Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1915-12-27

At the Central Baptist church Sum
day morning Rev. Joel b. Slocum, d.
p, the pastor, spoke on The Star and
the Song, Matt. 3: 2 and Luke 2: 10.
There was special Christmas music,
and Rev. DIR. Slocum spoke briefly to
the juniors after the anthem.
In his sermon DR.. Slocum spoke of
the star leading the wise men and the
song leading the shepherds.
A star and songl Each of these
had something to do in leading people
to the infant Jesus. Each led a diff
ferent class of people. The star led
herds.
And ever since that first Christmas
the star and the song have been doing
their part in leading people to Jesus.
Let US say that the star stands for the
intellect and the song for the heart
Each of these is a road thronged with
pilgrims eager to find Jesus.
Ever since the quest of the wise men
there have been those who have come
with their knowledge and have taken
things that are most precious and
have laid them at the feet of the
Christ.
Greatest InteIleets Have Bowed.
Paul came and looked and believed
and henceforth dedicated his magnifl-
cent intellect to the cause of the
Christ. And the scholars of the early
- ~~~S
Renaissance came. and the men OF the
Reformation, and the great masters of
thought in all these generations since
then came and bowed in lowly wor-
ship. 1t is a fact of remarkable sig
nificance that the towering intellects of
the world have paid obeisance to Jesus
Christ. Not all the great minds of
the world acknowledged Him; but in
| some way or another the most noted
of the worlds intellectual giants have
recognized the superior claims of Jesus.
Raphael in painting, Michael Angelo in
sculpture, Handel in music, Milton in
poetry, Sir Oliver Lodge in science
are only a few representatives of the
thousands upon thousands in every
| field of human attainment who have
| climbed the highest submits of human
achievement and there have yielded
| their laurels to the name that is above
every name. 1t would not be long
| task to classify the worlds greatest
| thinkers of all time into the various
| departments of learning. And when
| that task is finished it would be a
| matter of intense interest to discover
| how large a proportion of them gave
| some kind of testimony in favor of
| Christ.
The World is Thinking Today.
| The world is doing a good deal of
| thinking today, and the greatest intel
| lects of this age are giving at least
| mental assent. and many of them are
| going still farther, in their devotion to
| Jesus. There are people so constituted
that they can come only by that road
| the road that lies under the star.
And Jesus, while He was still living
| among men, appealed to the intellect
strongly. He called Himself the light
| OF the world-and that light was for
mems darkness. He called Himself the
| Way, and that was for those lost amid
| the tangled pathways of life. He calle-
ed Himself the Truth, and that was
| for the guidance of men who were
| longing after wisdom. He was called
the Word, and that was the revelation
OF God to all who would struggle in
theiY finite limitation to comprehend
the infinite. He declared prophetically
that if He should be lifted up from the
world He would draw all men unto
| Himself And this has been abun-
dainty fulfilled in the fact that no
! other character has ever drawn the in
tellect of the world as has Jesus.
The Star and the Song.
Well might the most of US despair
if there were only a star to lead us to
Jesus. Well might the majority of the
pilgrims who have been seeking Jesus
become discouraged if they were con-
ditioned by the necessity for wisdom
But Oh, that song that has caught the
ears and thrilled the hearts of thou
sands upon thousands who could not
apprehend the star. These plain shep-
herds are representative of thousands
upon thousands who follow the song
And how large a place has been taken
by that song. Throughout the scrip
lures We find bursts of songs. The
triumph of Moses, the song of Han
nah, the songs of David and the
Psalmists, the songs of the prophets
the song of Mary.
And then there is at the very last OF
the Book the prophesy of a day when
; there will be a new song, the song OF
the angels, and it will have added to il
the sweetness of earth.