The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1889-01-02
CHRISTMAS SERMON.
Discourse by Rev. 7. Dewitt TaImage,
the Distinguished Divine.
The Little Babe, Wrapped in SwaddlIns
Clothes, Lying In a Manger.

The subject of Rev. L. Dewitt Talmage
sermon last Sunday was, "Barnlike Birth
places" His text was: eye shall find
the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in manger And suddenly there
was with the angel mu altitude of the
Heavenly host."-Luke IL, z, 49,
At midnight from one of the galleries of
the sky chant broke. To an ordinary OBJ
server there was no reason for such ce-
lestial demonstration. A poor man and
wife-travelers, Joseph and Mary by name
had lodged in an outhouse Of an unim-
portant village. The supreme hour of
solemnity had passed, and upon the palld
forehead and cheek of Mary God had set
the dignity, the grandeur, the tenderness,
the everlasting and divine sign ficance of
motherhood.
But such scenes had often occurred in
Bethlehem, yet never before had star been
untixed, or had a baton of light marshall
ed over the hills winged orchestra. If
there had been such brilliant and mighty
recognition at an advent in the house
of Pharaoh, or at an ADVENT in the house Of
Caesar, or the house of Hapsburg, or the
| house of Stuart, we would not so much
have wondered, but barn seems too poor
q center for such delicate and arch-angel
circumference. The stage seems too small
for so great an act, the music too grand
for such unappreciutive auditors, the win
dow Of the stable too rude to be serenaded
by other worlds.
No, sir. No, madam. 1t is my joy this
morning to tell you what was born that
night in the village barn; and as want
to make my discourse accumulative and
climacteric, begin, in the first place, by
telling you that that night in the Bethe-
hem manger was born Q.) encouragement
for all the poorly started. He had only
two friends-they his parents No satin
lined cradle, no delicate attentions, but
straw, and the cattle, and the coarse joke
and banter of the camel drivers. No Won
der the medieval painters represent the
oxen as kneeling before the infant Jesus,
for there were no men there at that
time to worship. IRON the depths of
hat poverty He rose, until to-day He is
honored in all Christendom and sits on the
imperial throne in Heaven.
What anne is mightiest to-day in
Christendom? Jesus. Who has more
friends on earth tran any other being?
Jesus. Before whom do the most thou
sands kneel In chapel and church cathe-
dral this hour? Jesus. For whom could
one hundred million souls be marshaled,
ready to fight or die? Jesus. From what
depths of poverty to what height of re-
nown An | so let all those who are poorly
started remember that they can not be
more poorly born, or more disadvantage
ously, than this Christ Let them look up
to his example while they have time and
eternity TO initiate it.
Do you know that the vast majority of
the worlds deliverers had barnllke birth
places? Luther, the emancipator of reli-
gion born among the mines. Shakespeare,
the emancipator of literature, born in an
humble home at Stratford on Avon. Co.
lumbus, the dlscoverer OF world, born in
poverty at Genoa. Hogarth, the discov-
erer of how to make art accumulative and
administrative or virtue, born in humble
home at Westmoreand. Kitto and Pri-
| WuUS0 hcJ uulOChtu uOW upul
ments in the Holy Scriptures which had
never been entered, born in want Yea,
have to tell you that nine out of ten OF the
worlds deliverers, nine out of ten Of the
worlds messiahs-the me 'siahs Of science,
the messiahs Of law, the messiahs Of medi-
cine, the messiahs of poverty, the mes
siahs of grand ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS born in
want.
| suppose that when Herschel, the great
astronomer, was born in the home of a
poor musician, not only one star, but all
the stars he afterward discovered, pointed
down to his manger I suppose when
Haydn, the German composer, was born in
the humble home Of poor wheelwright,
that all the angels Of music chanted over
the manger. Oh, what encouragement for
those who are poorly startedl Ye who
think yourselves far down, aspire to &c
high up!
/ stir your holy ambitions to-day, and
want to tell you, although the whole world
may be opposed to you, and inside and
outside of your occupations or professions
there may be those who would hinder your
ascent, on your side and enlisted in your
behalf are the sympathetic heart and the
almighty arm Of One who one Christmas
night about eighteen hundred and eighty.
eight years ago, was wrapped in swad.
ding clothes and laid in manger. On
what magnificent encouragement for thu
poorly started.
ii. Again / have to tell you that in tha
village barn that night was born good viii
to men, whether you call it kindness, o.
forbearanee, or forgiveness or geniality
or affection, or love- 1t was no sport o.
high Heaven to send its favorite to tha
humiliation. 1t was sacrifice for rebel
lous world. After the calamity in Para
disc, not only did the OK begin to gore
and the adder to sting, and the elephan
to smite with his tusk, and the lion to pu
to bad use tooth and paw, but under th'
very tree from which the forbidden frui
was plucked were Matched out war ant
revenge and malice and envy and jeal
ousy, and the whole brood Of cockatrices.
But against that scene set the Bethle
hem manager, which says: "Bless rathe
than curse, endnre rather than assault,
and that Christmas night puts out vim
dictiveness. 1t says: 'Sheathe you
sword, dismount your guns, dismantl
your batteries, turn the war ship Constel
lation, that carried shot and shell into
grain ship to take food to famishing Ire
land, hook your cavalry horses to tn
plow, use your deadly gunpowder in blast
ing rocks and in patriotic celebration sto
your lawsuits, quit writing anonymou
letters, extract the sting from your sar
casm, let your wit .coruscate but neve