Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-06-21
rs CHRIST AS A BOY.
r.cHEpBy DIR. TALMAGE
'h''' IN BROOKLYN.

.,x PREACHED BY DIR. TALAIAGE
h"' IN BROOKLYN.
;,,.s christ as a Village Lad and
rn,t the Lords Character Was
'o'' ann Then as When He Was a
'a" Christ as a village lad I speak.
apo9. for the most part silence more
bete t;ahteen centuries long about
IAN hsstween infancy and manhood.
prs, .; IND of a boy was He? Was He a
hal Na boy al all. or did there settle
lN'I l1;m from the start all the intensi-
pom ~ martvrdom? We have on this
e :.o " only little guessing, few sur
pJe aud here and there an unimport-
lses' "nerhups." Concerning what
,1ed that boyhood on both sides We
nl" Mole libraries of books and whole
", v: wa, va of canvas and sculpture. Be-
lie .be infant Christ in Mary arms, or
,,na His first sleep in the rough out
h!n7 all the painter bow, and we have
S IL 'yeroneses Holy Family" and
s suno;no's Nativity" and Angelica d.
l.aia's Infant Christ" and Rubens
t aoratiop of the Nagi" and Tintoret's
aoration of the Magi' and Chirlan-
hos Alteration of the Magi" and
pn,Ihaels Madonna" and orcagna's
[ipdonna" and Murillo's Madonna.
Il Nadonnas by all the schools of
;ntjnc in all lights and shades and
Kin ali STYLES of attractive feature and
enressive surroundings, but pen and
paril and chisel have with few excel.-
e l,. passed by Christ the village la.,.
:, by three conioined evidences l thin. !,
can come to as accurate an idea %
hat Christ was Us q boy as We can Of
hat Christ was as man.
First, we have the brief Bible accoult {.
hon we have .he prolonged account Of
hat Christ was at thirty years of a. =.
NV YOU have only to minify that a.
Enrt somewhat and you find what lie
rs at ten wears of age. Temperaments
Ever change. A sanguine temper.-
emit never becomes phlegmatic tenn
srament. A nervous temperament
eyer becomes Emphatic tempera-
ept. Religion changes ones atfec-
ops and ambitions, but it is the same
a temperament acting in different
rection. AS Christ had no religious
nnge. he was as o lad what ne was as
man. only on not SO large a scale.
len all Tradition and all art and all
story represent Him as blonde with
lden hair l know He was in boyhood a
onde.
Ne have, beside, an uninspired book
M was for the first three or four CEN
ries after Christ's appearance received
many as inspired and which gives
belonged account of Christ's boyhood.
pme of it may be true, most of it may
true. none of it may be true. 1t may
partly built on facts, or by the
,ssage of the ages, some real facts may
ave been distorted. But because a
box is not divinely inspired we are not
erefore to conclude that there are rot
bic things in it. Prescott's Conquest
Nexico' was not inspired, but we be-
eve it although it may contain mis-
kes. Alacaulay's History of England
rs not inspired, but we believe it al
oueh it may have been marred with
any errors. The So called apocryphal
ospel in which the boyhood of Christ
lwelt upon 1 do not believe to be
yinely inspired, and yet it may present
cts worthy of consideration. Because
represents the boy Christ rs perform
miracles some have overthrown that
hole apocryphal book. But what right
we You to say that Christ did not per-
.n miracles at ten years of age as we'll
at thirty? He was in boyhood as GER
Mly divine as in manhood. Then
(lle 4 lad he must have had the power
work miracles, whether He did or did
(ct work them. When, having reached
tanhood, Christ turned water into wine
fat was said to be the beginning of
Fnacles. But that may mean that it
as the beginning of that series Of man
(ood miracles. In word, think that
be New Testament is only small
aNscript of what Jesus did and said.
ldeed. the Bible declares positively
bat il all Christ did and said were writ
Fn the world would not contain the
ocks SO we are at liberty to believe
reject those parts of the apocryphal
ospel which say that when the boy
Lns' with His mother passed band OF
lieves He told His mother that two OF
hem. Dumachus and Titus by name,
Guild be the two thieves who afterwards
ouid expire Oh the crosses beside Him.
as that more wonderful than some OF
Lnsts manhood prophesies? Or the
INSPIRED story that the boy Christ
a"e fountain spring from the roots
sycamore tree so that His mothe,
ashed His coat in the stream-was that
ore unbelievable than the manhood
iracle that changed common waite,
10 marriage beverage? Or the unin-
pred story that two sick children were
covered by bathing i'll the water where
lnst had washed? Was that more
ohuerful than the manhood miracle by
men the woman twelve years a com.
etc invalid should have been made
1aisht by touching the fringe OF
Arsts coat? Or the uninspired story
pat when mother brought dead child
the name of Bartholomew to Mary.
le mother of Christ, she said: DO
lou place thy son in my sons bed and
PSer him With his clothes" and, sc
one the dead child opened his eyes
lu called with loud voice for bread
mat more wonderful than the man.
goa miracles by which Christ reani-
a'ed the dead again and again without
clns where they were OF even seeing
lem: Why should we disbelieve the
pocryphal New Testament when it says
Iat boy struck the boy Jesus till hs
leu out, or the story that Christ with
tnef boys made clay figures of birds
ua .heSe clay figures took life and flew
S"y: Is that more unbelievable thar
t. bible account that Adam was made
y o1 clay and walked forth man, anG
Upwards ne scared an immortal? Not
~ SO much of an undertaking to make
",to out of clay as make man out OF
y; N.Y. r., VI the uninspired story that the
~ Christ took the cloths of dyer's