THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S strum en tality of the Divine will. The h irth of Jesu s was so n ear a t hand th a t God moved th e Emperor of Rome to do the one necessary th ing th a t would ful fil th e words of Micah. In obedience to th e order of Herod, Joseph and Mary made ready imme diately for th e jou rn ey to Bethlehem , which lies almost due south o f Naza reth , th e ir home. The jou rney was completed w ithout special incident of apostolic record, hut upon reaching th e ancient place of Dav id, Mary and her husband found th a t so large a th rong of strang ers, brought together for th e same purpose, had pre ceded them th a t all th e public lodging places in th e town of th ree thousand inh ab itan ts were already occupied. What! no place to house the royal mother? No couch in which to lay th e K ing of ea rth ? No lords of state aw aiting in antecham ber? No messen gers mounted a t th e doorway ready to herald the advent from city to city? No satin-lined cradle to receive th e infan tile guest? No, none! But hum ans m ust he sheltered as well as beasts. Some place m ust he found. If not among th e lords, th en among the lowly; if not among th e lowly, th en let it be among th e beasts, for these poor creatu res will not refuse to sh are th eir qu arters, even though th ey stand in n ar row stalls and feed a t th e hands of those who begrudgingly give sm all allowances of food while taxing them to th e lim it of endurance. So Mary and Joseph, find ing no welcome in eith er inn or cot tage, are forced to seek sh elter among th e beasts, to accept th e discom forts of a stable even a t a tim e th e most critical, a t the approach and a t th e fulfilment of motherhood. And in a stable among th e asses, and cows, and th e camels, while the a ir outside was d isturbed by th e vexatious cries of muleteers, host lers and camel-drivers, Mary bowed herself and was delivered of h er first born, th e jo in t-heir of Gbd; th e arch-
2095 K ing; a monarch upon whom th e night pointed her hediamonded finger, while the door of heaven set wide open to give th e angels sight of H im ; and or chestral batons of ligh t waved oratorios of the Messiah across th e sky, and the m instrelsy of heaven flung out melodies of glory and good-will. But while heaven was all aglow w ith joy, th e Son of God was not yet raised from th e straw in th e m anger where His m other had laid Him, covered w ith coarse linen. F o r h er th e re was n eith er com fort nor privacy. A b etter adapted place h ath th e eaglet in th e eyrie, hath th e whelp in th e lion’s lair. The exile of heaven lieth down upon th e straw ; th e first n igh t ou t from th e palace of heaven, spent in an outhouse! One hour a fte r laying aside th e robes of heaven, dressed in a w rapper of coarse linen. One would have supposed th a t Christ would have made a more gradual de scent, coming from heaven first to a half-way world of g reat magnitude, then to C aesar’s palace, th en to a mer ch an t’s palace in Galilee, then to a pri vate home in Bethany, th en to a fisher men’s 'h u t, and last of all to a stable. No, no! It was leap from th e top to the bottom! Let us open th e door of th e caravan sary in Bethlehem and drive away th e camels. P ress on th rough th e group of idlers and loungers. W hat, O Mary, no ligh t? “No lig h t,” she says, “ save th a t which comes th rough th e door.” W hat, Mary, no food? “None,” she says, “ only th a t which is b rough t in th e sack on th e jou rn ey .” L et th e Bethle hem woman who has come in h ere w ith kindly atten tion s p u t back th e covering from th e babe th a t we may look upon it. Look! Look! Uncover your head. Let us kneel. Let all voices he hushed. Son of Mary— Son of. God! Child of a day— monarch of eternity! Omnipotence sheathed in th a t babe’s arm . Omnisci ence strung in th e optic nerve of th a t child’s eye. T h at voice to be changed
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