Evening star., 1919-12-20

| LIS Hdtlle Jesus. LOT IL Is 11C I
! that shall save His people from
| their sins. s.-Matthew, 1:21.
BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON.
Christmas recalls the greatest even,
IN human history. 1t prociaimS by
song, spirit and service the birth OF
the Christ, whose coming was the
tneme of the prophets from the days
OF Moses unto the coming of John
!salah in the dark hour that followed
the ruinous results of Ahaz's fatal
foreign policy sought to recall judah
70 trust in God. The great patriot
nad confidence in the power of Je-
no1ah TO give victory to Judah, wher
Tue league of nations formed by Syria
ana israe! threatened the dynasty Of
| DaFid and the city Of Jerusalem. He
sought to persuade Ahaz to place his
dependence upon God. The coward
refused to heed the prophet. Aha7
| sought and secured the Intervention
of Assyria
lily the ruthless warriors crossed the
Euphrates. swept over Palestine
leaVing the country desolated and the
people broken hearted" He carried
the inhabitants of Galilee and Perea
INTO captivity and plunged Judah into
utter despair. The great moral and
social darkness that usually follows
| is an aftermath of war overShadoW ed
the land. The poor starving people
cursed their God and denounced their
KING, because they had been forced to
! give up over half of their territory
and see immense numbers of IsraePs
| leading citizens carried into captivity
beyond the Euphrates by their pre-
| tended ally. Against that dark de-
SPAR furnished by war Isaiah sought
! 10 restore their faith in God and in
the future of their nation by his
prophecy of the glories of the coming
! Peace
Isaiah was the first one of the
prophets to clearly grasp the concep-
tion of universal history. In the close
| or the preceding chapter he pictured
COD destroying ASsyria completely,
! Tor the cedars put forth no new roots
| when they are cut down. He recog-
nized the degradation, despair and
| doubt of the people, The prophet
| sought to fill them with confidence in
the restoration of their national pow
er. He recognized Gods plan. for the
nation demanded that. though cut
! down like an oak, the roots would
| that from the family of Jesse there
| would come forth one who would. by
| his peace program. succeed in re-
| constructing the state and remaking
| the world. He foretold of the birth of
| ImmanueL-God with us-who would
i
| the days of their oppression. He pre-
! dicted the birth of a prince who would
! be the heir to the throne of David.
, who was entitled to be called the
Wonderful Counselor. God Hero.
| Father Everlasting, and Prince of
| Peace"
! 1t is suggestive. in these days of
| unrest to recall that Isaiah spoke in
| a similar hour. when the people were
agitated by the demands for politi-
! cal and social reform. 1t was only
| when these seriously threatened the
| dynasty of David that the prophet
| made his Messianic prediction. He
pointed out that the cause of their
| unrest was religious. not political or
social. He traced it to the material
! ism, that destroyed their patriotism
! and religion to such an extent that
| the throne was seriously. threatened
| through a serious foreign conspiracy
, that sought to place Syrian prince
! upon the throne of David in Jerusa :
! lem. He sought to bring the people
| back to God and make them see that
! in Him alone was the nations hope.
| Like all people whose losses in war
| of dear ones are great, they seek
unto them that have familiar spirits.
! and unto the wizards that chirp and
] that mutter.' The prophet saw no
| hope for them as long as they sought
| communion with the dead and did not
| have faith in God.
| His hope in that dark hour was in a
! band of men united in the fellowship
| of faith based upon the promises and
| the presence of God separate from
state domination. Here in Isaiah one
| finds the birth of a new era in re-
! ligion-the first steps in the emanci-
patton of spiritual religion from the
i forms of political life" His vision OF
, God and His love for men gave the
prophet vision of the hour when
the darkness that covered the sland
would be turned into light for those
who dwelt in the land of the shadow
of death" He prophesied of the hour
of the nations restoration developed
from the handful of faithful ones who
would remain loyal to God. He pre-
dicted that harvest would take the
place of hunger. Praise for victory
would be heard in place of defeat. He
looked for the hour when wars would
cease and the. implements of war
would be changed into those of peace
through the rule Of the Messiah.
Christs character, as outlined by
Isaiah, alone can bring an end to
strife Peace will come to all men
and controlled by His judgments. The
prophet speaks Of the Messiah as a
JudRe. not a King, in this lesson. He
points out how He will possess the
strong elements Of a Master Mind:
"Riueness, but also sharpness Of mind;
moral decision and heroic energy;
piety in its true forms Of knowing
the will of God and feeling the con-
straint to fulfill it," He was to be sin
less He was not to be contaminated
with the infections Of evil because
He would draw His breath in the fear
of the Lord. He tells OF how the
Christ will. through the possession OF
the divine spirit, right the wrongs.
and relieve the oppressed of the poor
and afflicted. His judgments were NOT
to be based upon appearances put tHe
motives revealed in the piety and cnar-
rule was certain to bring about the
establishment of Il universal peace
that would bring an end to war among
nations and extend even to the AMI
NAL kingdom. ,..,.
Matthew points out that lsaian
prophecy was fuihled ~ me Snrls. ss
child. who was born in Bethlehems
manver. The revelation of the scien-
tisfs who by study of nature had
come to know of His birth. hlied
Herod with CONSERVATION SO tnae ne
soueht to destroy the babe Sclence
to the Christi It will always be help,
but needs the Interpretation OF the
Scripture if one is to find the Savior
and to worship Him. The wise men
found child Graded in poverty. They
worshiped Him as a prophet, priest
and potentate in true. oriental iashlon
by presenting to Him the most val
uabie products of their land. "Myrrh
to a mortal gold to a king and frank
incense to a God" They had a vision.
which His own people and the world
lacked. for they rejected Him as the
Messiah for though born as lsalah
pointed out for throne. He sunered
with His people and for their sins.
Luke tells how to the shepherds, the
toi1ers who watched over their fioeks