Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1889-06-14
JESUS AS A BOY.
SERMON PREACHED BY DR.. TALMAeE
SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 1889.

SERMON PREACHED BY DR.. TALMAeE
SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 1889.
He Describes Christ as a Village Lad and
Holds That the Lords Character Then
Was the Same as when He Was a
Man.
BROOKLYN, June "a vast concourse OF
people, filling all the available places, Joined
in the opening doxology at Brooklyn Iaoer-
nacle this morning, The pastor, the Rev 1.
De Witt Talmage, D. D., expounded the pas
sage in John about the unwritten works OF
Christ which the world itself could not nave
contained. The subject of DR.. Talmages
sermon was "Christ, the Village Lad" He
took for his text Luke ii, 40; And the child
grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with
wisdom; and the grace of God was upon
him" The preacher said;
About Christ as a village lad speak. There
is for the most part a silence more than eigh-
teen centuries long about Christ between in
fancy and manhood What kind Of boy
was heg Was he a genuine boy at all, or dld
there settle upon him from the start all the
intensities of martyrdoml We have ON TINS
subject only little guessing, few surmlseS
here and there an unimportant perhaps.
Concerning what bounded that boyhood on
both sides we have whole libraries OF books
and whole galleries of canvas and sculpture
Before the infant Christ in Mary's arms, OIL
taking his first sleep in the rough clubhouse
4 all the painters bow, and we have Pau
/ Veronese's "Holy Family" and Peruginoi
/ ''Nativity,n and Angelica da Flesole's = IN
FAINT Christ" and Rubens' Alteration OF TIT
Magi," and Tintoret's elaboration OF tn
! .Magi," and Chirlandjo's Elaboration OF thu
Magi,n and Raphael's Madonna" and Or
cagna's Madonna" and Murillo's MA
donnan and Madonnas by all the schools o
painting in all lights and shades and with al
styes of attractive feature and impresSiv
surroundings; but pen and pencil and chlSe
have, with few exceptions, passed by Christ
the village lad. Yet by three conJolned evl
dences think we can come to as accurat
an idea Of what Christ was as boy as W
can of what Christ was as man.
First, we have the brief Bible account
Then we have the prolonged account OF wha
Christ was at thirty years Of age. Now yo
have only TO mnify that account somewha
and you find what he was at ten years OF age
Temperaments never change. sanguin
tenperament never becomes a phleSmati
temperament A nervous temperament neve
becomes a lymphatic temperament. keliSlo
changes ones affections and ambitions, but
is the same old temperament acting in di
ferent direction. As Christ had no religion
change. he was as a lad what he was rs
man. only on not so large a scale When
tradition and all art and all history represer
him as a blonde with golden hair, know |
was in boyhood n blonde.
UNINsPIRED STORIES.
We have, beside, an uninspired book thi
was for the first three or four centuries art
: Christ's appearance received by many as Il
: spired and which gives prolonged account
, Christ's boyhood. Some Of 1t may be tru
most of it may be true, none of it may
true. Itmay be partly built on facts, or |
the passage of the ages some real facts ma
= have been distorted. But because a book
= not divinely inspired we are not therefore
conclude that there are not true things IN
Prescott's Conquest Of Mexico" was not l
spired. but we believe it although it may co
F., tain mistakes Macaulays History OF En-
; landn was not inspired, but we believe 1t {
+ though it may have been marred with mat
errors. These called apocryphal Gospel
which the boyhood of Christ is dwelt upon L
not believe to be divinely inspired, and yet
NAV presents facts. worthy Of considerable
Because it represents the boy Christ as pt
|. forming miracles some have overthrown til
z whole apocryphal book. But what right ha
> Won to say that Christ did not perfoI
= miracles at ten years of age as well as
thirtyl He was in boyhood as certainly
vine as in manhood. Then while had
must have had the power to work miracl
whether he did or did not work them. Who
having reached manhood, Christ turned wal
into wine that was said to be the beginni
Of miracles. But that may mean that it v
the beginning of that series of manho
miracles. In a word, think that the N
Testament is only a small transcript
what Jesus did and said. Indeed
Bible declares positively that if
Christ did and said were written the wo
would not contain the books. So we are
liberty to believe or reject those parts OF
apocryphal Gospel which says that when
bow Christ, with his mother, passed a ba
of thieves he told his mother that two
them. Dumachus and Titus by name, wo'
be the two thieves who afterward would
Dire on crosses beside Him. Was that IN
wonderful than some of Christs manhl
. prOphesieS! Or the uninspired story that
:, bow Christ made a fountain spring from
roots Of a sycamore tree, so that his mot
washed his coat in the stream
that more unbelievable than the m
hood miracle that changed common wa
into a marriage beveragel Or the IN
spired story that two sick children were
covered by bathing in the water where
boy Christ had washed Was that m
H wonderful than the manhood miracle
ire which the woman twelve years COMP
cir invalid should have been made straight
Ter touching the fringe Of Christs coati Or
Die inspired story that when a mother brougf
as. dead child by the name Of bartholomew
Mary, the mother of Christ, she said;
thou place thy son in my sons bed and co
n him with his clothes;" and, 50 done, the
81 child opened his eyes and called with !
voice for bread. Is that more wondei
than the manhood miracles by which On
n reanimated the dead again and again W
q out going where they were o. even SCI
g themi Why should we disbelieve the apo'
. oe phal New Testament when it says that a
ID struck the boy Jesus till he cried out, or
e story that Christ with other boys made