Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-12-26
CHRISTMAS TIMES.
DR.. TALMAes ON THE LESSONS OF
THE ANNIVERSARIES.

/
Destined to BE Year of Wonders.
BROOKLYN, Dec, 25 The sermon
preached by Rev. DR. Talmage this morn
ing was of character especially appropri
ate to the holiday season, and was listened
to with rapt attention by an audience that
crowded the Tabernacle. Before beginning
his discourse the preacher gave out the
opening hymn
Joy to the world; the Lord has come;
Let earth receive her king.
The text selected was Colossians ii, 10
"In respect of a holy day."
What the Bible here and elsewhere calls
holy day we, by change of one letter and
change of pronunciation, call holiday. But
| by change OF spelling and accentuation we
cannot change the fact that holidays have
| great significance. As long as the world
stands Christmas day and New Years day
and Easter day will be charged and sur
| charged with solemn suggestiveness and
! holy mirth. Whether you take the old
style of my text and call them holy days
or the modern style and call them holt
| days, they somehow set all my nerves attn.
| gle and my deeper emotions into profound
est agitation. | am glad that this season
we have the holidays completely bounded.
For years Christmas day, starting in the
midst of one week, and New Years day,
starting in the midst of another week, we
have been pcrplexed to know when the
holidays began aud when they ended, and
perhaps we may have begun them too SOON
or continued them too long. But this year
they are bounded by two beaches of gold
Sabbath, Dec. 25 1892, and Sabbath, Jan.
l, 1898. The one Sabbath this year COM
memorates the birth of the greatest being
that ever walked the earth; the other cele-
brates the birth of that which is to be one
Of the greatest years of all time, the one
day supernatural because of an unhinged
star and angelic doxology, and the other
day natural, but part of procession
that started with the worlds existence
and will go on until the world is
burned up; both the first and the last days
of these holidays coming in with Sabbat-
ical splendor and solemnity, and girdling
all the days between with thoughts that
have all time and all eternity in their
emphasis How shall we spend them'
At haphazard aud without special direc-
ton, and they leaving, as they go away
from u.s. physical fatigue and mental ex-
haustion, the effect of late hours and
recklessness Of diet, adding another chap
ter to the moral and spiritual and eternal
disasters which have resulted from mis-
spent holidaysH Oh, mol A stout and
resounding mol for all the eight days.
| propose that we divide this holiday
season, the two Sabbaths of the holiday
and the six days between, into three chap
ters-the first part chapter of illustrious
birthday; the second part a chapter of an
nual decadence; the third part a chapter
of chronological Introduction.
THE GREAT NATIvITIEs.
First, then, a chapter ofillustrious birth
day, Not day of any year but has been
marked by the nativity Of some good or
great soul. Among discoveries the birth
day of Humboldt was Sept IA and of Da-
vid Livingston March 49, Among astron.
omers the birthday of Isaac Newton was
Dec. 25 and of lTerschel Nov II. Among
orators the birthday of Cicero was Jan. 8
and of ChrysoStom Jan. IA. Among prison
reformers the birthday of John Howard
was Sept. 2 and of Elizabeth Fry May /.
Among painters the birthday of Raphael
was March 2S and of Michael Angelo
March g.
Among statesmen the birthday of Wash
ington was Feb. %; of Hamilton, May s,
and of jefferson, April 2, Among conse-
Grated souls the birthday Of Mrs. Hemans
was Sept. 25 of Lucretia Mott, Jan. 8, and
of Isabella Graham, July 30. But what
are all those birthdays compared with Dec.
25, for on or about that day was born one
who eclipsed all the great names of all the
centuries--Jesus of Bethlehem, Jesus of
Nazareth Jesus of Golgotha, Jesus of Oil
vet, Jesus of the heavenly throne?
The greatest pictures have been made
about scenes in his lifetime. The greatest
sacrifices ON field of battle or in hospital or
on long march or in martyrdom have been
inspired by his self abnegation. The finest
words of eloquence ever spoken have been
uttered in the proclamation of his Gospel
Thegrandest oratorios that have ever rolled
from orchestras were descriptive of his life
and DEATH There have been other orators,
but none like him who "spake as never
man spake." There have been other re-
formers, but none like him who will not
have completed his mission until the
last prison is ventilated, and the last blind
eye opened and the last deaf ear unstopped
and the last lame foot bounds like a roe,
and the last case of dementia shall come to
its right mind.
There have been other discoveries, but
none like him, able to find how man may
be Just with God. There have been other
deliverers, but none like him, the rescuer
of nations There have been other paint
ers, but none like him who put the image
of God on lost soul No wonder we cele-
brate his birth-Protestant church, Cath
Ole church, Greek church, St. lsaac's of
St. Petersburg, St. Peters at Rome, the
Madeleine Mt Paris st. Paul's in London,
joining all uur American cathedrals and
churches and log cabin meeting houses and
homes in keeping this pre-eminent birth
festival.
THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM
Elaborate and prolonged efforts have
been made to show that the star that
pointed to the manager in which Christ
was born was not what it appeared to he,
but conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.
Our wise men of the west say That the
wise men of tho east were mistaken. AS
tronomers, you know, can calculate back
ward as well as forward, and as they can
tell what will occur a hundred years from
now among the heavenly bodies, SO they
can accurately calculate backward and
tell what occurred eighteen or nineteen
hundred years ago. And it is true that
seven years before Christ in Chaldea,
about three hours before day dawn, there
was conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.
Standing in Jerusalem and looking over
toward Bethlehem those two stars would
have seemed to hang over that village,
and it is suggested by learned professor
that the magi may have had weak eyes, so
that the two stars may have looked like
one. In order to take everything super
natural out of the story we have to blind
the eyes of the magi and introduce second
star to help out the idea of the one star.
But prefer the simple story of the Bible,