why, the Bible tells us explicitly they
{ went back home. God spoke to them
e as he has spoken to the hearts Of many