Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / Dec. 18, 1908, edition 1 / Page 8
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-XULESS EVKKf BODY." 'JBl. sitV nevl towed on my Vnee, A little form all clad in whrta, TTw iw!cil hands claaped reverently Ami. Hod receivc the last Goodnight!" lis hour m solemn, none se eweet, K swme of innocence fair jft the, vhfii Faith arid tJhilunood meet A4 know each other ia a prayer. llvw. l(Isw"j; born of -men she asks Pctitwww for herself -alone TKot rcallSB treasures, easy t i-s';, A harvest reared, thoaiW nrt'iing sown; !Ut Iwippinei-ss, nor length of dpy-S Nor peace nor p'rasttre is the plea "Irt eve for w mother praise. Unwove" rert it cea to be. ior tanei -she we tht little child ia teader accents intercede, if ssr brart were reconciled ' T iiia.te contentment of onr tiecila. -A b3cnt; ench ne of km, At then Ive8 banner 11 unfurl' J, -As if t tk l'r.r-tn m "Mm SCverybody in the -world." ;TXi. mt sCi the wo;M? O gentle heart, That throbs not wiih nc scltish thii!, Tkt ifsofctps n seal apart, Faroodr rto living creature ill; "Th hTi; frfpM thy !tar place Ush, iw theLr.ils m wreathed and curl'J "JCn t tr the me-Ts:e of thy praco "evs-ryhwly in the world!" W. i. II., in Ohio Magazine. d 0 o A 3 LITTLE HEROINE 3 0 S OF THE PLAINS i Every clay durlns tlie fall months "twin 2dclly Donivan walked to the eoantry school tw miles distant f rem Jer hoflae. And ishe tooi charge of swil rrot2ct2d two little neighbor cMldrpa rho were Eoraewhat younger taaa bersrlf, E03lng that they were net "rira ever' by the older pupils, for. yoa know, there are boys and Slrls. tot, I'm sorry to say who de light ia te-.sing and annoying their juniors la ag3 and inferiors In size. BJoIIjr threw her protecting little ivr zn alxrat Peggy and Sammy Stone, twla. sister anl brother, and neigh .fcors cf Molly's. Dariiitr the severe winter weather SSjcUy9 nd, cf course, Peggy and Sajumy (seeing that the twins never "weal tt school without Molly) were obliged! to miss many, many days of -schooling, for thsy could net breast the &zv-s weather such a long dis--tases. But during the pleasant months they never missed a day. Golsg to and from sehool wa3 very T,lea?jst, raised, for their road was over a beautiful prairie, with 'great Hslds stretching . on every side. It -oras in the rr.id.ll3 v;est, where very little ti3lhr oiisLru:ted the praivics, whlcbi rcllrd gently sloping fcr nilcs ated tailcs. Alsa it was the country where ths cyclona often did grsat 3a.raagg to property and life, f jr no tso3an.ta.ias or forests were there to tereaic lis fury. Ose very bet day in the latter part -of September for September la one of the hottest months in that part of the c-B"try tho heat was most op--pressirs; r.o wind which Is so U3ual rlavia the anlnxnn blew to give re ller. and the sky was full of small, '.fceavy thnndercaps. This was omin iu3r threatening a storm of some sort. L:it? in tae afternoon the school .'teacher decided it was best to dismiss schEKyl for ths day, as every atmos ' pheiic symptom pointed toward a cy ' clonic distnrbance, if not a genuine cyelonc. She told the pupils to make . all possibl2-'"haste to their respective Viurajr-?; saying that the sky was very -1 threatening, in3eed, for a great lack-!rowea cloud was rising over th.s riortnwesterri hr'lzon. Molly, rlth littlo book satchel In one liand and dinner pail in the other, and with Peggy and Sammy ranEing close to her heels, went fly ing oTer the dusty country road to Tarard faer home, which was not to be seta from the schcolhouse, a long lull inter yen in g. "Hope it won't bs a cyclone," Sasptd oat Sammy. And even while lie was speaking a gust of hot wind "blew fiercely .from the northwest. Oh, that blew the dust in my eyes!" the little chap cried, stopping to wipe Bis fae3 on his sleeve. "'Say, sistsr :vn' Molly, wait for jael" he called out to he running girl3, who were leaving Mir. behind. "Well, brother, don't be foolin' along." called out Peggy, pausing in lieT sspsed and waiting for Sammy to corns up. "Oh, got dust in your eyes?" asked Molly, pausing also and looking around toward Sammy, who was still trying ta clear hi3 eyes. Then she iretarned to the little hoy's assistance, taking her handkerchief from her took satchel and wiping the lids of Sammy's eyes. "Now, I guess the 2iit ia all oat," sail Molly, preparing tit replace her kerchief in its resting place. "No, 'tain't," declared Sammy, h&t- tia? J)i3 eyelid3. "There's dust dmsJes and chunks of it in my left .' eye. Uh, it hurts, it does." And the coffering Sammy grabbed at Molly's tercMcf tc aid in removing the "chests and chunks" of dust from Ills eye. Again Molly came to his as .s4atance, this time turning the lid Jiitelk as far as Ebe could so that she slight wipe the dust from under it. .Sla had seta her mother remove dast from the herdboys eyes many run! many a time, and she knew just i w to ,o abont it. Bat the process .osTTUc,' an 4 before Sammp pro- u Li , --per3 all right the mlu itea tad ffowa and so had the great ;. "1-hroAcJ c.lui?