The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-27 00:00:00

CHRISTMAS SERMONS.
There were some 'very eloquent sermons preached in the
Metropolitan churches on Christmas Day. In two of the
largest places of worship—St. Paul's Cathedral and the
Surrey Tabernacle—the sermons were delivered by the

Dean of St. Pauls and by the Rev. Mr. Spurgeon respec:

tively. The attendance at the Grand City Cathedral
was, considering the intense cold and fog which during
the whole morning hung over the Metropolis, extremely
good. The service was held in the choir, but
it was not nearly large enough to accommo-
date the worshippers, who flowed over into,,the side aisles
and the nave, and occupied a considerable portion of the
space usually railed off for the special services. This
being a grand festival of the Church, high service was
performed, the musical portion being that which is known
as " King in C." Prayers were intoned by the Rev.
J. V. Povah, the Litany being sung by the Rev. W.
S. Simpson and the Rev. W. J. Hall. The choir was
tastefully, but simply decorated with holly, and the
back of the Communion Table with emblematical de-
vices in the same evergreen. Nothing could be simpler
or in more correct taste, than the decorations and the
whole service, and it could not fail to have struck anyone
who had been in the habit of attending any of the high
Ritualistic churches. At the conclusion of the prayers
and Litany, the Dean ascended the pulpit and preached
from the 9th chapter of Isaiah, v. 6 : " For unto us a
Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government
shall be upon his shoulder ; and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace." After dwelling upon the
remarkable manner in which the predictions of the prophet
respecting the utter desolation of the land of Judah were
accomplished through the invasion of their country by the
Assyrians, as described in previous chapters, he turned
to the text itself, and explained, by reference to various
other passages of Scripture, the names given in the text
to our Saviour, identifying Him alike with the angel who
appeared to Manoah, and declared his name to be secret,
and an angel in the Revelations. He then remarked
that the name given to Christ in the text was " the
Prince of Peace." " The Prince of Peace, how strangely,"
said the Very Rev. Dean, " and yet how soothingly does
that title sound in our ears, surrounded as we are by the
associations of the present year. On this day were
heard the voices of the Heavenly Host proclaiming
peace and goodwill to man. On this day eighteen hun-
dred and seventy years ago was born Him who said,
' Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
the children of God.' In anticipation of Him who was
born on this day, a prophet foretold that nation
should not lift up the sword against nation, neither should
they learn war any more ; and yet upon this very day, at
this season, within but a short distance of our own shores,
men bearing the name of Christians, and who are pro-
fessedly the followers and servants of the Prince of
Peace, are making against each other a war of the bitter
passion, of which there seems to be end, and the mag-
nitude and suffering of which are unsurpassed
by any recorded in history—a war which seems
destined, so far as human will can control the events of
the world, to go on even to utter extermination, with no
yielding on one side and with no relenting on the other.
While we, as is our custom, make this holy and joyful
season one not only given to God but one of festivity
among men, we need but to look beyond the narrow belt
of sea which surrounds our land, to behold war, and
famine, and all the inclemency of the season, doing
their worst to destroy mankind under the command and
direction of their fellow men. While deploring these
terrible signs of the times, we must acknowledge in
them the evidence that Christ's kingdom is not
yet established in this world, but is still, as
of old striving with mankind, with their wrath,
their ambition, their revenge, their hatred, and all the
evils of man's nature. Yet we must remember that far
removed from all schemes of ambition, beyond the din of
conflict and all its sufferings and perils, Christ is still to
them that trust in Him the Prince of Peace, and that
beyond all the chances and changes of this mortal life His
peace will abide with them."
At the Tabernacle in Southwark there were no outward
signs of Christmas. The fog was so thick that, though
the gas was lit, Mr. Spurgeon was hardly discernible,
except by those who were near the platform.
But his voice, rang out clear and distinct as
ever. His theme was appropriate the coming
of (wise men from the East to Jerusalem to
worship Christ on His Nativity. The Incarnation of
the Son of God he described as one of the greatest
of all events in the history of the universe. Its actual
occurrence was made known to certain shepherds and to'
certain wise men In the East. The shepherds were little ac-
quainted with books, but the coming of Christ was made
known to them, and they hastened to Bethlehem to see the
great sight, while the Scribes and Pharisees did not seem to
know when Christ was born. In this, and its being made
known to the Magi, who came from the East, he saw the
great mercy and at the same time the sovereignty of God,
" who has mercy on whom He will have mercy, and com-
compassion on whom He will have compassion ;" and he
inculcated on his hearers the lesson that they should
imitate the wise men of the East in seeking Jesus dili-
gently, and in evincing an interest in Him. He pointed
ont that as these wise men had encouragement in that a
a star went before them, and stood over where the young
child was, so had mankind in these days encouragement
in seeking after Christ, inasmuch as they had heard
the Gospel, and lived in a land where the
ordinances of God's house were free. In his prayer,
Mr. Spurgeon besought the Almighty to send men who
would preach the Gospel in its purity in the Church of
Rome, in the Church of England, " and in other apostate
churches;" and in his exposition of the second chapter
of St. Matthew, which he read, he pointed out markedly
that it was Jesus who was in the front of the picture, and
that though Mary was present the wise men did not
worship her, but Him. In his sermon he followed out the
same line of thought, saving the wise men of the
East, spoken of, were not content with seeing the star
that went before them, but they sought to see Christ, and
did see Him. There might be many who said, "We
have been baptised, and we come to the Sacrament,"
and thought that that was sufficient for their salvation.
Poor souls, they worshipped the star instead of wor-
shipping Christ. Would they be so foolish as to rest
on outward ceremonies ? God said, " Bring no more
vain oblations, incense is an abomination to me." What
cared God for outward forms? When he saw a man
putting on a white garment in which to preach the Gos-
pel, and performing all kinds of rites and ceremonies, he
felt disposed to ask what sort of a God it was that he wor-
shipped. Surely they knew not Jehovah, if they thought
that these things were pleasing to him. He exhorted his
hearers to seek Jesus, for in finding Him alone would
they secure salvation. Jesus was ready to save all who
came to Him. And as the wise men of the East when
they found Him presented to Him their gifts of frankin-
cence, and gold, and myrrh, the costly productions of the
country, so he called on those who new found Him to give
Him of their gifts, to work for Him, to give Him their
tongues, their hands, and their hearts.

