,a ,wonderful ,night ,by ,,james ,h4 ,,snowden ,decorations by ,maud and ,miska ,petersham 99 99 99 99 99 ,nights differ as much as days4 ,some nights have witnessed great events and been charged with ethical significance in the history of the world4 ,one such night stands forth crowned with supreme distinction1 the night that heard angels sing1 and was starred with the ,birth of ,bethlehem4 ,this book treats the various events and steps that led to the central wonder and interprets the story in terms of its significance today and invests it with poetic light4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company ,,publishers 33 ,,new ,,york ,transcriber's note3 ,the above text is taken from the front flap of the dust jacket4 ,a ,wonderful ,night ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company ,,new ,,york ,,boston ,,chichago ,,dallas ,,atlanta ,,san ,,francisco ,,macmillan ,,co41 ,,limited ,,london ,,bombay ,,calcutta ,,melbourne ,,the ,,macmillan ,,co4 ,,of ,,canada1 ,,ltd4 ,,toronto ,illustration ,a ,wonderful ,night ,an ,interpretation of ,christmas ,by ,james ,h4 ,snowden ,decorations by ,maud and ,miska ,petersham ,illustration ,the ,macmillan ,company ,publishers ,,mcmxix ,set up and electrotyped4 ,published ,november1 #aiai4 ,contents ,,chapter ,i4 ,an ,age of ,wonders ,,ii4 ,preparation for the ,event ,,iii4 ,a ,wonderful ,fulfillment of ,prophecy ,,iv4 ,an ,historical ,event ,v4 ,simplicity of the ,narrative ,,vi4 ,the ,town of ,bethlehem ,,vii4 ,the ,wonderful ,night ,draws ,near ,,viii4 ,the ,birth ,,ix4 ,no ,room in the ,inn ,x4 ,angel ,ministry ,,xi4 ,angels and ,shepherds ,,xii4 ,the ,concert in a ,sheep ,pasture ,,xiii4 ,the ,first ,visitors to ,bethlehem ,,xiv4 ,the ,star and the ,wise ,men ,,xv4 ,a ,frightened ,king ,,xvi4 ,an ,impotent ,destroyer ,,xvii4 ,splendid ,gifts ,,xviii4 ,was a ,child the ,best ,christmas ,gift to the ,world8 ,,xix4 ,a ,world ,without ,christmas ,,xx4 ,has the ,christmas ,song ,survived the ,world ,war8 ,,xxi4 ,the ,light of the ,world ,o ,little town of ,bethleham1 ,how still we see thee lie6 ,above thy deep and dreamless sleep ,the silent stars go by3 ,yet in thy dark streets shineth ,the everlasting ,light2 ,the hopes and fears of all the years ,are met in thee to-night4 --,phillips ,brooks4 ,illustration3 ,a ,wonderful ,night ,illustration3 ,a ,wonderful ,night ,i4 ,an ,age of ,wonders ,transcriber's note3 ,the first letter of each chapter is in the form of an illustrated dropped capital4 ,we live in an age of wonders4 ,great discoveries and startling events crowd upon us so fast that we have scarcely recovered from the bewildering effects of one before another comes1 and we are thus kept in a constant whirl of excitement4 ,the heavens are full of shooting stars1 and while watching one we are distracted by another4 ,so frequent is this experience that our nerves almost refuse to respond to the shock of a new sensation4 ,we are no longer surprised at surprises4 ,the marvelous has become the commonplace1 and the unexpected is what we now expect4 ,yet we are not to suppose that our age is the only one that has had its wonders4 ,other times had theirs also1 only these old-time wonders have become familiar to us and ceased to be wonderful2 but in their day they were marvelous1 and some of them equalled if they did not surpass any wonders we have witnessed4 ,the ,great ,war was the most cataclysmic eruption that has ever convulsed the world1 but it was not more revolutionary and sensational in the twentieth century than the ,french ,revolution was in the eighteenth and the ,reformation was in the sixteenth century4 ,the discovery of ,america in the fifteenth century created immense excitement and was relatively a more colossal and startling occurrence than anything that has happened since4 ,the telescope and the ,copernican theory were as great achievements in their day as the spectroscope and the nebular hypothesis are in our day4 ,the most useful inventions and the most marvelous products of the human brain are not the railway and telegraph after all4 ,the art of printing1 which infinitely multiplies thought and sows it in the very air and every morning photographs the world anew1 is a more useful invention and in its day was a great wonder4 ,still farther back1 hidden in the mists of antiquity1 lies the invention of the alphabet that is even more useful and marvelous4 ,it is when we get back to the oldest tools1 the hammer and plough and loom1 that we come to inventions of the greatest fundamental utility1 and we could better afford to give up all our modern magic machines than to part with these4 ,the oldest literature is ever the ripest1 richest and best1 and ,homer and ,shakespeare overtop all our modern writers as the ,alps overshadow the hills lying around their feet4 ,what modern preacher can compare in eloquence and power with ,paul and ,isaiah8 ,nature is ever full of new wonders1 and yet the grass was as green and the mountains as grand and the golden nets and silver fringes of the clouds were as resplendent in the days of ,abraham as they are to-day4 ,we are the heirs of the ages1 but wonder and wisdom were not born with us1 and with us they will not die4 ,where must we go to find the greatest wonder8 ,not to the scientist's discoveries and the inventor's cunning devices3 the greatest marvel is not material but spiritual2 and to find it we must not look into the present or future1 but go back to the first ,christmas morning4 ,on that morning the ,judean shepherds had a story to tell which all they that heard it wondered at and which is still the wonder and song of the world4 ,the birth of ,jesus is absolutely the greatest event of all time4 ,whatever view is taken of him he has become the ,master of the world4 ,christ has created ,christendom1 silently lifting its moral level as mountains are heaved up against the sky from beneath4 ,the coming of such a unique and powerful personality into the world is an infinitely greater wonder than the discovery of a new continent or the blazing out of a new star in the sky4 ,,ii4 ,preparation for the ,event ,near events may have remote causes4 ,the river that sweeps by us cannot be explained without going far back to hidden springs in distant hills4 ,the huge wave that breaks upon the ocean shore may have had its origin in a submarine upheaval five thousand miles away4 ,a wide circle of causes converged towards this birth2 all the spokes of the ancient world ran into this hub4 ,when ,abraham started west as an emigrant out of ,babylonia1 not knowing whither he went1 he was unconsciously traveling towards ,bethlehem4 ,jewish history for centuries headed towards this culmination2 this was the matchless blossom that bloomed out of all that growth from ,abraham to ,joseph and ,mary4 ,priest and prophet1 tabernacle and temple1 gorgeous ritual and streaming altar1 sacrifice and psalm1 kingdom and captivity1 triumph and tragedy were all so many roots to this tree4 ,these were the education and discipline of the chosen people1 preparing them as soil out of which the ,messiah could spring4 ,the great ideas of the unity and sovereignty1 spirituality and righteousness of ,god1 the sinfulness of sin and the need of an atonement were in flaming picture language emblazoned before the people and burnt into their conscience4 ,christ could do nothing until these ideas were rooted in the world4 ,pagan achievements1 also1 the glory that was ,greece and the grandeur that was ,rome1 were roots to this same tree of preparation for the coming of ,christ1 though they knew it not4 ,greece with all the glories of its philosophy and art showed that the world never could be saved by its own wisdom2 and all the laws and legions of ,rome were equally impotent to lift it out of the ditch of sin4 ,neither a brilliant brain nor a mailed fist can save a lost world4 ,yet both ,greece and ,rome made positive contributions to the preparation for ,christ4 ,greece fashioned a marvelous instrument for propagating the gospel in its highly flexible and expressive language1 and ,rome reduced the world to order and hushed it into peace and thus turned it into a vast amphitheater in which the gospel could be heard4 ,greece also contributed philosophy that threw light on the gospel1 and ,rome gave it a rich inheritance of law4 ,god thus set this event in a mighty framework of preparation4 ,he got the world ready for ,christ before he brought ,christ to the world4 ,he was in no haste and took plenty of time before he struck the great hour4 ,the harvest must lie out in the showers and sunshine for weeks and months before it can ripen into golden wheat1 and the meteor must shoot through millions of invisible miles for one brief flash of splendor4 ,the centuries seemed slow-footed during that long and dreary stretch from ,abraham to ,mary1 but when the fulness of time was come1 ,god sent forth his ,son4 ,,iii4 ,a ,wonderful ,fulfillment of ,prophecy ,this birth was a wonderful fulfillment of prophecy4 ,the ,jews had