The Penn's Grove record., 1889-06-29
DR. TALMAGE'S SERMON:
Christ the Village Lad.

"And tile child grew and waxed strong IN
spirit, filled with wisdom and the grace OF God
was upon him." Luke $40.
About Christ as a village lad l speak.
There is for the most part a silence
more than eighteen centuries long about
Christ between infancy and manhood.
What kind of a boy was he? Wa he a
genuine boy at all, or did there settle
upon Him from the start all the inten-
sites of martyrdom? We have on this
subject only q little guessing, a few sur
misses, and here and there an unimpor-
tant ''perhaps." Concerning what
bounded that boyhood on both sides we
have whole libraries of books and whole
galleries of canvas and sculpture. Be
fore the infant Christ in Mary's arms, or
taking His first sleep in the rough out
house, all the painters bow, and we have
Paul Veronese's "Holy Family" and
Perugino's Nativity" and Angelica da
Fiesole's "Infant Christ" and Ruben's
elaboration of the Magi," and Tintor-
etto's elaboration of the Magi," and
Chirlandojo's elaboration of the Magi,"
and Raphael's "Madonna," end Orcag-
mas "Madonna," and Murillo's ''Madon.
ma" and Madonnas by all the schools Of
painting, in all lights and shades, and
with all styles of attractive feature and
impressive surroundings, but pen and
pencil and chisel have with few excep-
tions passed by Christ the village lad.
Yet by three conioined evidences I
think we can come to as accurate IN idea
of what Christ was as q boy as of what
Christ was as a man.
First, we have the brief Bible account.
Then we have the prolonged account of
what Christ was at thirty years of age.
Now you have only to minifythat account
somewhat and you find
WHAT HE WAS AT TEN YEARS OF AGF.
Temperaments never change. A san
guine temperament never becomes a
phlegmatic temperament. A nervous
temperament never becomes alymphatic
temperament. Religion changes ones
affections and ambitions, but it is the
same old temperament acting in a diff
ferent direction. As Christ had no re-
ligious change. He WAS as a lad what He
was as a man, only on not SO large II
scale. When all tradition and all art
and allhistory represent Him asa blonde
1 know he was in boyhood a blonde.
We have, besides, an uninspired book
that was for the first three or four GEN.
turies after Christ's appearance received
by many as inspired, and which gives a
prolonged account of Christ's boyhood.
Some of it may be true, most of it may
be true, none of it may be true. 1t may
be partly built on facts, or, by the pas
sage of the ages, some real facts may
have been distorted. But because a
book is not divinely inspired we
are not therefore to conclude that there
are not true things in it. Prescott's
Conquest of Mexico" was not inspired,
cut we believe it although it may con
tain mistakes. Macaulay's "History of
England" was not inspired, but W. be-
lieve it although it may have been MARI
ed with many errors.
THE s~o-CALLED %APOcRYpHAL GOSPEL.
n which the boyhood of Christ is dwelt
upon l do not believe to be divinely in
spired, and yet it may present facts
worthy of consideration. Because it
represents the boy Christ as performing
miracles some have overthrow that
whole apocryphal book. But what
right have youto say that Christ did not
perloruu ullThcles Ut tel years VI hSe rs
well as at thirty? He was in boyhood
certainly divine as in manhood.
Then while a lad He must have had the
power to work miracles, whether He did
did not work them. When, having
reached manhood, Christ turned water
into wine, that was said to be the begin
ming of miracles. But that may mean
that it was the beginning of that series
of manhood miracles. In a word, 1
think hat the New Testament is only a
small transcript of what Jesus did and
said. Indeed, the Bible declares thatif
all Christ did and said we're written the
world would not contain the books.
HIS MOUNTAIN HOME.
Our Lords boyhood was passed in a
neighborhood twelve hundred feet
above the level of the sea, and surround
ed by mountains five or six hundred
feet higher. Before it could shine in
the village where this boy slept, the sun
had to climb far enough up to look over
hills that held their heads far aloft.
From wander haipht His ava Of ono