CHRISTMAS! the place of réligion, but there was no rene confidence that mone of 7 ~ of the hopeless, the ¢ of the' fallen. When to the world iu the ra power. of His love [Lu adox, but also pW A Christmas 191 By Very Rev, E. 7, Bidwell, DD, of Bt. George', aevssassessel The great and outstanding message hope. a of Christmantide i one of The Indmit Cheist was hovn isto world of which the most prominent characteristic 'was the lack of bope Foven the Jessy . themwelvis, crushed under the domination of a power, were beginning to lose in re" thoir hope of a Mes be other nations of the an- cient world were groping about in a wort of Hark despair somethin to worship in the place of the ol gods 'which had perished for - ever. Philosophy vainly endeavored to take for ktupiration therein for the masses of the people, and even the profoundest oo J'DEAN BIDWELL mst lpi nn i philosophy did not bring hope those who cndeavorsd to master and live by it. Into this world darkness and despair was born a little child in the humbiest of sur roundings, and of lowlicst parentage. But thiw little ei\ld was the Son ol God, and was the bearer of a splen- did message 'of hope to mankind, The incarnation of Jesus Christ is of supreme Value just because it assures men, as can be done in no other way, of the uniailing love of Gad for mol 3F de y a the incarnate love of (od, then thefe is mo room for despair or pessimism. For with a belief in the infinite love of God in out hearts - we oan fuce all the dith- oulfies and problems of life with ol oer them are Loo hard for the love of God to solve in His own good time, wdohristnias, them, the seayon nll others that rominths us of the groat power of love, réminds us al #0 most forcibly of tha dutivs of love. At Christmastido we see thok selfish ness is not merely 8 fault, it is one of the worst of crimes, and this truth is borre in upon us hocavse at this time wo mse mutifgeted so clearly the ve solllceencess of the love of God, nd the quetion naturally acises, at are we doing to make ithe Tove of God clear and maniiest in our own personal sarroundisgs ? ' No ove Jost until he has lost hope, The Uhris- tian hag (Wis saupreane deity and pri vilage to help in passing of to all the message of hope. Bo 1'say that we must not be coment. with giving at Christmadiide a fitte of our money or perhaps of our "time toto those who are less 'well off than our selves. Wo must always be trying to bring hope into lives where it = not now, At is why we want to do away with Jnsabitary, aah over crowded hort. That is why we wont bathing facilities and properly equip- ped public playgramics for toe child- ren' That is why we want mon and women. who will Jive service as well as those who will give money to such objeats. believe that hope and gounfidence beyond force that can save the: world. Christianity has boon b ion ofr the 'weak, the dcfendst infant He d the foretgn to it, We want to show that we in the love olliodis the one and .. only ever the hope Rs . w -- . 4. The Song of the Angels By Rev. 8. Sellery, M.A, B.D, : of Queen Methodist Church, ore "Glory to God "in the highest, apd on earth' peace, goed will toward wen." ! The purpose of Christ's coming expressed in thig song of the angela To bring 'glogy to God, to bring peace to the earth, to create good will among men. This song is really' an epitome of the gospel. The working out of this song is the task that the church?! has undertaken, the task in which "the church is now engaged When the truth of thes song has been fully realized the purpose of Christ's advent and the purpose for which the chureh has been brought joto exist- ence will be fully answered. Let us fisien to these three notes struck hy the heavenly choir in celebration of the Saviolir's birth, "Glory to God in the highest," The power, wisdom and love of Uod- are manifested in the works of natdre. "The heavens de clare the glory of God." The apostle says, "The invisible things of God, even his eternal power: and Godhead are clearly seen, being understood of the things that are made." And vet the supreme revelations of the attri nites and perfections of God, the su- preme revelation of the glory of these attributes and peclections is on the Man Christ Jesus, God manifest, in the flesh. We know what God is becatse we know what Chest is. He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father. When we look into' the fuce of Jesus of Nazareth as He is portrayed in the gospels, we are looking into the face of God. Christ's advent hus brought glory to God, becanse it has revealed God and has led to the true worship and service of God. 