NORWICH ELECTION is understood
that the petitioner in this case will be represented in the
approaching inquiry, before Mr. Justice Keating, by Mr.
O'Malley, Q.C., Mr. Griffiths, and Mr. E. L. O'Malley.
Mr. Serjeant Ballantine, Mr. Rodwell, Q.C., and Mr. S.
Reeve have been retained for the sitting member (Mr. J.
H. Tillett).
THE SKELETON EQUIPAGE.—Seated 011 the box
was a long, lean, weather-beaten lookin6-, man— the Don
Tomaso of the story—equipped from head to foot in
sombre rusty blalk, with a curiously battered three-
cornered cap—evidently the head gear of some old
military campaigner. His hands were gloved, but his
fingers made their way through, and in the right he
held his reins of thin rope, and in the left he carried
a strong, short, thick whip with a long lash. " Hi, hi !"
he again cried with a snarl, whirling his whip,
for his countenance was particularly sardonic. " Get ye
forward, fiery steed of the Ukraine ! No frijoles for
breakfast if ye are not at home betimes." Now the atten-
tion of my cab-driver was aroused. We had approached
the Hill of Ludgate, and the glorious sun was shin-
ing on the majestic dome of St. Paul's, glint-
ing the cross with very fire, and making the
surrounding scenery for the dull City charming. He
knocked at the window, and said, " Holloa, governor, look
here !" pointing to the eccentric cavalcade, as it made way.
" What is it ?" he cried. I replied I did not know.
" Surely," I said, "it must be the freak of some
maniac." " Holloa," continued my cabby, address-
ing the strange, lean coachman ; " holloa, young Cholera
Morbus" (for the vehicle really looked like a caravan
of death that could be elongated at pleasure). " Where
do you come from, and where are you bound to ?" It is
a remarkable idiosyncrasy of the London cab-drivers,
distinguished from others of the same great race, that they
endeavour invariably to reverse the order of things, in
peristently calling old young, and vice versa. The old
lean coachman, designated young Cholera Morbus, deigned
to raise his head, and with a deep, guttural voice replied,
"Just arrived from Nova Zembla, en route to Mexico for
change of climate."—" City Mosaics," in Gentleman's
Magazine.

BREAKFAST.—EFFS'S COCOA.--GRATEFUL AND CONI-
FORTING.—The very agreeable character of this preparation has
rendered it ageneral favourite. The Civil Service Gazette re
marks :—" By a thorough knowledge of the natural laws which
govern the operations of digestion and nutrition, and_by
careful application of the fine properties of well-selected Tocoa.
Mr. Epps has provided our breakfast tables with a delicat,ly
flavoured beverage which may save us many heavy doctors'
bills." Each packet is labelled—JAMES EPPS Sr Co. Homeo-
pathic Chemists, London. Also, makers of Epps's C;caoine, a
very thin evening beverage, —Advt.