The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1889-01-11
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Story of the Humble Birth
place of the Saviour.
The Glorions Triumph that Had It's Be
ginning in the Manager at BethIe-
hem-Peace on Earth and
Good VIII to Men.

Following Chris maStlde sermon IN the
Brooklyn Tabernacle the Sunday follow
ing Christmas Day, taking for his text:
He shall ind the babe wrapped IN sWaddIlns
clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly
there was with the angel multitude Of the
heavenly host.-Luke H., u, ID
At midnight, from one Of the galleries
Of the sky, a chant broke. To an ordi-
nary observer there was no reason for
such a celestial demonstration. A poor
man and his wlfe-travelers, Joseph and
Mary by name-had lodged in an out
house of an unimportant village. The
supreme hour Of solemnity had passed
and upon the pallid forehead and cheek
of Mary, God had set the dignity, the
grandeur, the tenderness, the everlasting
aud divine significance of motherhood.
But such scenes had often occurred in
Bethlehem, yet never before had star
been unfxed, or baton of light
marshaled over the hills a winged
orchestra. If there had been such brill
liant and mighty recognition at an advent
in the house of Pharaoh, or at an advent
in the house of Cesar, or the house of
Hapsburg, or the house of Stuart, we
would not so much have wondered; but a
barn seems too poor center for such
delicate and archangelic circumference
The stage seems too small for so great an
act, the music too grand for such unap-
BILE too rude to be serenaded by other
worlds.
No, sir. No, madam. It is my joy this
morning to tell you what was born that
night in the village barn; and as 1 want
to make my discourse accumulative and
climacteric, 1 begin, in the first place, by
telling you that that night in the Bethle-
hem manger was born % 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
wonder the medieval painters represent
ed the oxen kneeling before the Infant
Jesus, for there were no men there at that
time to worship. From the depths Of
what poverty He rose, until day He is
honored in al Christendom and sits on
the imperial throne in Heaven.
What rame is mightiest to-day in
ChristendcIn? Jesus. Who has more
friends on earth than any other being?
Jesus. Before whom do the most thOus-
ands kneel in chapel and church and
cathedral this hour: Jesus. For whom
could one hundred million souls be mar
shaled, ready to fight or die? Jesus.
From what depths of poverty to what
height of renown! And 50 let all those
who are poorly started remember that
they can not be more poorly started, re-
member that they can not be more. poorly
born, or more disadvantageOusly than
Christ. Let them look up to his example
while they have time and eternity to imi-
tate.
Do you know that the vast majority Of
the worlds deliverers had barn-lil1e birth
places? Luther, the emancipatOr of re-
ligion, born among the mines. Shake
speare, the emancipation of literature,
born in an humble home at Stratford on
Avon. Columbus, the discoverer of a
world, born in poverty at Genoa. HOgarth,
the discoverer of how to make art accu-
mulative and administrative of virtue,
bOrnin an humble home at Westmoreland.
KittO and Prideaux, whose keys unlocked
new apartments in the Holy Scriptures
which had never been entered, born in
want. Yes, I have to tell you that nine
out of ten of the worlds deliverers, nine
out of ten of the worlds messiahs-th
mes siahs of science, the messiahs of law,
tn messiahs of medicine, the messiahs Of
poverty, the messiahs of grand benevo-
lence-were 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, point
ed down to his manger. l 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 encouragementfo for
those who are poorly started! Ye who
think yourselves far down, aspire to go
! higher up!
stir your holy ambitions to-day, and I
| want to tell you, though the whole world
may be opposed to you, and inside and
outside of your occupations and pro-
| fessions there may be those who would
/ hinder your ascent, on your side and en-
/ listed in your behalf are the sympathetic
/ heart and the almighty arm Of One who,
I ore Christmas night, about 1888 years
! ago, was wrapped in swaddling clothes
and laid IN a manger. oh, what mag
/ nifcent encouragement for. the poorly
started.
! 3. Again, have to tell you that in that
village barn that night was born good viii
/ to men, whether you call it kindness, or
/ fOrbearance, or forgiveness, or geniality,
/ or affection, or love. It was no sport of
! high Heaven to send its favorite to that
| humiliation. 1t was sacrifice for a rebel
iOus world. After the calamity in Para :
| disc, not only did the OK begin to gore,
| and the adder to sting, and the elephant
/ to smite with his tusk, and the lion to put
to bad use tooth and paw, but under the
/ very tree from which the forbidden fruit
was plucked, were Matched out war and
! revenge, and malice and envy, and
! jealousy, and the whole brood of cocka-
! trices.
But against that scene I set the Bethle =
hem manger, which says: ''Bless rather
/ than curse, endure rather than assault, -
/ and that Christmas night puts out vindic -
! tiveness. 1t says; "Sheathe your sword,
/ dismount your guns, disnantle your bat
| teries, turn the WaF-sbip Constellation
II
| ship to take food to furnishing Ireland,
hook your cavalry horses to the pillow, use
| your deadly gunpowder in blasting rocks
and patriotic celebration, stop your law
/ suits, quit writing anonymous letters, ex-
tract the sting from sarcasm, let your wit
| coruscate, but never ourn, drop all the
harsh words out of your vocabulary
| Good will to men, r-
comp you say, Il can't exercise it. I
| won't exercise it until they apologize; ]
| won't forgive them until they ask me to
| forgive them" You are no Christian
| them say you are no Christian, or you
are a very inconsistent Christian. If you
forgive not men their tresspasses, how
/ can you expect your Heavenly Father to
forgive you? Forgive them if they ask
your forgiveness, and forgive them any
how. Shake hands all around. "Good
will to men,"
On my LOfu Jesus, drop IlaI splTlG INTO
| our hearts this Christmas hour. tell
| you what the world wants more than any
thing else-more helping hands, more
! sympathetic hearts, more kind words that
never die, more disposition to give other
/ people q ride, and to carry the heavy END
of the load and give other people tht
| light end, and to ascribe good motives in
stead Of bad, and to find our happiness il
making others happy.
Out Of that Bethlehem crib let the bear
] and the lion eat straw like an OK. ''GooC
viii 10 men," That principle viii yet set
| tie all controversies, and under it ths
world viii keep on improving until there
/ viii be only two antagonists in all the