'Peace on earth," the gates of the temple of Janus at Roma were shut when the empire was not at war, Only service ahd that for a brief period, were they closed, and during one of these rare intervals the Prince of Peace was born. One great purpose of Christ's mission is to bring peace. To bring peace to the human heart, to the home, to society, to the nations and to thé world, This is being done. Our pbgress seems slow, but there is progress in this di rection. Swords are not yet beaten into plow-shares, nor spears into prun- ing hooks, but there is less war and the horrors of war have been softened through the influence of christianity. But there will be an end to war, and this end: will be brought about through the influence ef the Prince of Pence. He can do it, * because He can what no other. reformer ean do, ean change the buman heart. NY BOLO ONYE 13 do He He deals -- oy , 8 REV. BAMURL SELLERY, i with the root of the evil. He puts His finger on the prime cause of all war, whether in the individual soul, the home, the commubily; or between i that is & corr ipt-fallen na- ¢ compose these nations breathed inte them the spirit the Prince of Peace. "Good will toward men" relation that (the Ro- id allow with another people: that' of the victor and the van: cratic THOU No other influence can do it. | sthat we bear What Do Christ, Christmas "and Christianity, Mean to Mankind and the World. By Rev. F. G. Robinson, Pastor of Princess Street Methodist Church. A few years ago a certain great writer, win. speaking of Christmas, suid 2 "The festival which of all others, pevhaps, speaks most directly and most forcibly to the heart and imagination of Christendom has coms round sgain, bringing with it all the benign associations, all the honored customs, all the inbmite significance of the past. Ta the home it means One thing, to the ebhurch another, to the thinker upon the profound mystery, whieh underlies its genesis it suggests REV. F. tu ROBINBON, age loug questions, which mankind, with all its thought, has never sue ceeded in solving, vet from which it has nover suceeedod in getting away. And never was the spirit of enquicy addressed to the personality of the founder of Christianity to the mean- ing and Implications of Ils teaching, and to His plage in history so keen as to-day, never was it, on tie whole, #0. serious, so completely honest, so en reverent. This ie emphaticul- ly the age of farthy and the faith of the age is proved Ly its doubts. For what do these doubts, mantiold, and subtle as they Are, imply and prove? Surely thid most doviously, 'thai man cannot get away from yeligion," mit feels ity necessity fo he Bo im- perious that he finds himsell impelled oy the deepest needs of his nature to seok more and mpiore ardently to een tre its appeal and sanctions in lacts md forms to which his reason is able to' give a foll and irec assent, 'Ii there were no God it would he neces gary to create. Him.' Maybe these vorda were spoken in jest, vel the jest pressed wn truth profoundér than the great Napoleon knew. though coneepiions and outward ex- pressions of religion change, religion self persists, for religion is not ap idea buf a consciousness, and because y CONSGIONENONS it moves ¢ver onward towards a follies and deeper knowledge of the one indivisihle and inseparable truth." Mére and more the evidence of chris vianity Is looked for and is found in shristianity itself ae represented not by churches or crecds, but by the word of its founder, 1t is not accident $0 much less in these lays than formerly in praise of gos pels and creeds, merely 'ethical in character, Of tone of these, either liv- ing or dead, will the fair-minded man speak dispsragingly. Those of the past have dome an work of préat value, which was their work for the time be- ing, and those of the present day are all worthy to the extent of thelr capa- \bility. But. mai lives in two worlds, and his being comes at every point into' contact with influences and inti- mations which the highest human knowledge fails. to explain and to satisly, and so while ethical codes may meet the demand of reason they : Tiel wunrecog- 'there any disunion between . ad religion? Is' it pot the truth that ethics is a part, and reli: gion the whole ? In the opinion tion most pressing. int to reconcile to the human reason of religion 'whith morges the iden "iv a profounder and "ent x conception, one wees in - the ethical law which veasion and proof i order, 'To those who thus think, attestation of the world's i with ail pt gov the imphieat fru KINGSTON ONTARIO, HTS ABOUT. | Hence, The Heavenly Song By Rev, H. D. Whitmore, Pastor of Calvary Church, ri "Saddenly there was with the angel aemultitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to tiod in the highest, and on. ¢arth peace, good will toward men." ~Luke i, 13, 14. "There must be reason for singing. The sifiging that hath no reason 1s not true singing. There is much mis- conception about singing. We must hear the words, 'we musi catch the thrill and pathos in them, thyough the musi of the voice. 