cherished the hope of the promised ,messiah for thousands of years4 ,through all their national vicissitudes1 enslavement in ,egypt1 wanderings in1 the wilderness1 establishment and growth in the promised land1 internal division and external captivity in ,babylon1 restoration1 and final subjection to the ,romans1 this hope burned on the horizon of their future as a fixed star4 ,it was this that ever led them on and held them together and made it impossible to break or subdue their spirit4 ,this was the dawn that filled all their dark and bitter days with the rosy glow of hope4 ,yet the ,messiah came not1 and as the centuries slowly rolled along they must have grown weary and at times have doubted4 ,sceptics scoffed1 ,where is the sign of his coming8 ,but the great heart of the nation remained true to its trust1 while prophets caught glimpses of the coming glory and white-headed1 trembling old saints prayed that they might live a little longer and not die before he came4 ,perhaps this hope was never at a lower ebb than when the ,roman power was ruthlessly grinding the nation down into the dust4 ,but suddenly at this darkest hour a blinding light burnt through the floor of heaven and shepherds ran about announcing that the ,messiah was born6 ,who can imagine the surprise1 the wonder1 the overwhelming amazement this news created8 ,how many were eager to go to ,bethlehem and see this thing which had come to pass6 ,and when it was found to be true1 they rejoiced with exceeding great joy and old men blessed ,god and said1 ,lord1 now lettest thou thy servants depart in peace4 ,yet why should they have wondered at ,god's faithfulness in keeping his promise1 as though he could ever have forgotten it or failed to bring it to pass8 ,why should we ever wonder at the faithfulness of ,god8 ,doubtless in some degree because of our human infirmity4 ,our sense of unity with ,god and trust in him have been weakened by sin until we are ready to doubt him as though he were one of ourselves4 ,his promises also are so far-reaching and great1 splendid and blessed1 they so far surpass our thoughts of wisdom and mercy1 that1 even though they have been repeated to us until we are familiar with them1 when they are fulfilled we wonder at the faithfulness that will bring so great things to pass4 ,,iv4 ,an ,historical ,event ,the story starts with the place and time of the ,saviour's birth4 ,jesus was born in ,bethlehem of ,judea1 in the days of ,herod the king4 ,there are many myths and legends floating through the world that are often beautiful and useful1 but they hang like gorgeous clouds in the air and are ever changing their shape and place4 ,they are growths of the imagination and lack historic roots and reality4 ,they are chary of names and dates and hide their origin in far-away mists4 ,however powerfully and pathetically they may reflect the needs and hopes of the human heart1 they are unsubstantial as dreams and afford no foundation on which to build our faith4 ,heathen religions are generally woven of this legendary stuff4 ,the ,greek and ,roman divinities were all mythical4 ,but the scientific spirit has swept these imaginary deities out of our sky and rendered belief in them impossible4 ,our religion must be rooted in reality and cannot live in clouds1 however beautifully they may be colored4 ,we refuse hospitality to anything but fact4 ,give us names and dates1 is our demand4 ,the ,bible responds to this requirement4 ,christianity is an historical religion4 ,the gospel narrative begins with no such indefinite statement as ,once upon a time1 but it starts in ,bethlehem of ,judea4 ,the town is there and we can stand on the very spot where ,jesus was born4 ,the narrative places the time of his birth1 in the days of ,herod the king4 ,history knows ,herod2 there is nothing mythical about this monster of iniquity4 ,these statements are facts that no keenest critic or scholarly unbeliever can plausibly dispute4 ,so the gospel sets its record in the rigid frame of history2 it roots its origin down in the rocky ledge of ,judea4 ,christ was not born in a dream1 but in ,bethlehem4 ,we are not1 then1 building our faith on a myth1 but on immovable matters of fact4 ,this thing was not done in a corner1 but in the broad day1 and it is not afraid of the geographer's map and the historian's pen4 ,the ,christmas story is not another beautiful legend in the world's gallery of myths1 but is sober and solid reality2 its story is history4 ,our religion is truth1 and we will worship at no other altar4 ,v4 ,simplicity of the ,narrative ,though surcharged with such tremendous meaning1 carrying a heavier burden of news than was ever before committed to human language1 yet the simplicity with which the story is told is one of the literary marvels of the gospels4 ,this event has inspired poets and painters and has been embroidered and illuminated with an immense amount of ornamentation4 ,genius has poured its splendors upon it and tried to give us some worthy conception of the scene4 ,but the evangelists had no such purpose or thought1 and their story is told with that charming artlessness that is perfect art4 ,they were not men of genius1 but plain men1 mostly tax collectors and fishermen untrained in the schools1 with no thought of skill or literary art4 ,yet all the stylists and artists of the world stand in wonder before their unconscious effort and supreme achievement4 ,no attempt at rhetoric disfigures their record1 not a word is written for effect1 but the simple facts are allowed to tell their own eloquent and marvelous tale4 ,the inspired writers mixed no imagination with their verities1 for they had no other thought than to tell the plain truth2 and this gives us confidence in the trustworthiness of their narrative4 ,these men did not follow cunningly devised fables when they made known unto us the power and coming of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 for they were eye-witnesses of his glory4 ,,vi4 ,the ,town of ,bethlehem ,the land of ,palestine is divided from north to south by a central range of mountains which runs up through this narrow strip of country like a spinal column4 ,about five miles south of ,jerusalem a ridge or spur shoots off from the central range towards the east4 ,on the terminal bluff of this ridge lies the town of ,bethlehem4 ,on the west it is shut in by the plateau1 and on the east the ridge breaks steeply down into the plain4 ,vineyards cover the hillsides with green and purple1 and wheatfields wave in the valleys4 ,in the distant east1 across the ,dead ,sea1 the mountains of ,moab are penciled in dark blue against the sky4 ,at the present time the town has eight thousand inhabitants4 ,its flat-roofed houses are well built and its narrow streets are clean4 ,it is a busy place1 its chief industry being the manufacture of souvenirs of olive wood which are sold throughout the ,christian world4 ,its principal church is the ,church of the ,nativity1 which is built over a cave that is one of the most sacred and memorable spots on the globe4 ,it is believed that this cave is the place where ,christ was born1 and a silver star inlaid in the stone floor is intended to mark the exact spot4 ,it was then used as the stable of the adjoining inn1 and in its stone manger the infant ,jesus may have been laid4 ,at the time of this event ,bethlehem was a mere village of a few hundred people4 ,it might have been thought that ,jerusalem1 the historic metropolis and proud capital of the country1 the chosen city of ,god and seat of the temple and center of worship1 a city beautiful for situation1 magnificent in its architecture1 sacred in its associations and world-wide and splendid in its fame1 should have been honored with this supreme event in the history of the ,jews4 ,but an ancient prophet1 while noting its comparative insignificance1 had yet put his finger on this tiny point on the map and pronounced upon it a blessing that caused it to blaze out like a star amidst its rural hills4 ,but thou1 ,bethlehem ,ephratah1 though thou be little among the thousands of ,judah1 yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in ,israel2 whose goings forth have been from of old1 from everlasting4 ,and so proud ,jerusalem was passed by1 and this supreme honor was bestowed upon the humble village4 ,great men1 as a rule1 are not born in cities4 ,they come up out of obscure villages and hidden nooks and corners4 ,they originate closer to nature than city-born men and seem to spring from the very soil4 ,the most noted birthplace in ,scotland is that of ,burns3 it is a humble cottage with a thatched roof and a stable in one end of it4 ,the most celebrated birthplace in ,england is that of ,shakespeare1 and again it is a plain cottage in a country village4 ,lincoln was born in a log hut in the wilds of ,kentucky1 ,mohammed was the son of a camel driver1 and ,confucius the son of a soldier4 ,the city must go to the country for its masters1 and the world draws its best blood and brains from the farm4 ,it was in accordance with this principle that the ,saviour of the world should be born1 not in a city and palace1 but in a country village1 and that his first bed should be1 not a downy couch1 but a slab of stone4 ,,vii4 ,the ,wonderful ,night ,draws ,near ,now it came to pass in those days1 there went out a decree from ,csar ,augustus1 that all the world should be enrolled4 ,this is the point at which the orderly and scholarly ,luke opens his account of the birth of our ,lord4 ,it seems like going a long way off from and around to the end in view4 ,but there are no isolated facts and forces in the world and all things work together4 ,when we see providence start in we never can tell where it is going to come out4 ,if ,god is about to bless us1 he may start the chain of causation that shall at length reach us in some far-off place or land2 or if he is about to save a soul in ,china he may start with one of us in the contribution we make to foreign missions4 ,csar ,augustus1 master of the world1 from time to time ordered a census to be taken of the empire that he might know its resources and reap from it a richer harvest of taxes4 ,it was probably between the months of ,december and ,march1 ,b4,c4 #e-d1 that such a census was being taken in the province of ,syria4 ,in accordance with ancient ,jewish usage1 all citizens repaired to the tribe and village from which they were descended1 and were there enrolled4 ,in the town of ,nazareth in the north lived ,joseph1 a village carpenter1 and ,mary1 his espoused wife1 who though a virgin was great with child1 having been overshadowed by the ,holy ,spirit and the mystery having been revealed to her and her betrothed husband4 ,they were both descended from the royal line of ,david1 and therefore to ,bethlehem they must go4 ,with us such a journey of eighty miles would mean no more than stepping on a railway car at nine o'clock in the morning and stepping off at noon4 ,but with them it meant a toilsome journey on foot of several days4 ,slowly they wended their way southward1 led on by the irresistible hand of ,csar1 far away on his throne4 ,the ancient ,hebrew prophecy of ,micah and the imperial decree of ,csar thus marvelously fitted into each other and worked together4 ,mary must have known of this prophecy1 and we know not with what a sense of mystery and fear and joy she drew near to the predicted place where the ,messiah was to be born4 ,bethlehem sits like a crown on its rocky ridge4 ,at length its walls and towers loomed in the distance1 and then presently up the steep road climbed the carpenter and his espoused wife and passed through the gate into the village4 ,when they came to the inn1 it was already crowded with visitors1 driven thither by the decree of ,csar that had set all ,palestine in commotion4 ,in connection with the inn1 generally the central space of its four-square inclosure1 but probably in this case a cave in the limestone rock1 was a stable1 or place for the camels and horses and cattle of the guests4 ,among these oriental people it was 7and is7 no uncommon thing for travelers1 when the chambers of the inn were fully occupied1 to make a bed of straw and spend the night in this place4 ,in this stable1 possibly the very cave where now stands the ,church of the ,nativity1 ,mary and ,joseph found lodgings for the night4 ,it was not a mark of degradation or social inferiority for them to do this1 though it was an indication of their meager means1 as wealthy visitors would doubtless have found better accommodations4 ,,viii4 ,the ,birth ,in that cave ,mary brought forth her first-born son2 and as there appears to have been no woman's hand there to minister to her1 she herself wrapped the new-born babe in swaddling clothes2 and as there was no other cradle or bed to receive it1 she laid the child in the trough from which the camels were fed4 ,this is all we know of what took place on that memorable night from which the history of the ,christian world is now dated4 ,the apocryphal gospels1 legends that afterwards grew up1 fill the chamber with supernal light so that visitors had to shade their eyes from the splendor of the child2 and the painters portray the holy child and mother with halos of glory around their heads4 ,but this is all imagination and myth4 ,jesus was born as other human beings are born1 and looked just like a human child4 ,no one seeing him could have guessed that a unique birth had ruptured the continuity of nature and brought a divine ,man into the world4 ,there was no glory streaming from his person1 and no spectacular display of pageantry and pomp such as attended the birth of a ,csar4 ,the ,son of ,man did not come with observation1 but stole into the world silently and unseen4 ,if we could have gazed upon the ,christ-child as it lay in its manger1 we would have been disappointed and thought that nothing extraordinary had happened4 ,but a great event rarely seems great at the time2 long centuries may elapse before it looms into view and is seen in its central place as the axis of history4 ,outward size and circumstance do not measure inward power and possibility4 ,god brought only a child into the world that night1 but in that ,child were sheathed omnipotent wisdom and mercy and might to save the world4 ,,ix4 ,no ,room in the ,inn ,there was no room for them in the inn4 ,and so ,jesus came into a world where there was no room for him in the habitations of men4 ,after all this preparation through which the centuries grew into readiness for his coming1 after all these types and prophecies1 sacrifices and symbols1 after all this weary waiting and passionate hope and all these golden dreams1 when the promised ,one came there was no room for him and he was not wanted6 ,he came unto his own1 and his own received him not4 ,was there ever a greater and sadder anticlimax and a more cruel disappointment8 ,let us admit that there may have been no fault in this matter1 no lack of hospitality in the keeper or the guests of the inn1 as the village was overcrowded1 and the fact that these late arrivals were compelled to put up with a place out in the enclosure1 possibly a cave1 where the animals were kept1 was no intended incivility or uncommon hardship4 ,nevertheless1 whatever may have been the reason1 the fact was that there was no room for ,jesus in that inn the first night he spent in this world1 and this fact was sadly prophetic of his reception in the world he came to save4 ,there were few places where he did find welcome3 generally there was no room for him even in places where he had the most reason and right to expect it4 ,and if it was no lack of hospitality that kept him out of this inn1 it certainly was the lack of this grace and the positive presence of hostility that in after life excluded him from many places where he wanted to be4 ,jesus was not wanted in his own country3 ,herod tried to leave no room for him there4 ,he was not wanted in his own town3 his neighbors tried to hurl him down a cliff to his death4 ,he was not wanted in his own church3 its ministers and doctors of divinity fell upon him in malignant fury and at last crucified him4 ,even his own family found it hard to make room for him in their inner circle4 ,small room was there in this evil world for this pure and lowly spirit4 ,then why did he come to it8 ,because he so loved it that he gave himself for it4 ,small room do we still leave for ,jesus as we crowd him out of our hearts and lives and out of our social order and civilization with our selfishness and sin4 ,is it a discouraging fact that there is so little room for ,christ in the world8 ,then let us note the fact that there is more room for him to-day than ever before1 and this room is ever widening4 ,how much that inn missed by not having room for this mother and her babe6 ,its finest apartment lost a glory that fell upon the manger out of which the cattle were fed4 ,how much shall we miss if we do not have room for ,christ8 ,there is one world where there is room for ,jesus and where he is wanted3 heaven4 ,and all who are like him shall find room with him in its many mansions4 ,x4 ,angel ,ministry ,jerusalem and ,rome knew nothing of this event4 ,the ,high ,priest offered the evening sacrifice unaware that it was rendered obsolete by the coming of the true ,sacrifice1 and ,csar slept that night without a dream that a ,rival had been born who would uproot his empire and erect a worldwide kingdom4 ,earth was unconscious of this birth1 but heaven knew it4 ,there was holy ecstacy in all the shining ranks above1 and angels seem1 as birds new-come in spring1 to have flown hither and thither1 in songful mood1 dipping their white wings into our atmosphere1 just touching the earth or glancing along its surface1 as sea birds skim the surface of the sea4 ,around all the events of the birth and ministry of ,christ there are the flutter and flash of angel wings1 and this story would lose much of its music and charm if it were stripped of its angel ministration4 ,the ,bible is full of