(l. which now cov--red: fcalf the western sky. Then the tl.W grew euddenTy darker, and a fu- Xjt?3.s"win4 cams of a sudden, brirg tn?lust, cand and occasional dn.;s of rain. The storm was coming at the rate of fifty miles an hour, and the outer rim of it was upon the three little ones In the wild prairie, i Molly, versed in" all the things of the plains, looked at the cloud, saw the under clouds whirling round and round; also noted that there seemed to be two strong upper currents of air battling with each othar. Al though the atmosphere wa3 insuffer ably hot just before the wind struck it, it had now turned very cold, and Sammy and Peggy shivered. "Uh, let's hurry home," gasped Peggy, hardly able to speak In the fierceness of the gale. But Molly's observant eye had seen something that neither Sammy nor Peggy had noticed. In fact, not one child in a hundred under fifteen would have ncticedjt. It was a f jnnel-skaped cloud as Llack as ink that kept dipping down toward the earth and swinging back ward and forward as it swept across the prairie at least twenty miles away from lh o spot where the chil dren were. Molly's face turned dead ly pale, and her little hands trembled T3 she tried to fix her book satchel and dinner rail together in order that she might have one hand free to hold to Peggy with, for the wind was al most taking thnt liitle girl from her feet. "Come, hold to mo, Peggy." said Molly. "And you, Sammy, take hold of my ether arm. There! Now we must reach that little draw down yonder the place where the bank i3 all washed out on the north side. "Uut that ain't going home!" cried Peggy, her breath almost gone in the gale and her little suubonnet flying away. "Never mind your bonnet never mind anything but what I tell j-ou!" Molly screamed, in the children's ears, for now the storm was nearing them so rapidly that Its roaring drowned their voices. And the rain wa3 com ing faster and faster. "It's a very dangerous storm," shrieked Molly, dragging the two little ones by main force, and against their will, toward the "draw" where one cf the banks had been cut out by heavy rains Into a deep cave-like ledge. "Come, we can't get home now. We've got to crawl under the bank ia the draw! The distance was short to the draw, being only a few paces from the road side, and within a few minutes Molly had the twins safely tucked far under the overhanging bank, a little cave like nook secure from the wind and weather, and she herself crawled in after them. And there the three lit tle one3 remained for a. long, long hour, for the wind swept above them in a perfeat hurricane, tearing out by the root3 the few stray treeg that grew along the banks of the "draw." Peggy and Sammy huddled down like two littl-3 mica, keeping their eyes shut tightly " while with their hands they cl ing to the very soil be neath them, digging their fingers into it. But so secure were they that the wind swept above them, never touch ing them with its fierceness. And the the ground being so dry the rain was swallowed up as soon as it fell, thus preventing the little run, or "draw," a3 the ditch was commonly called, from filling up at once. But' as the rain fell in torrents quite a little river was formed in the bed of the ravine, and the children had some difficulty in keeping their feet out of it. "If the water rises much more we'll get a good soaking," said Molly, speaking to herself. "But we're not afraid of water. If the storm goes over without tearing our cave away we're In luck." And so it did. Soon the wind had blown over, the rain had followed it, still rushing on across the prairies like wildfire. And the great battle field of the storra lay soaked and wind - swept, every tree, every hay stack that had dotted the prairie was goue. Slowly Molly crept from the little cave under the bank and looked about her. Some rain was falling yet, but not enough for apprehension, and to ward the northwest the sky was clear and serene. Eut all about them the plains lay as bare as though they had been swept by a huge broom. Even the wild grass had been torn out by the roots. Molly looked toward the schoolhouse or the place where it had once been. But the ground was smooth and not one board of the white frame building was to be seen. A great fear came over her. Sup pose her own home her dear par ents! But