Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-12-21

Edgar Wilson, pastor of Broadway
Presbyterian church. in his annual /
Christmas sermon yesterday morning. !
DR.. Wilson took as his text, Unto !
us a child is born: unto us a son is
given" and This is the sign unto
you: We shall find babe wrapped in |
swaddling clothes. and lying in a man /
ger" lisa. go. and Luke 2:12.
The Child In the Manager"
He said in part:
1T was on a cold winter night in I
the month of December. 10 centuries /
ago. that a Galilean peasant and his 4
untutored wife arrived in Bethlehem, !
the city of David. after a long and |
tiresome pilgrimage from the little /
| town of Nazareth in Galilee. They had 1
come up to Bethlehe INTO enroll them
selves in their home city in Judea, in /
| obedience to the decree OF Caesar Au-
gustus that all the world should be
enrolled. But when they entered the
city and inquired for accommodation.
they were told that there was no room
| for them in the inn. The only hostel
/ ~ in Bethlehem where travellers might
/ find a lodging was full of guests. They
| went from room to room: but every
room was full. These rooms to the
right were occupied by merchants
from the east. Some were from Ara
bia, with spices and perfumes: and
these spices and perfumes must be
protected from the weather. Some
were from Babylon, with bales of silk;
and these bales of silk must be care
fully guarded.
These rooms to the left were DC
cupied by travellers who had some to
Bethlehem on a similar errand, TO be
enrolled They had come from the
east and from the west, from the
north and from the south: they had
travelled from the ends of the earth.
from every nation under heaven. Not
i night for weeks hal they slept be-
meath a roof. For many weary days
they had looked forward to this night.
when at length. after their long, harG
journey. they might sleep under the
cover of a roof. and rest in pace.
They could not make room; they were
foot-sore and weary: the door was
now shut. and their children were with !
them in bed; they could not rise and
give them room. They had Travelled
hard TO reach the inn on time. so that
they might secure the best accommo-
dation for their wives and children
justified in keeping their rooms: they
had the first right to them; justice was
N their side.
Guests Were Human.
Now those merchants from the
2ast. with their bales of silk. and with
their spices and perfumes: and those
travellers from the ends Of the earth.
with their wives and children, were
|
we're not hearts of stone: they were
lUmsn hearts of flesh. They were CON
non, ordinary. everyday people. Nam
Z those merchants from Arabia ana
Babylon had with them fortune in
,amers load; they had brought with
lem the accumulation of a lifetime
That fortune must be guarded. AnG
many of those travellers from the ends
II the earth, from every nation under
,eaven. had with them delicate wivea
nd feeble children. Those loved
mes. must have shelter; they mus,
Tot suffer hardship.
And so. when the keeper of the
nm noticed the perilous condition OF
Ioseph's young wife. he fitted up :
all for her in the stable-he was a
humane mamie made il as comfort s
bile for her as he could; and therc
ne passed the night. and brought
oTth her first-born son.
Unto us a child is born; unto us
, son is given. Our first-born son il
he divinity conceived by the HoIy
Spirit in our virgin life and thought
TO tina Son. God assumes the respon \
Utility of a father. He supplies al
sur needs out of the richness of His
ILLNESS. But we must assume the =
esponsibility of a mother We must
are for our newborn child. Our di-
Unity cannot live apart from our hu
nanity 1t must be nourished ana
AIRED for. and nursed in the-bosom OF
,ur human life.
And this is the symbol of Christ
mas. Character is God manifest in :
he flesh. II may be born in a stable. IN
mong the beasts of burden; II may Ii
,e Graded in a Manager. close to the on
herd. But IL is our duty to an
ifht IL out OF the manager and plant il a
n a home The child in the manger M
; destined to worship in the temple. wi
nd not TO wallow in the mire; to wi
hine as the stars in the armament OF tn
leaven, and not TO be put under a
,ushel. or under a bed: TO glorify God. ! IA
nd not TO eXalt the brute. st,
All Worship at Shrine. IN
we bend the knee today to worship no
( the shrine OF the child in the man &c
er. There is no gilded altar sur av
ounding that cradle: there are no tn
BEAUTIFUL paintings on the walls of re
hat stall: there are no artistic fres ly
oes. no attractive works of art 10 ba
dorm that stable: there are no gor- be
eous professions OF pilgrims waiting ar
o be admitted into that courtyard, 10 mi
neel before that king. only few sti
umble. hireling shepherds, who an
,atched the paschaI lambs on the tn
iIIside. sro,,nd petbIehern- come with 81