angels4 ,they appear to ,zacharias the mother of ,john the ,baptist1 and they find ,mary the virgin mother1 as a beam of morning light finds a white-leafed flower1 and reveal the mystery that has come upon her4 ,no sooner is the infant ,jesus laid in his manger than the door of heaven opens and there comes trooping forth a radiant throng1 filling the midnight sky with splendor and proclaiming to earth the glad tidings4 ,angels ministered to ,jesus in the wilderness and strengthened him in the garden4 ,more than twelve legions of angels waited to do his bidding when he was arrested4 ,angels rolled away the stone from his tomb and sat by the empty grave1 announcing his resurrection as they had announced his birth2 and as they thronged the skies at his coming1 so they hovered in the air at his going2 and when he comes again he shall come in his glory with all the holy angels with him4 ,these angels are still in the world as the ministers of ,god1 though invisible to mortal eyes4 ,we see the firefly only through the little luminous section of its flight1 but it still flies on after it ceases to be visible4 ,so we see these angels only through that shining section of their path in which they waited on ,jesus2 but they are still flying through the world as invisible spirits4 ,the angels of little ones are always before the face of their ,father in heaven1 and as they bore the spirit of ,lazarus to ,abraham's bosom1 so they still may bear departing spirits up the shining stairway of the stars to the eternal home4 ,we know not in what wide ways they minister to us2 how there is a rush of angel wings to the cradle of every new-born babe2 how they constantly pitch their tents around us in the viewless fields of air2 and how often they bear us up lest we dash our feet against a stone4 ,how little we know of the world in which we live6 ,we weigh its rocks and grind them up and melt them in our crucibles2 we fling our nets through all space and catch the stars2 and when we can find nothing more to measure and analyze we think we have found and explained all4 ,but the finest and best things cannot be grasped by these coarse processes4 ,sunbeams cannot be weighed on hay-scales1 and gorgeously-colored bits of cloud cannot be caught in a crucible4 ,we can weigh the new-born baby1 but not the mother's love for her child4 ,a telescope cannot see an angel1 though millions of them may be flying across its field of vision4 ,there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our philosophy4 ,in our blind materialism we need to have our eyes opened that we may know that this universe1 which often seems so empty and dark to us1 is a blazing sea of spiritual splendor in which burning suns float as black specks and which is thronged with troops of angels that do the will of ,god and wait on us4 ,,xi4 ,angels and ,shepherds ,the ,christ-child was born1 and now the problem was to get the wonderful news out into the world4 ,there were no newspapers to announce it in startling headlines and cry it out upon the morning air1 and1 if there had been1 their reporters would not have been keen enough to discover it and probably would have had no interest in it4 ,god used other means4 ,an angel came from heaven to proclaim the great event to earth4 ,where shall he begin1 what human ears shall first have the privilege of hearing the glad tidings8 ,let the angel go to ,jerusalem1 we would have said1 and call upon the ,high ,priest and first take him into his confidence1 and then let him go to the ,temple and stand amidst the splendors of that holy sanctuary and announce to the assembled priests and scribes that prophecy had been fulfilled and their long-expected ,messiah had come4 ,shall not some respect be paid to official places and persons8 ,has not ,god ordained priests and presbyters through whom he dispenses his grace and administers his kingdom8 ,yet history witnesses that at times few men stand in ,god's way more than ecclesiastics4 ,they are rarely the men that earliest hear a new message3 ,god must usually tell it to some one else first4 ,one of the most startling things in the ,bible is the fact that the announcement of the birth of ,christ was made1 not to priests1 but to shepherds1 and the gospel was first preached1 not in a church1 but in a pasture field where there were more sheep than men to hear4 ,what a rebuke is this to our ecclesiastical pretension and pride6 ,god can easily dispense with us1 and may pass us by to speak to some humbler soul4 ,the great people up in the ,temple have no monopoly of his grace1 and it may break out in some wholly unexpected place4 ,the gospel is no respecter of places and persons4 ,it may be preached in a costly church or stately cathedral1 but it is equally at home in a country school house1 or in a wooden tabernacle1 or in a sheep pasture4 ,in simplicity and catholicity it is adapted to all classes and conditions of life4 ,it has the same message for priest and people1 prince and peasant1 scholar and shepherd1 and all receive from it an equal welcome and blessing4 ,,xii4 ,the ,concert in a ,sheep ,pasture ,in the night of the ,nativity the shepherds were in the field keeping watch over their flocks1 for those faithfully engaged in the lowliest duties may receive a splendid visitation from heaven4 ,the night did not seem different from other nights4 ,the skies were as serene and the stars burned as calm as in all the past4 ,the shepherds were as unconscious of any coming wonder as the sleeping sheep that lay like drifted snow on the ridges4 ,yet the heavens were strained tense with expectation and were on the point of being shattered into song4 ,flocks of angels were flying downward from the stars1 and as their white wings struck earth's atmosphere they kindled it into radiance with heavenly glory1 and from the gallery of the skies they chanted their song1 accompanied with all the golden harps and deep-toned organ pipes of the celestial choir4 ,never before or since was such a concert heard in this world1 and yet only shepherds and sheep were present to hear it4 ,the encircling hills were the grand amphitheater in which it was rendered1 the grassy slopes were the only seats1 and there were no tickets of admission1 but1 like the gospel itself1 it was given without money and without price4 ,musical artists are often sensitive and critical and exclusive people1 chary of a free exercise of their gifts and particular as to their audience1 but angels will sing for anybody4 ,the simple-minded shepherds were sore afraid at this outburst of heavenly music1 as wiser people would have been4 ,an angel voice sang the solo3 ,be not afraid2 for behold1 ,i bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people3 for there is born to you this day in the city of ,david a ,saviour1 which is ,christ the ,lord4 ,and this shall be a sign unto you2 ,ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes1 and lying in a manger4 ,be not afraid6 ,sin has wrought such disorder in this world that the thought of spirit visitors frightens us and heaven itself must not come too near4 ,there are great reasons for fear in this darkened world1 but the coming of ,jesus into it is not one of them4 ,his only mission is to release us from the bondage and bitterness of sin and let us out into the glorious liberty and joy of the sons of ,god4 ,and ,christ has in a marvelous degree cast fear out of the world and poured joy through all its channels1 as the sun disperses the night and spills its splendor over hills and vales4 ,the good tidings announced the birth of a ,saviour1 and this is the best news this sin-stricken world can hear1 for sin is the root of all our fear and misery4 ,back of every bitter tear lies a guilty thought or deed4 ,this connection is often visible upon the surface and stabs us in the face1 and then it may lie hidden under many generations1 but it is always there4 ,sin is the disease that poisons all our blood and blights our physical and moral and spiritual health and happiness4 ,cut this ugly tree up by the roots and all its scarlet fruits and poisonous leaves will wither2 cure this disease and our human world will be transformed into a new ,paradise of ,god4 ,a ,saviour is the supreme need of the world1 and his birth was news good enough to bring singing angels to earth and fill all the centuries with song4 ,definite directions were given for finding the new-born ,saviour in the city of ,david1 wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger4 ,the angelic message was not simply a song in the air1 a halo of celestial light1 a splendid but fading vision1 but it bound itself down to definite places and circumstances and left something solid4 ,again we note that this thing1 was not done in a corner and is not afraid of facts4 ,jesus was a true human child and took upon him our form down to his infant clothes4 ,the ,christ is a great wonder in his divine personality1 ever transcending our utmost comprehension1 but we can understand his swaddling bands4 ,christianity is