, 1872-12-30
TIE PULPIT.
Holiday Sermons by Distin-
guishcd C2ergyn1en.
Eloquent Discourse by Rev. David
Swing at McVickc1's.
Z he Past Tear at Evanston Reviewed
BY Rev. George E. Noyas.

LAST DAYS OF DEcEMbEa.
THO congregation of the Fourth Presbyterian
Church. AID e large number OF other persons,
assembled at McNickec's Theatre yesterday fore
noon to listen to q sermon in the spirit of the
holiday season. After tao usual preliminary
exercises, the pastor Of the Fourth Presbyterian
Church, Rev. David Swing, spoke as follows
THE SERMON.
"For tAca1 lath he set tabernacle for tho sum-
1SAts..S, IL.
Tie !.eEt eccicnt NcltLmen, ind the old clas-
SC lsn.s: haze perceived the last days Of Doceu-
lor to be . great turning rc!at in the year, q
ACE where the past aut';.u., Ec tius to iauo from
thought. to make room for Lc now spring. The
days nave grown shortest, tho nights longest
the sun hIs sunk :.rthc5t away fvo1n the great
temperate zones. the great zones of lie, and
thought, and power.
In the last days Of December the day begins
to lcnstLcn, and the memory of the last year is
thus compelled TO 6 re place to the anticipation
OF a new cireie. Tlo heart begins to look for
ward with new impulse.
Historians point cut rnng-points in politics
where dcsrolsm began to die and liberty to arise.
lneolo,iars tail tell us where the Pope begins
to waue and Professionalism to increase, and there
ere others to tell us where art ceasod to be hea-
then and became Christian. Nature, also has
lis tur'1lng-points, where the autumn leaf ceases
and the bud bcG:ns, where the bird begins along
the NeSlcan Gulf. to fy Northwayd in short daily
h1shts, cnl7rs1ping Its way buck to the Ohio or
the Northern lakes.
In this beautiful reversion Of O. star the hu-
man soul takes Fart, and all the thoughts Of the
mind and feelings OF The heart find themselves
suddenly turned about aud sailing away from
things done, and making headway toward new
continents. The human vessel sails from the
shore Of history to TINT Of hope. Our morning
papers Will soon cease to enu1nerate the things
that have been done. With the spirit OF prophe-
cy they will e1alt in what is about to come to
pass.
II wonderful is the day that carries nation
across from kingcraft to liberty, an art from
b2rbar1c to civilized ideal, beautiful, also, is
the day that bears all from the contemplation
of days gone and casts us into the very midst
OF new sunshine coming up from the Southern
ely.
The savage mind first beholds the wonderful
phenomena Of nature. They elaborate no phil
osophy, no politics, no religion, but they behold
the ocean, the mountains, the earthquake, the
storm, and the sun. They know that after q few
months Of storm and snow, and ice, warm days
will come This is one Of the great facts in
their history, and hence the sun is their most
immense object. It is always enthroned as
god. When the Persians eaw dark shadow
creeping over the sun they shot thousands Of
arrows at the black wonder, for fear it was de-
stroyinJ the deity so important to their welfare
and life. This gigantic orb they wo1shiped.
In this universal admiration the Morse tribes
we're conspicuous and they celebrated with
bright fires and with burning, rolling wheel
this December period when their loved sun end
ed his departure aud wheeled about for return
pentance Of the sun vas yuletide-a returning
time.
As this return of light and heat was all joyful,
the actions OF men must be such. Hence these
days celebrated with deeds kinder than
common, and happiness YVES the motto over the
sacred week.
Tie Romans and Greeks espoused the idea
and only made upon the festivities such changes
as were demanded in order to make room for
their Jupiter, their Minerva, their Apollo.
Then carle the Christians to presorye all except
the idolatry, and to enable such changes as we're
necessary i'll order to admit Bethlehem and the
Savior into the great joyful week.
As the great natural l'lenomena WIS arranged
bv the Greeks around ZeuB-nnd by the Latlns
around Jupiter-the Christians very naturally
reared their evergreen tree, aud built their yule-
fle. and entwined their Urcaths around the
name OF Christ. In His namo they saw the sun
coming back. Tho yerdure Of the coming spring,
and tue fire Of harvest, and the checrfulness aud
amenities of Life were al to come from this now
divinity.
Thus the dear old holy weok loved by the
whole classic world. began to make Christ d cen
.ral cause and motive, and thus it comes to uB
iertival growing out Of man and nature, and
then adorned aud perfected by the deeper spir-
;luality Of the Christian religion. It is IN old
human tree. with the Christian gr"ftlings grow
:nG upon it in rich fruit.
The Christian world and tho heathen did not
part company at once. Indeed, they have not
set become divorced from each other In the
drst centuries the effort among Christians was
any effort, tie mind never escapes from the old
rapidly. The carly Christian fathers carried
in their heads the Apostles and Plato, Moses and
Orpheus Mary OF the New Testament, and the
SLy1s OF tho beloved classics. Ono Of the Clris-
tisn writer's attempted to show that Christ had
been forctoId by the Dclphic oracle, and another
attempts to prove that after Christ came, the
Greek oracles were deprived Of their prophetic
IoSer.
In such books as Dante, and in such art as
that OF Angelo and Rafiaele, ne find that the
Bible md the classics were equally dear, and
that the statue Of Moses and OF jupiter seemed
equa- a%ln.irable and precious. In Dante, all
the Christian aud classic celebrities mlngle III
the inferno and in Paradise with only little dis
tinction Of merit and demerit. In q great fresco
9f that period tie aa which q dfAT nj
tSs hs sDys Of ana the eFoS cssc "Do uord @
Under the influence of this spirit Of amalgama-
tinn, it was nutural and unavoidable that the old
yale idea should be incorporated into the Chris
tian religion. The idea was too good too pleas
Ing TOO human, to merit any distinction. AL it
demanded was the decoration by some spiritual
philosophy
Providence has thus created great ci7iiza-
hon by leading many narrow, but clear aud
healthy Btrealus, down to one common deep, like
unto that which Ho Las gazthcred the waters Of
the ocean. Looking upon the civilization to-day
Of Europe or America, you cannot POINT to any
one .lstricl or age that created it, or even laid
the foundations Of its prcselt greatness. No
race, no era, no State can rise up ana Say We
mae this wonderful thing. The Christian will
not darc claim civilization for Palestine nor tho
scholar date it to Athens, nor the Freuchman to
France No voice, not even the Amazon, can
say the ocean il mine. Europe and America
have a myriad springs away in tho mountains of
Ill anity,-spriugs that for thousands Of
years have been dripping into that spiritual and
lnenlel hood that now makes up their character
andperpetuity-
Tie Greek art, the Etruscan vase, the Roman
law, the classic languages, the Corin;hian archi-
lecture. the fctwork OF Pompei, tho morals Of
Plato. Cato, and Seneca oil combine with
harmony by Joining many lands and faces in
one dcnce. 1t is not essential to the greatness
Of Christianity that it should deny the existence
Of any other good. In order for its services a.
q savior, to be of confessed value, one should
cor.css tho greatness of man whom it came to
save. The more, therefore, man showed him
self in antiquity to be divine in hls
image, the more noble is that
To liS aOl1l