1 have heard sing- ing that was considered the perfection of art, to me, a laymen in music, who did not understand the many shades and ramifications of an ottave, it meant nothing only so much sound, and the strivings of what appeared the impossible for the human voice. Then again, I have heard singing that had in it all the culture and 'training art could give, but oh, how different. The soul was thrilled, and lifted up, you were transported into another world. What was the difference ¥ The words came 19 you with a new inspiration Every syllable roverberated with sweet and glorious music, each tone was dis- tinct, each word intelligible even to 'the uninformed, may, the ignorant, if vou understood. And under- standing, worshipped. You will please, remember in they were shep- herds abiding the field, keeping watcl the {lock by night, that saw multitude of tno heavenly host, and heard them The mere singing of such an hodt would «dl them greatly, but when they were able to intelligently understand those heavenly singers' gong, they too glorified and praised God, In spite of over the have the joyous spirit of Christmastide, there will be a multi- tude of lived who will experience the minor note amidst the festivities While thousands of home circles will be complete, there will be mifiny' va- gant chairs, and many dim eyes as they gather at the festive hoard. If onky these dear ones ean but hear the heavenly host and fully understand the import of the song, they will, 1 am sure, have complete healing of all wounds, And their hearts experience anew the preciousness of the truth, "I an earih,! oo = w on earth' Why? Do you not know that 'His ame was. called "Jesus," and He will save His people from their sins? Do you not know that His name was called "Ipumanuu- el," God with us? No wonder there is peace, no wonder there is heavenly joy. He wipes away all tears, and to all who confide in "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy mourning, the garment of praise the spirit. of heaviness." Let us send special messages Christmastide, messages full of tender affection, and mother, sister, friend. May they hear the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory Him, He gives } for for to God in the highest, and on earth peacy, good will toward men. Some of the most valued gifts ave those which we might buy for & few cents. But oh, Bow precious they are. The dim eyes are hands are still, the hushed, but the old quaint design, with atuft of, wool in the centre, speak eloquently of a love - that will never grow old. Iyt us not giffs we receive cofdingly, but penwiper of the value them ae- ears be un count and let our stopped amidst. the dins of world val ues: and be attuned Lo hear anew the angel song, and may we thus learn of the love that sought in tender solic tude to make us truly happy this Christimastide, and with bowed hearts may filled thus with His Spirit, and throughout the coming year experience the deeper meaning of the song of the heavenly "host, 'Peace on earth," and may day bear testimony, in owt Tives, of good will toward men. i ------------ ie oa No Help. : aronto World 5 = The bi-lingual: question did not held the. conservatives gnuch. In the rng counties they lost Glengarry (formerly RKeoteh), Prescott and Sturgeon Falls, while ou the other hand the conser- vatives 'won in the French counties, Stormont and East Ottawa; the lat" ter could be accounted for by the can- : J. Kehoe, dn Irish Jie, from whom the ittle : pairing Goth this sincere regard, Father, brother and beloved closed, the aged gentle' voice is with its serrated edges, cost. of the we worship Him, seeking to be T BY THE reevscsessel Berrannneaen : (Questioning of the Wise By Rév. M. Macgillivary, D.D., | £ Pastor of Chalmers Church. TY Asking about Jesus is the most per- sistent of all inquiries. The books which deal with Him hold their own best in the literary competition of our time, The men who deal with Him, by way of research, or example, are ihe most helpful of their kind, And the reason is that the soul of man ever demands something deeper and fuller than it has yet received. So that asking, like the wise men, a great and smered passion, with its roots far down in our nature. Jesus is always cither a Comforter or a Troubler. He promises rest and peace, but only to those who "be lieve" and "come." He brings trouble to the wicked, He lays down great is REV. DR. MACGILLIVRAY. principles which, according as they ave received, unite or separate men, set them up or east them down. And His judgment is: delivered daily, dividing the just sgom the unjust, showing that the leaven of righteoudness js nightly working. Hi the twenty-five, odd, churches of Kingston stood, any of these days shoulda to shoulder, and spoke oul plainly the "truth as il wn in Jestis" about many things, and asked some questions without fear, and boldly set forth His law, how greatly would so respectable - a community as Kingston be troubled {| One would be amazed at the heads and the interegts that would be hard hit. But then, héw many nasty sores Weuld be probed, and what housecleaning and amend: ment would there be in many quar ters! ve ve And so it is that we cannot stop asking questions about Jesus. Learn. ing is deeply concerned with. Him, philosophy looks down from her serene heights to see what He is like, and whether she tan find a corner for Him in her comprehensive reason. BSelence may avert her eyes from the things wi see {0 Cast an interested gldnee at the stream of inquiries thronging around Him, "and possibly to write an article about Him, sometimes friend