539
December 1925
T H E K I N G ’ S
B U S I N E S S
B E T H L E H EM — T H E “L IT T L E TOWN” W HO SE STORY STIRS OUR H EA R T S W ith w hat a m ingled sense of awe and joy fu ln ess we look upon th is place. Here, in the humble m anger,— for we rem em ber sadly th a t “there w as no room for them in the inn,”— was born on th a t glad day so m any y ears ago th e B abe of Bethlehem , the “Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Lu ke 2:11). These ro ofs and w alls,— g ivin g mute evidence of having survived the cen tu ries since,— how may they not have echoed to th e sound of the angel choir! These streets and w inding lanes,-—how may they not also have w itnessed the sta tely tread of the cam els brin g ing the sta r led w ise men on th eir quest for th a t g rea ter S ta r “which should rise out of Ja co b ” (Num. 24:17), He who was also the “brig h t and morning S ta r” (Rev. 22:16). And the scattered fields surrounding,— th ey surely bear th eir w itness to the happy hearted shepherds who returned from the R eg al P resen ce “g lo rify in g and p raisin g God fo r a ll the th in g s th a t they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20).
Come to the Manger Ilev. W. B . Hinson, Pastor of the East Side Baptist Church, Portland, Oregon
It is always a pleasure to pass on to our readers one of the soul-satisfying and soul-inspiring messages which Dr. Hinson gives, week by week, to his favored flock. He is one of the stalwart “Defenders of the Faith,” and we are sure that The King’s Business Family will be glad to take him on their hearts for prayer that God may give him strength and vigor for many years to come. “Dying in a manger”— Luke 2:16 US iJITH no human father, with a virgin mother, in a roadside inn, there lay in a manger the Son of Sennacherib of Assyria, who said, “As I did by Egypt in spite of its gods, so I will do by Israel in spite of its God.” And his bugle blast was blown in the morning, but never a soldier stirred, for they were all dead men.
mMtrM Mary and the Son of God, whose name is “Won- Eflffiafg j derful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlast ing Father, and The Prince of Peace.” And all time is cut in twain by that manger. For every year until the infant Christ reclined therein shall he called “the year B. C.” (before Christ). And every year after Jesus slept in that manger shall be called “the year Anno Domini” (the year of our Lord). And in that stable and divided by that man ger stand all the teeming populations of the world. For on one side or the other everyone must stand; and on one side or the other you and I must stand, as the friend or the foe of the One who lay therein. The Foes of Jesus And X want, very briefly, to call your notice to the foes and to the friends of Jesus who are divided by the manger. The men of the second Psalm are there, concerning whom Jehovah said, “Why do the heathen rage, and why are the people gathered together, and why do the kings take coun sel, and why do they strive against the Lord’s Anointed?” All those people are there. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who said, “Who is your God?” and whom God answered by the down-rushing waters of the Red Sea that drowned an army.
And Belshazzar of Babylon, who said, “Bring out the sacred vessels of Jehovah,” and did sacrilege to even the holy things of God. But the red blood of the king and the red wine of his banquet were mingled on the white floor of his palace, when along the drained Euphrates bed the Persians came to slay. And Herod, who said, “Kill all the male children of two years and under, and then we are sure to catch the King of the Jews.’’--, And Pilate, pettifogging, vacillating Pilate,— knowing the right and not daring to do it; fearful of the wrong and yet unwilling to take the risk of doing that which he knew to be right; who eventually said, “Take Him and crucify Him,” —He is there. And Caiaphas, the acting high priest, thin-lipped, cold- eyed, catlike in his tread, complacent, who sneeringly said, “It is better that one man die than that the whole nation perish,” is there. And Judas of the furtive brow and itching palm, and heart that had grown hard by reason of selfishness, who saw in the Speaker of the parables and the Doer of the miracles
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