at that moment she saw a sturdy figure ascending the long hill, and Into view came her own father. He was coming very rapidly, looking all about him. "When he saw Molly he raised his hands as if in thankful ness. Molly and the twins ran to meet him. "Why, papa, where did you come from?" asked Molly, in cheerful tones. "Arc mamma and the house safe?" "Yes, dear child. But how came you here? We supposed the teacher would keep you in the schoolhouse in the fsce of such a storm. But " and for the first time he saw, to hiR surprise and dismay, that there was no schoolhouse. Then Molly told him how they she and the twins bad crouched in the cut-out bank of the "draw" during the storm. And when she had finished, her father took her in his arms and kissed her. "You are the bravest little girl I ever saw or heard of," he said. "You saved the lives cf your little charges and of yourself by being cool-headed and brave. And now let's hurry home. Mamma and the father and mother of Peggy and Sammy are so anxious to know if you are safe. God bless you all. What, joy they will feel, when they see us all coming homo together,1" safe and sound.'' , Washington. Star. Household Affairs. SANDPAPER , CAKES. To remove the burned edges of layer of loaf cake, use fine sandpaper as seon as the cake is "set," but be fore it gets cold. A piece of parafrin paper, cut the shape of calc!, will prevent the cake sticking to tho plate on which It Is to be set away. New York World. . MAKE STOCKINGS LAST. When buying boys stockings, pur chase as long as can be had. Be fore wearing, sow a neat tuck around the ankle. When the stocking Is worn at the knee let out the tuck and the worn part will be raised so as to be covered by the trousers, and the stocking will be as good as new, New York World. CARPvOTS A CURE FOR BABIES. One would scarcely think of feed ing III babies on carrots, yet this is precisely what has been done with great success by an Italian physician, Dr. Moro, who finds that these vege tables act as an intestinal antisep tic. In all of forty-eight cases of digestive disturbances treated with a carrot puree excellent results are re ported. The soup is not only anti septic, but nourishing. There appears to be no good reason why the carrot should not have the same effect upon adult as upon infant digestion, and lovers of the peculiar flavor of this humble vegetable may consider that their preferences are now amply justi fied. .8" ' LINEN BAGS. Embroidered linen bags to hold one's kitting or fancy work are often made of white linen and worked in floss. A favorite shape is an oblong bag with the two sections cut exactly the same and each one decorated with some needlework, a raised pattern in linen flos3 being preferred. Two rows or eyelets are worked about an inch and a half from the top and reaching from side to side, there be ing four or five In each row. A linen cord is run one way through the up per row and the other way through the lower row. Both pieces of the bag are laid together and the sides and bottom fastened down with scal lops worked In buttonhole stitcb. The top and corners down to where the cords are run are worked separately in the same scallop. These bag3 wash perfectly and they are very conven ient to carry or to keep for handker chiefs, embroidery silk, spools or any of the little belongings that litter up dresser drawers. New York Herald. SUN PARLORS. Sun parlors are better liked every year, and architects say that in time they will replace piazzas. A piazza is comfortable only in hot weather, but a sun parlor can be used all the year round. Some people are en closing their piazzas with glass. Care should be taken to brighten the in terior with warm coloring. An old stone porch that has been for years a stiff, gloomy affair recent ly blossomed into the most desirable of sun parlors. The floor was cov ered with well chosen rugs, the color scheme being dark green, with bright red to relieve the soberness. At the windows bright red curtains hung straight down to the sills, and the shades close to the windows were truly gorgeous. These were of a material not too thin, but transparent enough 'to let in the light, and were covered with red roses running over a trellis. When- the shades were half way down it gave the effect of a window garden. The furniture was mission, with red and green cushions, and all stone work was covered with vines and ferns plants easily cared for. Spring flowers were growing in pots placed on small tables here and there, and yet the room was not overbur dened with things blooming. Phila delphia Press. X WORK APRON. A novel work aprcn with bretelles, one that can be worn when embroid ering or presiding over a chafing