not all mystery1 but it also comes down close around us and embodies itself in many plain facts and duties4 ,ye shall find the babe4 ,the shepherds were not left to wander around in uncertainty1 but sent direct to the place4 ,christ is not hidden from us1 clear directions point out the place where he is1 and every soul that seeks him shall find him4 ,the angel solo broke out into a heavenly chorus which gave a broad interpretation of the meaning of the birth of ,christ3 ,glory to ,god in the highest1 ,and on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased4 ,this chorus first ascribes glory to ,god1 for all things good and beautiful come from him and express his glory1 as all rays of daylight shoot from the sun and are its splintered splendor4 ,the gift of ,christ manifests the glory of ,god in that it displays the divine wisdom in devising the plan of salvation1 the divine power in executing it1 and the divine love as its mighty motive4 ,the glory of ,god1 that streams through the heavens as through a dome of many-colored glass1 is concentrated and burns with the interest brightness in the person of his ,son4 ,the chorus next pronounces peace upon men4 ,divine glory and human good will are related as cause and effect4 ,when men get right with ,god they at once get right with one another1 as the center of a circle1 when truly located1 pulls every point on the circumference into its proper place in the curve2 but when men are at variance with ,god they are at enmity among themselves4 ,divine glory is the sun shining in the heavens2 human good will is a garden and orchard all abloom with flowers and laden with fruit4 ,as the glory of the sun is transformed into rosy buds and sweet fruit1 so is the glory of ,god transformed into human good will4 ,the glory of ,god and the peace of men are never in antagonism1 but are always complementary and harmonious1 they are the two sides of the same gospel1 two parts of the same song4 ,they cannot be separated and must go together2 in glorifying ,god we make peace among men1 and in making peace among men we glorify ,god4 ,,xiii4 ,the ,first ,visitors to ,bethlehem ,the angels' song died away in the solemn silence1 and the shepherds were left alone4 ,it was a critical hour with them4 ,would they follow this vision and turn it into victory1 or would they let it vanish with the last echo of the song and relapse into the old dull routine8 ,no1 they did not let it pass1 and life was never the same to them again4 ,let us now go1 they said1 even unto ,bethlehem1 and see this thing which is come to pass1 which the ,lord hath made known unto us4 ,they translated vision into action and presently were climbing the rocky slope to ,bethlehem4 ,had these shepherds not followed up the message their knowledge of their ,messiah would have immediately been cut short4 ,we hear divine messages and see heavenly visions enough1 but too often we let them fade into forgetfulness and pass into nothingness4 ,a message does us no good until it becomes action1 the grandest vision that ever swept through our brain or illuminated our sky leaves no vestige of worth unless it is turned into conduct and character4 ,let us now go and see this thing4 ,we do not know ,christ until we see him as our ,saviour4 ,seeing is believing1 this is the simplicity of faith1 and when we see ,christ through the direct vision and personal experience of faith and obedience we are transfigured into his likeness4 ,and they came with haste1 and found both ,mary and ,joseph1 and the babe lying in the manger4 ,were they disappointed at the humble mother1 wife of a workingman1 and at the manger cradle8 ,these did not match the desire and expectation of the ,jews4 ,they had long cherished the passionate hope of an earthly prince who would come wearing purple robes and marshaling armies to trample hated oppressors under feet and make ,jerusalem the mistress of the world4 ,they would have said that the ,christ should be born in a palace and laid on softest down and covered with silken robes4 ,what a surprise was this manger to their thoughts and shock to their feelings4 ,were ever deep-seated1 long-cherished hopes treated with more cruel irony8 ,but ,god's ways are not as our ways4 ,christ was brought into the world at the very point where he could get the deepest strongest hold upon it and most powerfully swing it starward from the dust4 ,he was born among neither the very rich nor the very poor1 but in the great middle class at the center of gravity of humanity1 by lifting which he would lift the world4 ,had he come as a pampered child of wealth he would never have got hold of the great heart of humanity2 but he came as one of the people1 knitting himself into humble relations1 growing up among plain folk of the countryside and toiling as a common workingman4 ,and so when he began to preach the common people heard him gladly4 ,promise was exactly matched by fulfillment4 ,ye shall find a babe1 was the promise of the angel1 and now the record reads1 ,and they found the babe4 ,when did ,god ever lead us to expect anything and then disappoint us8 ,he gave us thirst that urges us to find water1 and matching this need he has created bubbling springs and sparkling streams4 ,he gave us hunger that seeks bread1 and it finds fields of golden grain and orchards of rosy fruit4 ,he gave us minds that seek truth1 and they find it2 he gave us a craving for love1 and heart matches heart4 ,he set eternity in our hearts and gave us deep instincts that reach after the ,infinite1 hearts that cry1 ,shew1 us the ,father and it sufficeth us4 ,shall all lower needs be satisfied and this supreme search and cry of the soul be disappointed and mocked8 ,and they found the babe1 is the answer to this need and promise4 ,god sends us with all our deep needs and mysterious longings to that cradle in ,bethlehem1 where they will be exactly and fully matched and satisfied4 ,he that hath seen this ,child hath seen the ,father4 ,the shepherds1 having seen for themselves1 immediately began to make known abroad the saying which was told them concerning the ,child4 ,the gospel is a social and expansive blessing and cannot be shut up in the individual heart4 ,we are saved to serve1 we are told the good news that we may tell it to others1 we get it that we may give it4 ,and the more we give it the more we get it1 for this bread multiplies in our own hands as we share it with others1 as did the loaves beside the ,galilean sea4 ,great souls have ever grown rich by the lavish prodigality with which they bestowed their gifts on others1 and because ,jesus gave himself ,god hath highly exalted him4 ,first angels and then shepherds3 how startling the contrast4 ,jesus has deep affinities with both3 on his divine side he is related to heaven1 and on his human side he is related to earth4 ,and the first men he drew to his side were shepherds1 representatives of the common people4 ,he did not come as a member of any special class1 especially of the upper class4 ,no one can ever save the world by winning over the rich and the great4 ,society cannot be lifted from the top4 ,whoever would raise the level of society must get his lever under its foundation stones4 ,taking hold of the carved cornice will tear the roof off and lift it away from the building1 but raising the lowest stone will also push up the spire's gilded point4 ,he who elevates the peasant will also in time elevate the prince4 ,jesus did not begin with ,csar1 but with shepherds1 and then in three hundred years a ,christian ,csar sat on the throne4 ,the gospel still works from beneath2 going down into the slums of ,christian cities2 working among the poor and degraded of heathen lands2 and seeking the lowest tribes of men from whom have been defaced almost the last vestige of humanity and restoring them to the image of ,god4 ,christ is saving the world as a whole4 ,he is not slicing the loaf of society horizontally1 cutting off the upper crust1 but he is slicing it vertically from top to bottom4 ,how wonderful is the simplicity and beauty of this gospel that shepherds are drawn by it4 ,it takes some brain to read ,plato4 ,shepherds would not get much out of ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 or a child out of ,shakespeare1 or a sorrowing heart out of ,emerson4 ,but every one can get milk and honey for his soul out of the gospel of ,jesus4 ,his wonderful words of life have the same sweetness and saving power for shepherd and scholar1 peasant and prince4 ,however lowly and unlettered one may be there is wide room for him around the manger of this ,child4 ,,xiv4 ,the ,star and the ,wise ,men ,the birth of ,jesus created a new center for the world and set heaven and earth revolving around his cradle4 ,all things began to gravitate towards him as by a new and more powerful attraction4 ,angels sang1 shepherds wondered1 a new star glittered upon the blazing curtain of the night1 and wise men came from afar to worship him4 ,these wise men were ,persian priests1 scholars1 