ly, sometimes the reverse. Literature, on occasion, devotes a sonnet, ora romance to Him in order to be found in such goodly company. Priests and geribes turn away from the routine and ceremonial of their office to inves tigate afresh =the story of this un nameahle Man. Even kings pause in their royal progress to ask 'a ques tion, or--the grester the marvel-to attempt a homily in His name But better, and fraught with' bigger hope and 'consequence, the poor, the peni- tent, the heart-broken, want to know who He is that they may speak io Him, and get the healing an saving answer never anywhere else supplied. Thank God, sll who want Him can find Hime. Then let us do as the wise men did : Seek Him, adore Him, and our treasures and our service will | Open out of their own accord. Our heart is the best gold and incense we ean bring. maki -- A Million Developed Power. Ottawa Citizen. ' "The recently wsued report of the (enadian comission «conservation; a volume of 100 pages, on the wa ter powers of Canada is the result of two vears of work. The volume; with its accompanying power maps, heeomes at once 'the recognized Cana: dian authority on water powers. The work is lavishly illustrated. A summary stows that Canidae has one. million sixteen thousand develop. od horsepower from, water powers. H this one half is fn Ontario, but ad the Ottawa river, for statistical ptir- poses; is reckoned as wholly Jn this Ontario's lead. Three-quarters of a million of Cadada's votal water power is ud to - devylopbalerteital anergy. The pulp paper industry ° used TN, while minor indust con: sume the remainder. : With - +1 6 1 the + sions engineers refuse to estimate Canada's total available water power. "iQne anthorily places this at 17,000, a" je stated in a summary, "but this canndt rest on any reliable ba sis of authority." Too mueh in praise cannot be said thoroughly scomsible, Where ox plete information cannot be bad the caution. The authors of the work are 3 ; Penis, BiSe., awd Arthurs province, this accounts for'much of y \ Jesus Christ, the deal By Rev. John Webster, Pastor i of Brock Street Methodist Charch, Eyres seseseeseseesesd Once again--as- we join all christen dom in the festivities, in conneetion with the celebration of ithe greatest event in the history' of the human family, the Savieur's assumption of humanity, an act of infinite condescen- tioh, voluntary, complete, sioning~ our minds naturally turn toward thas Child in the manger, in Bethlehem, Who in due time hbeeame the Ideal Man. From the timo the first promise was given of a Redeemer, down to that wonderful night, when the faithful' shepherds, amid the Judean hills, heard the angels announce that the lang-looked for Deliverer had appeared er : . as a babe in "'swaddling clothes," all generations longed for an ideal man, alter whom they could 'medel thew character, an ideal that should per manently defy eriticism, a sample of what human goodness is in its truth, and ite eompléteness, one whose life declared that while external eirenm- stances are something, they ave by no means everything, that the inward life is the great and essential thing, but for its growth it neds c y [he pledge for the progr tianity is the personal character its Founder, Christ. He given us a life in which there is the absence of any disturbing flaw. In this world, soiled and diglgured by gin, Christ, alone, absolutely with: out sin. lis critics seek in vain for any sign of evil in His ideal fife Not a word, or action, or gesture, or movement which in wny somse indicates a will averted from good, This model life is perfectly harmonious, Unlike all other great men, seo if Him nothing of narrowness or one-sided ness, The best of us appropriate one pari of goodness at the expense of the rest. Not so with the San of Man, He had no one predominating virtue that shadowed other virtues. Every excellence ix adjusted, balanced, illus: trated by other exer cies; Deng what He was, the impersonation of goodness and truth, containing within Himseli all those elements of charac ter which win, convipee and stimulate mankind, is religion became all-per vading, 'alllembracing, all-satisfying. The aflvent of Christ presaged a world ransomed from the destroyer, a metdintorial kingdom wbrécted: upon the ruins of earth's spoiled thrones, a name that is above every name, hon ored in heaven by prostrate obedience and undying song, honored on earth by every oonlessing lip and every bending knee, and this was the joy, in part, set before our Saviour. Whether think ° of Noah preacher righteousness," Jesus has is we the or we of REV. JOHN WEBSTER, Abram, "the friend of God." oF Lot, the "just," or David, the "man after God's own heart," or "Solomon in all his glory," or even John the "po phet of she highest," we find dach and all imperfect and, (hereiore, disquali- fied ad an ideal man. But Christ, whom we adore js abso lute perfection and is worthy of our sceeptanbe as our Model Teacher. Re Ldeemer, Accepting Him as such we projess all that 1s fmplied in being a Christian. Wa have faith, hope and love, that ix we profess to. Put