dish, is made of white linen having a dain tily worked scalloped pattern all around the edge. The--apron part is rounded at the bottom corners and is narrowed at the waist, having a few tiny pleats where it joins the belt. On the under side of the apron, start ing at the belt, is sewn a narrow strip of linen, following the outline of the apron and continuing on up the other side of the belt. In the centre at the bottom two buttonholes are worked and then ribbon i3 run in thi3 casing, the upper ends being well fastened at the waist, while the other ends come through the buttonholes to the out side, where they are tied in a bow. When the apron !s worn plain without the pocket eh'ect the bow re mains in this position, but when the use of the pocket is desired the knot Is lifted up to the waist line, thus gathering the apron so that it forms a pocket, and the bow is then hooked to an invisible, eye in the centre of the belt in front. The belt itself 13 fashioned of rib bon and the bretel!e3 made of shaped pieces of the embroidered material have bands of vibbon running from each side o' the front to the shoul-dei-s, where they terminate in smart little bows wit'i an end cf each re turning clown the front to the bust, making the two ribbons to join anc? form another bow. Ns-.v York Herald- THE PULPIT. A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY THE REV. JASON NOBLE PIERCE. Subject: The Compassion of Jesus. Brooklyn, N. Y. In Puritan Con gregational Church Sunday the pas tor, the Rev. Jason Noble Pierce, preached on "The Compassion of Jesus." The text was from Luke 7:13: "And when the Lord saw her He had compassion on her and said unto her, weep not." Mr. Pierce said: I have taken as my subject this morning one of the most beautiful and comforting themes in the Bible, "The Compassion of Jesus." If there is any one present in this congrega tion who has been experiencing trial and suffering, or who has been called upon to bear some grievous burden or suffer loss, I ask his attention, es pecially, to the consideration of this theme. And if there is any one here who would make more sure of God's personal love for His individual chil dren, let him discover that love as it is revealed In the compassion of His Son, our Lord and Saviour. Briefly but clearly the author of our Gospel presents the scene: "Be hold, there was a dead man carried out, the only on of his mother, and she was a widow; and much people of the city was with her." From our text we know that she was weeping, and well she might, for death leaves a smarting sting. This was not the first time she had faced death in the inner circle of her home. She was a widow. But how often does the los ing of one member of the family make it any easier to part with an other, especially when it Is an only son, a young man, and probably tho main support and stay of his wid owed mother? Circumstances seemed to conspire to make the occasion full of greatest sorrow for her, and as the procession passe3 through the city gate and turns toward the burying ground the burning tears course down her cheeks and she sees naught, feels naught, knows naught but the grief that is in her heart: Of all the helpless ones in Israel she, passing out of the gate, was most helpless. And that was the very hour the mightiest one in all Israel drew nigh to the city. Weakness and strength; human need and divine help; these are never far separated. But will the divine grace become op erative? Will the Saviour act? "When the Lord saw her He had compassion on her and said unto her, Weep not. And He came and touched the bier; and they that bear him stood still. And He said. Young man, I say unto thee, arise. And he that was dead sat up and began to speak. And He delivered him unto his mother." Halleluiah! What a Saviour! If the issue could be avoided I would gladly pass over a discussion of the miracle involved in thi3 lesson. But how can I? If I assume that you all accept the miracles ascribed to Jesus, I make a false assumption, for I know from personal conversation that some of you have questionings and uncertainties in your minds. If I could separate the question of Jesus' compassion from His miracles I might do that. But how can I? Everywhere in the Gospels where Jesus' compassion is referred to it is In connection with some miracle. His was not an inactive compassion. He did not do as so many of us do, allow our sympathy to vent itself in empty air. His great heart made demands upon a great power, and the sight of sorrow ever made Him exert Himself for its relief. Four times doea St. Matthew and four times does St. Mark refer directly to Jesus' compas sion, and upon each occasion do we find Him