scientists1 astrologers1 students of the stars4 ,rumors of a coming ,king or ,saviour were widespread in the ancient world and doubtless had reached these worshipers of the sun to whom the stars were embodiments of deity4 ,a new star in their sky1 whatever it may have been1 would instantly attract their attention and receive from them a religious interpretation4 ,the celestial messenger was a fulfillment of their hope and a guide to their feet4 ,they were obedient to the heavenly vision1 and across long burning stretches of desert sand they came and appeared in ,jerusalem with their inquiry concerning the new-born ,king of the ,jews4 ,they were therefore broad-minded men whose horizon was wider than their own deserts1 or they never would have overleaped their national piety and patriotism and prejudice into search and reverence for a ,jewish king4 ,but something told them that the new ,king1 though born a ,jew1 was of universal interest and was more than human2 they forefelt his divinity4 ,therefore they were come to the ,king1 not to gratify their curiosity1 not to speculate and debate and frame a new creed1 but to worship him4 ,there was no war between the science and the theology of these wise men4 ,their science did not kill their religion1 and their religion did not strangle their science4 ,the stars1 according to their simple-minded way of thinking1 did not crowd ,god out of his universe4 ,knowledge and reverence made one music in their minds as both science and faith grew from more to more4 ,a religion that could not stand the most searching and pitiless light of scholarship could not live4 ,science kills pagan faiths as with a stroke of lightning4 ,but the gospel lives1 because wise men go to ,bethlehem and find there1 not fiction1 but fact4 ,it welcomes and inspires the profoundest science and philosophy4 ,god in his ,word is not afraid of ,god in his works4 ,the tallest intellects in all these centuries have bowed at the side of this manger4 ,,xv4 ,a ,frightened ,king ,the inquiry of the wise men startled ,jerusalem and frightened ,herod4 ,the proud metropolis had not yet heard the news4 ,the immortal honor of having given birth to the ,christ had been denied to her haughty brow and had become humble ,bethlehem's imperishable crown4 ,the very name of king gave ,herod a terrible shock4 ,he was a usurper steeped in crime and was ever trembling on his throne4 ,no hunted1 white-faced1 ,russian ,czar ever feared nihilist's bomb more than he feared rebellion's revolt and assassin's knife4 ,rebel after rebel he had crushed into spattered brains and blood1 and here was rumor of another ,rival born under the shadow of his throne4 ,herod was troubled and his terror sent a strange wave and shudder of fear through the city4 ,so the same gospel that made angels sing and wise men worship and started good news out over the world1 created consternation and trouble up in ,herod's palace and in his city4 ,christ came to give peace and joy1 but his gospel is a sword to some4 ,the good man's presence is always the bad man's condemnation and stirs hatred in his heart4 ,every good influence that falls upon us1 according as we use it1 brings either more joy or trouble1 and the gospel itself is either a savor of life unto life1 or of death unto death4 ,,xvi4 ,an ,impotent ,destroyer ,herod took swift and thorough measures1 as he thought1 to crush his new rival4 ,he called the priests into his counsel and demanded to know where the ,christ should be born4 ,too often has the priest been subject to the beck and call of the king4 ,bad men will use the church for their own evil purposes when they can1 and will then grow condescending and complaisant towards the minister and liberal in their gifts4 ,we must be ready to receive and help any man1 but we must beware of men that push their way into the church for sinister ends4 ,the church is no man's tool1 and when it is thus prostituted its power and glory are gone4 ,the priests knew their ,bibles and1 in answer to ,herod's question1 put their finger on the very text and town4 ,they knew where ,christ was to be born1 but they did not know ,christ when he was born4 ,we may have an exhaustive knowledge of the letter of the ,bible and yet not know its spirit2 we may know many things about ,christ and yet not know ,christ4 ,herod1 having gained knowledge of ,christ1 immediately turned it against ,christ4 ,he sent searchers after the child1 falsely and wickedly pretending that he also wanted to come and worship him4 ,there is no truth1 or means of good1 or gift of ,god so holy and blessed that men will not turn it to evil ends4 ,afterward ,herod1 in blind but impotent rage1 sent soldiers and thrust a sword through every cradle in ,bethlehem2 but the ,child1 sheathed in omnipotence1 had escaped1 and ,herod could sooner have crushed the earth flat than have hurt a hair of his head4 ,herod was the forerunner of a long line of enemies who have endeavored to kill this ,child4 ,pagan ,rome poured the fires of ten dreadful persecutions on the heads of his followers1 but they could not extinguish his name in fire and blood4 ,often have the fires of martyrdom been kindled around his disciples1 but they have stood faithful to him4 ,skeptical scholarship has tried to reduce his gospel to a fable and even to resolve ,jesus himself into a myth1 but as soon could it dissolve the rocky ledge of ,bethlehem into vapor and cloud4 ,and did not ,voltaire prophecy in #agfj that ere the end of the eighteenth century ,christianity would disappear from the earth8 ,many are the authors and books that have thought to make an end of ,jesus1 but he still lives the same yesterday and to-day4 ,and does not unbelief and unfaithfulness in our hearts also try to strangle this ,child8 ,every evil thought we cherish and every evil deed we do are so many swords we thrust into his cradle4 ,herod has a long and numerous progeny1 and we may find them close to our own door and even in our own hearts4 ,the star appears to have been invisible to the wise men while they were in ,jerusalem--in that guilty city1 which in its pride thought it had a monopoly of divine favor1 the stars of faith were eclipsed by a worldly spirit--but when they emerged from the city the star once more led them on and stood over where the young ,child was4 ,god has put many stars in our sky to lead us on to ,christ4 ,the stars themselves are as vocal with divine messages as though every one of them were a golden bell hung in the dome of the night to ring out some good news from ,god4 ,the ,bible is a great constellation in which every promise and precept is a star1 and all its stars stand over ,christ4 ,all the ,christian centuries are starred with events and achievements that point to ,christ as ,king4 ,,xvii4 ,splendid ,gifts ,and they came into the house and saw the young child with ,mary his mother2 and they fell down and worshipped him2 and opening their treasures they offered unto him gifts1 gold and frankincense and myrrh4 ,is there anything more beautiful in the ,bible1 or in all literature8 ,the imagination of painter or poet may well kindle at the scene4 ,there are the wondering mother1 the worshiping wise men bowing down1 the shining fragrant gifts1 and in the midst1 as the center and glory of it all1 the young ,child4 ,this ,child1 which even in its infancy subordinates mother and wise men and gold to itself1 is indeed a ,king4 ,worship is the expression of reverence1 and reverence is the root of all worth and divineness in life4 ,the human soul is a poor and pitiful fragment until it is completed and crowned with worship1 a lost child until it finds its ,father4 ,the wise men found a ,king to worship2 they were not following a false guide across weary wastes into nothingness4 ,our instinct of worship is not false1 but is true and is matched with its appropriate satisfaction4 ,christ completes our human childhood with divine ,fatherhood4 ,he that hath seen him hath seen the father4 ,these ,persian scholars were forerunners of other wise men going to ,bethlehem4 ,through all the ,christian centuries men of genius have been laying their most precious gifts at the feet of ,christ4 ,columbus had no sooner set foot on a new shore than he named it ,san ,salvador1 ,holy ,saviour2 and thus he laid his great discovery1 ,america1 at the feet of ,jesus4 ,leonardo da ,vinci swept the golden goblets from the table of his ,last ,supper because he feared their splendor would distract attention from and dim the glory of the ,master himself4 ,the hand that rounded ,st4 ,peter's dome reared it in adoration to ,christ1 and ,raphael in painting the ,transfiguration laid his masterpiece at the feet of this ,child4 ,mozart there laid his symphonies1 and ,beethoven the works of his colossal genius4 ,shakespeare1 with the best brain in six thousand years1 who has poured the many-colored splendors of his imagination over all our life1 wrote in his will3 ,i commend my soul into the hands of ,god my ,creator1 hoping and assuredly believing1 