The southern argus., 1891-12-31
CHRISTMAS LESSONS.
ro,mage Draws Wisdom From
" the Nativity.
All creation at the Birth Of the
a0nO O,,our-Childhood Dignifed-The
Greatest Of All Gifts to
the Family.

\, hissermon at DFooAAyn' Prcacneu
4 eS5av n. after Christmas day, Rev.
u eu WITT Talmage took his text from
u !; "a. "And they came with
ako ord found Mary and Joseph, and
u Ss' babe lying in the manger." Dr.
Talmage said; ...
ln TIL nipht we're thrown open and
celiO0t u the best singers of a. world
sons a.. 4 tbev all sing stood there, and
The!o r hack the drapery of cloud
p"'uasa paa peace anthem, until the
cnanveu i Iii and valley applauded and
ecnoso o1 III haIlelujah chorus. Come,
enGosIa Il u into that Christmas scene as
III rh u III had never before worshiped
'loIn tba n,anger Here is a madonna
"or+b looking at I wonder not that
NJ NJ nost frequent name in all lands and
iii Christian centuries is Mary. And
bsre are Marys in palaces and Marys
Il cabins, and though German and
inch and Italian and Spanish and
.rlish pronounce it differently, they
AL namesakes Of the one whom we
Ion bed of straw, with her pale
against the soft cheek of Christ in
night Of the nativity.
b III the great painters have tried, on
.,ras. to present Mary and her child
a the Incidents Of that most famous
.rbt Of the worlds history. Raphael,
4 three different masterpieces, cele-
s.,tad them. Tintoretto and Chirlan-
Ill surpassed themselves in the adora-
m of the Magi Correggio needed to
Il rothing more than his madonna to
h,oome immortal. The Madonna Of
IL Ilv, by Leonardo da Vinci, will
I,irale the admiration of all ages. But
il the galleries Of Dresden are forgot
IN When think Of the small room Of
tbat gallery containing the Sistine ma
aonna Yetall Of them were copies Of
Y Matthews madonna, and Luke's
Madonna the inspired madonna of the
.oId Book, which we had put into our
hands when we were infants, and that
wp bope to have under our heads when
L we die
Behold, in the first place. that on the
II first night Of Christ's life God honored
NE brute creation. You cannot get in
% that Bethlehem barn without going
past the camels, the mules, the dogs.
The oxen The brutes Of that stable
beard the first cry Of the infant Lord.
Some Of the old painters represent the
oxen and camels kneeling that night
before the new born babe. And we'll
might they knee! Have you ever
thought that Christ came among other
things to alleviate the sufferings of the
brute creation? Was it not appropriate
that lie should, during the first few
DAYS and nights Of His life on earth, be
SGnunded bv the dumb beasts, whose
nm and plant and believing have for
agps been prayer to God for the ar
Pstng Of their tortures and the right
g Of their wrongs? 1t did not merely
happen So that the unintelligent
natures Of God should have been that
/ rght in close neighborhood.
Not kennel in all the centuries, not
iblrd's nest, not a worn out horse on
owpath, not herd freezing ia the
poorly built COW pen, not q freight car
N summer time bringing the beeves to
market without water through a thou
and miles Of agony, not q surgeons s
oom witnessing the struggle Of fox, or
abbit, or pigeon, or dog in the hor'
Ors Of vivisection, but has an interest
4 the fact that Christ was born in q
table surrounded by brutes. He re
lembers that night. and the prayer he
card in their pitiful moan; he will
nswer in the punishment Of those who
the dumb brutes
What an army Of defense all over the
and are the faithful watch dogs And
yho can tell what the world owes to
he horse, and camel, and OK, for trans
lortation? And robin and lark have,
By the cantatas with which they have
tIed orchard and forest more than
paid for the few grains they have
picked up for their sustenance. When
you abuse any creature of God you
strike its Creator, and you insult the
Thirst who, though He might have been
Welcomed into life by princes, and
AIKEN His first infantile slumber amid
gyrlan plush and canopied couches,
End ripping waters from royal aque-
lrcts dripping into basins Of ivory and
PEARL chose to be born on the level
Eith cows horn, or camel's hoof,
II dogs nostril, that he might be the
4eyiation Of animal lffcring as well
the redecmer of man. Standing
%en as imagine now | do, in that
oslllehem night with an infant Christ
u ne one side aud the speechless
natures Of God on the other, I cry,
out how you strike the
u s~ into that horses side. Take
II hat curbed bit from the
II. snouth. Remove that saddle
III sI Il that raw back. Shoot not for
i II III 'aat bird that is too small for food.
/, +sel not to. put water into the cage
!. la' canary. Throw out some crumbs
4'se birds caught too far north in
"inter's inclemency. Arrest that
"no is making that one horse
2 load heavy enough for three.
u upon that scene where boys
1oftnring cat or transtixing but
and grasshopper.
more did Christ show interest in
ootannical world, when He said.
,1saer the lilies" than He showed
paehy for the ornithological when
NJ ao' Behold the fowls Of the air."
nsg. ue quadrupedal when He allowed
u ril L; p be called in one place lion
L another place lamb.
hfba, b-oia, also, in this Bible scene, how
saas' christmas night God honored
N ooa. Christ might have made his
M Aell 70 our world in a clOud as he