working a miracle. St. Luke speaks directly concerning the compassion of our Lord only once and that is in our text. The subject demands our attention. There are some men who are not greatly troubled concerning the mira cles. They sweep them all In or all out of their theological acceptance with no hard thinking or penetrat ing vision. Their theological house is one of the portable variety, cheap ly bought, ready made, quickly clapped together over a foundation of sand. It may serve cn a fair day, but when the test comes how is it? The rain descends and the floods come and the winds blow and beat upon that house; and It falls; and great is lie fall of it. One of the safeguards of the church n the number of thinking, men and women within it, who concentrate not only their hearts, but their minds unto the Lord, and who meditate upon Him in the night watches. And to all such comes sooner or later the question of the miracles. We wres tle with these miracles, we pray over them, we come to some conclusion concerning them and our conclusions are not always alike. There are some who discriminate among the miracles. Those they can explain through understood laws they accept; the rest they hold in abey ance. Some of the most consecrated and loj-al followers of the Master are among these disciples. And there are those also who be lieve that ftrrough Jesus were done many mighty works. I am of this mind. This does not mean that we give unqualified approval to all that Jesus was said to have done. His is the only instance on-record, if it Is so, that all that was said of Him is true. But it does'mean that through Him deeds were done that the human mind does not yet understand. It does not me.in that Jesus did these mighty works in His own strength and of Hi3 own knowledge. "I can of mine own self do nothing," He said, "but the Father that dwell'eth in Lie, He doeth the works." And the number of thinking men who hold thi3 belief ia fast increas ing, not through an increase of faith by itself, but through an increase of experience. The metaphysical world is yielding up her secrets one by one, and we are discovering that there is a relationship between the seen and the unseen of which our fathers only dreamed. Miracles are daily taking place through human agency co-operating with the laws of God. And it is because we are coming to better understand the inter-relctlon cf forces and the amazing consequence of certain causes, that we turn to the U?pii f.yd read with deeper insight and larger faith of the mighty worli of Jesus. . But I call your attention this, morn ing not to the miracles themselves, but to their cause; not to an analysis of their accomplishment, but to the discernment of that which called them forth, tho compassion of Jesus. Often the crowd gathered about Jesus and demanded some marvelous work, a sign from heaven. " He re fused them. Men came to Him seek ing to enlist His power for their sel fish gain, but they always departed sadder and wiser men. Nothing could tempt Him to make a show or win the crowd through the marvel lous. But when He saw people in need or in sorrow or suffering, when did He ever turn, them away? How quick was His response! How suffi cient' in power! His maxim was. ."They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick." When the. multitude penetrated the. desert whither He had gone for retire ment and needed rest, when He be held their desire for Him and knew the hunger and heart sickness that impelled them to seek Him, "He waa moved with compassion on them be cause they were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd." Whvn the blind and the demented cried unto Him, the Lord of Light and Spirit was mighty in deed. When the leper of Galilee knelt before Him saying, "If Thou wilt Thou canst make me clean," His heart " wa3 touched. "And Jesu3, moved with compassion, put forth His hand and touched him and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean;" Oh, the mighty love of Jesus! It met that dear mother at the gate of Nain and did for her what none in all the city could do, restore to her her son. Can any of you imagine the wonder and joy unspeakable that came to her when Jesus delivered him to her? One of the striking characteristics of the compassion of Jesus is Its ln clusiveness. It knows no bounds. It goes out to the multitude and to the individual, to the stranger as freely as to the friend, to the Jew and to the Gentile. His heart went out for the city and He wept over it and His heart went out to the lone woman la need of a Saviour. The one essential was that there exist a grief, a burden, a sorrow and immediately His- help was forthcoming. Where the sick were gathered by