through the only merits of ,jesus ,christ my ,saviour1 to be made partaker of life everlasting4 ,tennyson begins his ,in ,memoriam1 in the judgment of many the superbest literary blossom of the nineteenth century1 with the invocation1 ,strong ,son of ,god1 immortal ,love4 ,though ,jesus wrote no book himself and never wrote any recorded thing except a few words in the sand which some passing breeze or foot quickly obliterated1 yet out of him have grown vast forests of literature4 ,it would tear great gaps in the shelves of any library and leave the remaining volumes spotted with blank spaces if all the books about him and references to him were removed4 ,a thousand books have been written about ,lincoln and eighty thousand about ,napoleon1 but if all the books that were ever written about ,lincoln and ,washington and ,napoleon and ,csar were piled up in one heap it would look small beside the mountain of books that have been written about ,jesus ,christ4 ,not only have the writers written about him above every other figure in history1 but in like degree the artists have painted him and the musicians have sung about him4 ,he is the most fertile theme of all literature and art1 and the gifts that genius have heaped about his feet are an incomparable testimony to the adoration that is paid to him4 ,about the first use to which any notable invention is put is to spread the gospel of ,jesus4 ,the very first book printed on a printing press was the ,bible1 and this wonderful and perhaps greatest human invention has been busier printing this book than any other to this day and multiplies its copies by the hundred million over the world4 ,the newspaper is a mighty means of spreading his principles4 ,the railway and steamship carry his gospel1 and the airship gives wings to the same good news4 ,telegraph and telephone flash it1 and wireless waves set the ether over whole continents and oceans aquiver with the messages of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the sewing machine sews for him1 the typewriter writes for him1 and even battle ships and bayonets may fight for him4 ,sooner or later every inventor must lay his magic machine at his feet4 ,for him the statesman legislates1 the scientist investigates1 the author writes1 the artist paints and the singer sings4 ,in an increasing degree ,jesus is drawing all men into his service1 and they are laying their treasures at his feet4 ,the gold of the wise men was only the first gleam of the shining heaps of wealth that his followers are now piling on the altar of his service4 ,this process will go on until the whole world will lie at his feet4 ,every generation sends a more numerous company to ,bethlehem4 ,with every century worshipers arrive from more distant lands4 ,from every quarter of the circumference of the globe paths now run to the manger of this ,child1 worn deep by millions of feet4 ,the nations are beginning to come4 ,by and by these converging paths will be crowded and all the ends of the earth shall bring their gold and shall worship at his feet4 ,what is the explanation of the mighty1 worldwide1 attractive power of this ,child8 ,there is only one adequate explanation3 ,he shall save his people from their sins4 ,the world is tired of men who come to save it with programmes only an inch long2 who have nothing better to propose than longer laws and cleaner sanitation2 who1 unmindful of the experiment in ,eden1 would have us believe that if we were only placed in a pleasant garden where we had plenty to eat and little to do we would all be good4 ,the weary world wants one who can go to the root of its unrest1 and it is finding out that this can be done by him who is mighty to save people from their sins4 ,all who put their trust in him are blessed with purity and peace4 ,in this great world1 lost in sin and beaten upon by infinite mystery1 there is only one voice that comes like music across our life with power to cleanse and comfort us2 and this is the ,voice whose infant cry was first heard in ,bethlehem4 ,let us now go even unto ,bethlehem while the song is in the air and see this ,child and worship at his feet4 ,,xviii4 ,was a ,child the ,best ,christmas ,gift to the ,world8 ,when we come to think of it1 does not a child seem an insignificant and disappointing gift for ,god to make to the world8 ,after so long preparation and so great promises and hopes1 would we not have expected some greater and more wonderful gift8 ,but a child is so common2 millions are born every month2 there is nothing unique and wonderful about a child4 ,why did ,god not rather give some invention or discovery or piece of knowledge that would revolutionize and bless the world8 ,would he not have done enormously more for mankind if in the first century of our era he had given them the printing press1 or the steam engine1 or the electric light8 ,may there not yet be waiting for us some invention or knowledge that will work wonders beyond anything we have dreamed and shower material comforts on the world8 ,this thought grows out of our blind materialism which leads us to think that matter is the master of mind1 circumstance more important than character and the things of the body than the things of the spirit4 ,but material improvements do not necessarily improve men4 ,the locomotive has little relation to character4 ,it picks a man up at one point and drops him at another the same man he was4 ,if he is selfish and wicked at the beginning of the journey1 he is just as selfish and wicked at its end4 ,it is a simple fact that all our material progress works little improvement in morals4 ,at the hour ,christ was born ,rome had an amazing material civilization1 blazing with splendor1 but all the more rapidly was it rotting at the core4 ,but a child has in it the possibility of growth and of imparting regenerating ideas and a new life to the world4 ,sir ,isaac ,newton did not give any money or material gift to the world1 but he gave it scientific ideas and a scientific spirit1 and in giving it this he raised the intellectual level of the world and gave it the power of making millions of money4 ,shakespeare gave the world no new machine1 but he opened the eyes of men to see heavenly visions and thus enriched them with treasures above all the gold of the world4 ,martin ,luther invented no steam engine or sewing machine1 but he taught men the rights of conscience and created our modern liberties4 ,no material thing1 however powerful and splendid1 can make a better world3 this work calls for better men4 ,therefore when ,god brings into the world a child endowed with superior intellectual and moral power1 though his gift is only a babe and seems insignificant and hardly worth counting among so many1 yet he has sent one of the greatest gifts of which his omnipotence is capable4 ,an old ,german schoolmaster always took his hat off to each new boy that came into his school1 never knowing what elements of genius might have been mixed in his newly molded brain4 ,when ,erasmus came out of that school his prophetic instinct was justified4 ,never despise a child1 for in it sleeps some of the omnipotence and worth of ,god4 ,but the ,child which ,god gave the world as its ,christmas gift was no merely human child however richly endowed4 ,this ,child was human and was born in time1 but he was also divine and came forth from eternity4 ,the possibilities that were sleeping in this ,child were foreseen by the prophet ,isaiah in the names that were prophetically given him1 every name being a window through which we can look in upon his personality and power1 every title being one of his crowns3 ,his name shall be called ,wonderful1 ,counsellor1 ,mighty ,god1 ,everlasting ,father1 ,prince of ,peace4 ,all these powers and possibilities are incarnated in this ,child1 and he is working them out in a redeemed world4 ,god made no mistake1 then1 he gave us no small and common gift1 but he did his best and gave the world the greatest possible ,christmas ,gift when this ,child was born4 ,all the grass in the world came from one seed1 all the roses from one root1 and all the redeemed that shall at last populate heaven and fill it with praise throughout eternity shall be saved by the grace and clad in the beauty of this ,child4 ,,xix4 ,a ,world ,without ,christmas ,what would be the effect of blotting ,christmas out of the calendar of the world8 ,imagination would have to explore wide and deep in order to trace all the consequences4 ,the gladdest holiday of the year would fade into a common day4 ,the weeks that precede it would lose all their interest of preparation and expectation and would sink into dull days4 ,the stores would not blossom out into brilliant bazars1 cunning fingers would not be busy in secret1 there would be no making and buying and hiding gifts1 and there would be nothing waiting to be disclosed on ,christmas morning6 ,the morning of this day would dawn gray and bleak just like any other morning1 and no red letter would distinguish it on the calendar of the