have we any real interest iu the mearna- tiony of Christ ? Has the fizing change by which we are euxfled to look to God and say Abba Father taken place ? and thus there has come to our hearts to understand the pur- poses of the Saviour Advegt. Have the purposes of His coming been ful- filled in owr individual experioneos ? After all. this is the all-important question. Let we bring our faith, hope and love to the test of Viod's word antl see how we stand in the light of that 'word. If our faith be genwine, nding to the scriptures, thete fol lows the evidence 'of our salvation, ly, the witness 'of the spirit. "He that believeth on the Bou of {10d hath the witness in Himself." Thé spirit Himpelf "beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, Is this our Christmas experience or is our faith, so-called, a mere intelloe tual assent to the facts that Christ become incarnate, livell, died and as cended 7 i our hope be ine, then eriptures tell ue that it leads ity of life, "He that hath the to this hope in him putifieth hinsell even ae 19 CITY CLERGYMEN. Man x \ PAGES 15 TO 20. THIRD PART Christmas. Duty By Rev. W. FP, FitzGerald, MA. of St. Paul's Church, PLASTER { The Whig bns asked mio for a few lines re this Holy Season. One would wish to write on the (1) marvellous birth of Jesus or concmening the (2) message to the shepherds who watched their flocks that first Christmas night, ar. the (3) Christmas joy assogiated then and ever since with the whole. facts and phases of the great evemt. But 1 wish only to dwell "on Christ mas duty. Our duty 1 may arrange in three words, (1) thagkfulness, (2) thoughtfulness, (3; trusifuliess, Why do we make the Christming service spe- cinlly bright * Tt is because it is a day of thanksgiving, Let me ask the read ers of these words to look up-what was said to the people of Israel about one of their feasts (Deut. xvi, 14, 15). A thankful heart is a happy heart fhey have a happy Christmas who have learned to give thankd te God for His great Christmas gift Next, thoughtfulness. There are many who are poor, sick, sorrowful or in pain or Jonelmeng at. thi n,. Can eur readers in token of Rank huTnacs, make Christmas brighter. and Happier by some kindly thought an act fof some poor, wick, or lonely one, and thus, hy thoughtfulness; bring' Jesus Xerer to all concerned. . My last' word is trustfalness, 1 some ous brought you a Christmas gift you would never think of saying "I don't believe it is for me." Our Lord has' brought us mdst precious gifts, - He ofimrs them to us. Do not distrust Him by say- ingi "They are not for me,' hut trust Him, that all He chine into the world to do, and to win {or man, He gives and will give to yom, both in this life and in 'the lila to come. To all who read these words, to those veut love, and who love you, wherever vou aivd they imay be, I wish yon, and , n Christmas of thanksgiving, trust fulnesr and thig indeed means for you 'A happy Christmas." Publie Schools Starved. Seaforth Expositor In comparison with the higher forms of education, the public schools are being starved, Last year the govern. ment grant to public and separate schools amounted to $1.38 per pupil; to high sebools and colleginte inéti- tutes, $4.06 per pupil; to normal snd model pupils, $112 per student, apd university students, $126.35 per head The normal schools and university are wither receiving too much or the pub. fie schools nbt"wnough, We beliéve the latter is the case. The plblie schools are being starved gnd it is no wonder that there is such a scarcity of teach- ers that many schools have to be closed. : ar yeu fhoughtfulness and A single square yard « loaf mirface, counting both the upper and the un der sides of the leaves, can, under favorable circumstances, decompose at Jeast a gallon of earBolic acid in » day. Because you your owh opinion that it ia better low's. are satisfied - with it doesn't follow than the other fel He is pure." Nothing less will satisfy. How ix it with our loved Love must of necessity manifest sell because of its inkerent vitality. The great teacher Himself said : "NH ye dove Me keep My commandments' "Thou shalt love the Lord thy find with ail thy heart, and with all thy soul, aml with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself," (Lawyer) "A pew com mandment I give unto vou that © ve love one another, as | have loved vou, ye love Gne another." "By this shall sll men know that ye are My discip- fos, il ye love one another," . That Jove must be the kindliost which has the furthest end moet vision. It cannot be either & small or scanty love that takes in God. And all men good and bad, saved and un- saved, but all redeemed, that takes eternity within ts scope and range. What a happy Christmas this will be if Sue hits, brings the withess of the spirit. And our Jaads arity of fife. And our Jove "fends 4 willing snd _chworfol obedisnre 14 the com mand of henven's high King. This is Christisnily venlized, embofied, and paraded by an affection, Bounded only by the of the baman family, Pure th God ite members find Pure love 10 every sou of men." > ite