The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-12-28
A NIGHT IN BETHLEHEM.
TALMAGE PREACHES A SERMON
APPROPRIATE TO CHRISTMAS.


Be Learned From the Association.
BROOKLYN, N. Y, Dec 27.-Dr. Tal-
mage preached this morning a sermon ap-
propriate TO the Christmas season. Taking
up the subject Of the nativity he drew
from it lessons which, though perfectly
legitimate, are commonly overlooked. His
text was Luke H.. 10: "And they came with
haste. aud found Mary and Joseph, and the
babe lying In a manger."
The black window shutters Of a December
night were thrown open. and some of the
oeSt gers OF world where they all sing
stood there and putting back the drapery OK
cloud, chanted peace anthem, until all the
echoes OF bill and valley applauded and
encored the hallelujsh chorus. Come. les
us go into that Christmas scene as though
we had never before worshiped at tho
manRer. Here is a Madonna worth looking
at. wonder not that the most frequen5
name In all lands and in all Christian cent-
uries Is Mary. And there are Marys in pail
aces and Marys in cabins, and though Ger
man and French aud Italian and Spanish
and English pronounce II differently. thev
are all namesakes Of the one whom we find
on bed of straw, with her pale
face against the soft cheek Of Christ
In the night OF the nativity. All
hhC SAOab DbllAtEo ntNb lIiD 1. on canvas. To
present Mary and her child and the Incl
dents OF that most famous night OF the
worlds history. Raphael. 10 three different
masterpieces, celebrated them. Tlntoretto
and Ghirlandajo surpassed themselves in
the alteration Of the magi. Correg9io
needed to do nothing more than his Madon-
ma to become immortal The Madonna Of
the Lily. by Leonardo do Vinci, will kindle
the admiration of all ages. But ali the gall
lprta0 of DrQadan mr. Il
think OF the small room OF that gallery
containing the Sistine Madonna. Yet all Of
them were copies of ST. Matthew'S Ma
donna, and Luko's Madonna, the inspired
Madonna OF the old book, which we had
put into our hands when we were infants,
and that we hope to have under our heads
when we die.
Behold. in the first place, that on the first
night Of Christ's life God honored the brute
creation. You cannot get into that Bethle-
hem barn without going past the camels,
the mules, the dogs, the oxen. The brutes
of that stable heard the first cry OF the in
FAINT Lord Some OF the old painters rep
resent the oxen and camels kneeing that
night before the newborn babe. Aud well
might they kneel Have you ever thought
that Christ came among other things, to
alleviate the suferings OF the brute crea-
tioni Was 1t not appropriate then that he
should, during the first few days aud nights
OF bis life on earth, be surrounded by the
dumb beasts, whose moan aud plant and
bellowing have for ages been q prayer to
God for the arresting OF their torturss and
the righting Of their wronRsl 1t did not
merely happen 80" that the unintelligen5
creatures Of God should have been chat
night in close neighborhood.
Not kennel ia all the centuries, not a
birds nest. not worn-out horse on tow
path, not a herd freezing in the poorly-built
cow-pen, not freight car in summer time
bringing the beeves 10 market without
water through thousand miles Of agony.
not a surgeons room witnessing the struQ-
giles OF fox,so rabbit, or pigeon, or dog, In
the horrors of vivisection, but has an inter-
est in the fact that Christ was born la a
stable, surrounded by brutes. He remen-
bers that night and the prayer he heard ia
their pitiful moan, he will answer In the
punishment OF those who maltreat the
dumb brutes They surely have as much
right In this world as we have. In the first
chapter OF Genesis you may see that they
were placed ON the earth before man
was, the fish and the fowl created the
fifth day and the quadrupeds the
morning OF the sixth day, and man not un-
til the afternoon OF that day. The whale.
the eagle, the lion, and all the lesser Great
ures OF their kind were predecessors of the
human family. They have the world by
Alknb VI lO1aonslOH. luel nave EiSO Dalu
rent for the places they occupied. What an
army Of defense all over the land are the
faithful watch-dogs. And who can tell
what the world owes to the horse, and
camel, and OK, for transportation And
robin and lark have, by the cantatas with
which they have filed orchard and for
est, more 9han paid for the few grains they
have picked up for their sustenance. When
you abuse any creature OF God you strike
its craa.Or and v0tI fnst1lt tha Christ xvho
though he might have, beea welcomed into
life by princes, and taken his first infantiIe
slumber amid Tyrian plush and canopied
couches, and ripping waters from royal
aqueducts dripping into basins Of ivory aud
pearl, chose TO be born on the level with q
cows horn, or cameps hoof, or dogs
nostril, that be might be the alleviation of
animal suffering as well as the redeemer Of
man.
Standing then, as imagine now do, in
that bethlehem night with an infant
Christ on the one side and the speechless
creatures Of God on the other. / cry, look
out how you strike the rowel into that
horses side. Take of that curbed bit from
that bleeding mouth Remove that saddle
from that raw back. Shoot not for fun
that bird that Is too small for food. Forget
not TO put water into the cage Of that
canary. Throw out some crumbs TO those
birds caught too far north in the winters
inclemency. Arrest that man who is
making that one horse draw load heavy
enough for three. Rush In upon that scene
where boys are torturfng q cat, or trans
fixing butterfly and grasshopper. Drive
not off that old robin. for her nest Is a
mothers cradle, and under her wing there
may be three or four musicians of
the sky in training. In your
families and in your schools teach
the coming generation more mer cy
and In this marvellous Bible picture OF the
nativity, while you point out to them the
angel, show them also the camel, and while
they hear the celestial chant, let them also
hear the cows moan. No more did Christ
show interest In the botanical world, when
he said, "Considsr the lilies" than he
showed sympathy for the pathological
whom he said, Behold the fowls Of the
air.n and the quadrupedal world when he
allowed himself to be called In one place q
lion, and in another place a lamb. Mean
while may the Christ Of the Bethlehem
cattle pen have mercy on the suffering
stock yards, that are preparing diseased and
fevered meats for our American house,
holds.
Behold, also, In this Bible scene, how. on
that Christmas night, God honored child
hood. Christ might have made bis FIRST
visit to our world in cloud as he will de-
scend on his next visit in cloud. In what
chariot Of illuminated vapor he might
have rolled down the sky, escorted by
mounted cavalry, wisn lightning for drawn
sword. Elijah had a carriage OF fire to
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