their friends, or among the porches by the pool where the Impotent lay, there was Jesus to bless. No custom delayed Him, no fear for life nor weariness of the flesh restrained Him, but freely He ministered unto all who called upon Him. Another characteristic of Jesus' compassion Is its attitude toward evil. He doe3 not tell the blind man that it is best for him to remain blind, nor does He point out to the leper that there are compensating blessings that come through his affliction. His ac tion 13 rather to strike at the evil that is responsible for their condition. I dare say that He could have visited the widow of Nain and through His revelation of the heavenly home and the Father's love He could have light ened her heart of much of its sorrow. But His way was that of the mosMn cisive action against the cause of her grief. Affliction and sorrow and pain are not regarded by Jesus as divinely sent nor to be unnecessarily borne. He opposed them. He threw the weight cf His teachings and life, against everything that tended to pro duce them. He set a priceless value not only upon human life, but upon the liberty that life was to enjoy, and everything that bound and dwarfed that liberty He fought unto the end. Oh, what a judgment upon this coun try, where human life 13 held so cheaply, where men perish by thou sands upon the railroads and in the mines, where grinding Industrial life sweep3 pinching poverty into the homes, where selfishness and pleasure allow disease and suffering to spread far and wide with ravaging hand! Jesus fought this misery and gave Himself unstintedly to unburden the lives of men. And now in approaching the final consideration of this theme it is im portant that we bear in mind the steps thus far taken, for they have an Immediate bearing upon what is to follow. We have seen that Jesus was in fullest sympathy with -all who car ried a burden, and that all such found a way of approach to Him at all times. In the second place, we have seen that He was in such accord with His Father in heaven. that the mightiest of works were possible unto Him and were accomplished through Him to relieve human sorrow. And we have seen, too, that His loving compassion knew no bounds, that it embraced the individual as well as the multi tude, that It left no one with whom He came in contact outside His af fection. And lastly, we have consid ered the fact that Jesus opposed Him self to evil in whatever form it was found, and regarded pain . and afflic tion as enemies to be trodden under foot. Dear friends, while we have been talking about Jesus we have in reality been talking about our ' heavenly Father. While we have been consid ering the compassion of Jesus we have been discussing the loving com passion of God. The former is the perfect manifestation of the latter. All that has been said of Jesus' com passion I now assert' to be true of God's love. If there is any one here with a burden, a heavy sorrow, a hid den grief, let me tell you that yowdo not bear it alone. It may have seemed ofttimes that the Father had forgotten yo-i or had overlooked you in the multitude, but the very mo ment that the hour has been dark est is the time He has been most near. He has always kept the wa3T of approach open, which is more than we can say for ourselves, and often when our ear heard not and our heart Inclined not His voice has been calling "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Nor has He overlooked one. No one is beyond the reach of IH3 love. It may have been long ago that you turned aside from Him and you may feel that you are indeed a stranger with no claim upon Him. But it ia not so. His compassion is without bound. An Impossibility. You cannot expect men to rever ence a religion when they cannot re spect its followers. ip INTERNATIONAL. LESSON rOM. BIENTS FOR DECEMBER 20, Subject: Christmas and Its L'o:), Luke 2:8-20 Golden Text, Luke 2: 11 Commit Verses 8-1 tt .Commentary. TIME. December, B.C. 5. PLACE. Bethlehem. . EXPOSITION. I. " The Shepherd Told of the Birth of Christ the Lord, 8-14. Seven hundred years before, Micah had prophesied that . He that was to "be ruler in Israel; whose go ings forth are from of old, from ever lasting" was to come out of Bethle hem (MIc. 5:2). Note how many de crees and deeds of men, unconscious of God's purpose and prophecy, worked together to fulfill God's word and carry out His eternal plan. The Saviour of the world, the Christ, the Lord, begaji in a stable the life He was to close upon the cross. There was "no room" for Him in the inn. There is "no room" for Him to-day in the hearts of, most men, in tho home, in business, in society, in poli tics. The' announcement of the ad vent of