year4 ,there would be no glad greetings with the first streak of light1 no rush for gifts and joyous surprises1 no home gatherings1 no neighborhood festivities1 no benefactions to the poor4 ,the tide of life would not on this day rise higher and run fuller and take on richer colors and sparkle with brighter joy1 but it would remain at the old level and creep along in the same dull sluggish way4 ,deeper losses would result from blotting this day from the calendar4 ,there would be no story to tell of that wondrous birth that took place on the first ,christmas morning and fixed the date from which all other events are dated4 ,to blot ,christmas out of the world we would have to blot nineteen ,christian centuries from the history of the world2 in truth1 we would have to go farther back and dig up the roots of ,hebrew history running through twenty centuries4 ,we would have to go through the world and destroy every church and ,christian institution3 nearly every hospital would go down under this fell decree1 and most of our schools and colleges4 ,our ,bibles would all have to be burned1 and our literature would be perforated and ripped to pieces4 ,furthermore1 we would need to pull out of human character and life all the strands of purity and peace1 of faith and love and hope1 that have been woven into the hearts and lives of men by the hand of ,christ4 ,we would have to stop all our preaching and praying and hush every ,christian hymn and song4 ,we would have no word of salvation from sin1 no comfort in trouble1 and no hope as we look out into the beyond4 ,the world would lose its ,light and be wrapped in night4 ,do we want such a world8 ,can we believe that ,god would make such a world and leave us as infants crying in the night1 infants crying for the light1 and with no language but a cry8 ,,xx4 ,has the ,christmas ,song ,survived the ,world ,war8 ,but has not the ,christmas star already been extinguished in such a night8 ,has the angels' song survived the ,world ,war8 ,have not its notes of glory to ,god in the highest and peace among men been utterly drowned and lost in the rattle of machine rifles and the mighty explosions of monster guns that shook ,europe and reverberated around the world8 ,was not this war the flat denial and total annihilation of the message and spirit of ,jesus1 entirely silencing the angels' song that gladdened the earth at his birth8 ,can it even be heard after many months when angry voices and the crash of falling wreckage still disturb the world8 ,these ominous questions are causing anxiety to many ,christian souls and may well give us pause4 ,but the gentlest forces are ever the mightiest and last the longest4 ,the sunlight is swallowed up in the storm and the very sun itself seems blotted from the heavens1 but presently the blackness breaks1 the clouds roll away1 and the sun again smiles upon the scene1 as1 indeed1 it had never ceased to smile4 ,the song of the birds is hushed in the crash of thunder and the rush and roar of wind and rain1 but after the storm passes their dulcet voices again sing out with fresh gladness in their song4 ,a hammer can pound ice to powder1 but every particle is still unconquered ice1 and only the gentle kiss of the sun can subdue and melt it into sweet water4 ,high explosives and poisonous gas can devastate the earth1 but only the balmy breath of the springtime can clothe it in verdure and cause it to burst into bud and bloom4 ,the war has indeed enwrapped and in a degree wrecked the world1 and the voices of peace were little heard in the storm4 ,but now that the guns are silenced and the clouds are rolling away peace is again surging up in the heart of humanity as a passion and is at the work of clearing away the wreckage and of rebuilding the new and better world that all men hope is to emerge out of the ruins of the old4 ,alexander and ,csar and ,napoleon and the ,kaiser--mark the anticlimax6--are gone1 their swords are rust1 their dreams are dust1 but ,jesus ,christ remains the same yesterday1 to-day and forever4 ,his penetrating and persistent voice was not really silenced even during the confusion of the war1 rather was he then speaking in the thunderous tones of judgment2 and now the ,christmas angels are being heard again as birds are heard after the storm4 ,the hand of ,christ has been shaping the course of the world1 even when convulsed in war1 and is now remolding its plastic elements into form4 ,he has not been dethroned and discrowned in this world-cataclysm in which so many thrones and crowns have come tumbling down1 but is still the ,prince of ,peace4 ,the ,man of ,nazareth is speaking with a majestic voice to-day to all these nations and asserting the waste and wickedness of war and the brotherhood of man as they were never asserted before1 and urging them to build a league of peace that may be the greatest outcome and blessing of the war4 ,a new world may arise out of the ruins of the old that will be worth all the blood it cost and may be the prelude of the fulfillment of all the dreams of prophets and poets of a ,parliament of ,man under the rule of which the kindly earth shall slumber1 lapt in universal law4 ,then shall the angels' ,christmas song break from the gallery of the skies and fill all the world with its notes1 ,glory to ,god in the highest1 and on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased4 ,,xxi4 ,the ,light of the ,world ,jesus was born into a dark world4 ,politically it was bound4 ,despotism constricted and strangled it at the top1 and at the bottom its millions were shackled slaves4 ,intellectually it was decadent4 ,philosophy had stopped and stagnated in ,athens1 and no fresh current of thought was irrigating the world1 no new light was breaking upon the human mind4 ,religiously its pagan faiths were outworn and dying or dead4 ,judaism itself had gone to seed and was only a dry husk4 ,morally the world was terribly corrupt1 from its lowest slums up to the palaces of the rich where sensuality ran riot4 ,as a consequence of these conditions1 pessimism spread a dark pall over the world4 ,men everywhere were in despair4 ,they entertained the darkest and bitterest views of life4 ,nothing seemed to them worth while4 ,the world was all a muddle1 and the human heart cried out that life ,hath really neither joy1 nor love1 nor light1 ,nor certitude1 nor peace1 nor help for pain2 ,and we are here as on a darkling plain ,swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight1 ,where ignorant armies clash by night4 ,into this dark world ,jesus was born4 ,he was only a babe1 a single speck in the vast mass of humanity1 but this ,babe was luminous and shone with heavenly light4 ,a star shed its radiance over his cradle--symbol and prophecy of his mission4 ,as he grew in years he grew in luminosity until he lighted up ,palestine and shot some rays across the borders of that little land into the great world4 ,death could not quench his growing light1 but he rose to heaven1 as the sun rises to its zenith1 whence his light now falls in increasing splendor over all the world4 ,this ,light has been shining nineteen hundred years and it has made a wide and deep impression on the darkness4 ,open the map of the world1 and its bright spaces correspond with and are largely caused by the shining of this ,light4 ,the teachings and spirit and power and personality of ,jesus are illuminating the world4 ,political despotism and slavery cannot live under the light of his gospel of brotherhood and are fleeing from his presence4 ,intellectual light is flooding all ,christian lands3 has it not been touched by his torch8 ,moral darkness is being penetrated and dissipated by the purity and peace of ,christ4 ,pessimism meets its match and victor in his mighty jubilant optimism4 ,he clears the world of the muddle of its confusion and turns it into our ,father's house4 ,he lifts life up and makes it worth while in its great and grand meaning4 ,as from the uplifted hand of the ,statue of ,liberty in ,new ,york harbor there shoots a sheaf of electric light that illuminates all the bay1 so from the pierced hand of ,christ there shines a blaze of light that penetrates and scatters the darkness of the world4 ,we live in this ,light4 ,this is the meaning and true blessing of ,christmas time4 ,this is the real joy that breaks over the world on ,christmas morning4 ,all our gifts derive their significance from this ,gift2 all our joys are scintillations of this ,light4 ,o thou ,light of the world6 ,in thy ,light help us to see light4 ,may sin not wrap us in darkness1 may not a worldly life breed in us a spirit of bitterness and despair4 ,shine upon us with the light of thy truth and thy love4 ,light up the world for us so that we shall see it as our ,father's house4 ,may thy presence put a deeper1 richer1 gladder meaning into all our life and pour a new splendor over all the world4 ,and may nations come to thy ,light and kings to the brightness of thy rising4 ,illustration ,printed in the ,united ,states of ,america