the King was made to shep herds. The shepherds proved their fitness to receive the announcement (y. 15). They were men of faith, with a deep appreciation of spiritual truth, in spite of their lowly position. They seem to have been waiting, longing, looking for the coming of the Christ (v. 16). They were faithfully attending to their lowly duties when, the revelation came. It was not pleasant work, but it was their work, and while at it the angels met them (comp. Ex. 3:1, 2; Judg. 6:11, 12; 1 K. 19:19; Luke 1:8,11). The glory, that shone around them was the an cient Sheklnah that betokened God's presence. At a later day the disciples were to behold the glory of God. in the person of Jesus Hlm?lf (Jno. 1:14; 2 Cor. 3:18; 4:6). The shep herds were "sore afraid" when they; beheld this glory. The supernatural,' by bringing God near, always fills the heart of sinful man with fear (Rev. 1:17; Luke. 5:8; Isa. 6:5). .But the angelic message at once dispelled all fear. They came to announce salva tion, not judgment. They began with one of God's most frequent messages to men, "fear not." But the angels not only bade them "fear not," but brought forward the only real cure for fear, the Gospel. They brought "good tidings of great joy." The coming of Jesus the Saviour, Christ and Lord, is the best news this old, sin-cursed and Satan-governed world ever heard. It was a strange place to be sent to seek a king a barn. And it was a strange sign to mark "a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord" "babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger." The world receives this wonderful proclamation to this day with indifference, but the heavenly, army received it with exultant shouts of praise to God. Well they mightr The word "suddenly"' shows that they could hardiyes4nthemselves until the message wa?T fully delivered. They all but interru'Msd'.their spokes man's proclamatio??fith their glad chorus. There waTTto be a twofold result of the Saviour's birth "glory to God in the highest," "on earth peace among men of His good pleas ure." II. The Shepherds Hastening to Find the Christ, 15, 18. The shep herds, though humble and illiterate, were wise men. They showed it by, believing God's word and going to see for themselves the glorious truth that had been proclaimed to them. Of the truth of what had been told them they had not a doubt. They spoke of it as "this thing (or. word) which Is come to pass." Wise and happy the man who when God tells him anything counts it done (Luke 1:45; Jno. 20:29). They knew it was so because the Lord had made it known.. That is faith (Heb. 11:1, R. V. ; see context). They did not "go" to test the truth of the word cf God, but to "see" what they already fully believed. When God makes any great fact or truth known to us we should at once believe it and then "go and see this word which the Lord hath male known to us," I. e., enter into it experimentally. Note the eagerness and whole-heart-edness of the:ie shapherd-saints, "they came with haste." Surely they will rise up in the judgment against our cold-hearted slowness in appropriat ing the fullness of blessings that God makes known to us. "They came with haste" to find the Christ, but to day men will scarce come at all; and, if they do come, it is with such re-' luctance that they must be urged and reasoned with and plead with and almost pulled to tho Saviour's feet. These shepherds were rare souls. They found it all just as God said it would be (v. 16; cf. v. 20; ch. 19:32; Acts 27:25). Therein a "babe lying in the manger" they gazed upon the One who was to be the Christ of God and Saviour of the world. III. The Shepherds Witnessing For the Christ They Had Found, 17-20. They did not keep to themselves the good news. They told only that "which was spoken to them." Christ was the whole subject of their testl-mon-. Their testimony awakened little besides wonder with most. Mary "kept" in her heart and "pon dered" all these wonderful revelations.- That is the way to deal with God's word. The shepherds were true and wise men. They did not lose their heads. They went back to their humble toil. Eut they went back in a new spirit, "glorifying , and praising God." King Edward's Lucky Number. The king's lucky number is nine. Both his parents were born in 1S19, he wa,3 horn, on a 9th, his marriage took place In the year '3, which numbers added the one to the other niake nine; his reign commenced in 1301, he was to have been crowned on the 27th, which figures Tvldd to- gether make nine, and hi I-'x ly crowned gj Aug. 2. Bits. -1 s 1 r
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 18, 1908, edition 1
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