The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-12-26
A HOLIDAY TIME SERMON.
TALMAGE breaches ON A sBA-
SONABLE THEME.


The Third q Chapter OF Chronological
Introduction.
BROOKLYN, Dec. 25.--The sermon preached
by Rev. DR.. Talma9s this morning was Of
character especially appropriate 10 the
holiday season, and was listened TO wish
rapt attention by an audience that crowded
the Tabernacle. Before beginning his dis
course, the preacher gave out the opening
hymn:
Joy 20 the world the Lord has come,
Let earth receive her king.
The text selected was Colossians Il. 1es
"In respect of 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 holidays,
they somehow set all my nerves a-tingIe
and my deeper emotions into profoundest
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 ansi
other week, we have been perplexed to-
know when the holidays began and when
begun them too soon OF continued them too
long. But this year they are bounded by
two beaches Of gold: Sabbath, Dec. 25th,
1892, and Sabbath, Jan. LIST, 1893. The ons
Sabbath this year commentaries the birth
OF the greatest being that ever walked the
earth; the other celebrates the birth OF that
which is 10 be one or the greatest years OF
all time. The one day supernatural because
OF an unhinRed star and angelic doxologv
aud the other day natural, but part OF q
procession that started with the worlds as~
sistance and will 90 on until the world is
burned up; both the frat and the last days
of these holidays coming In with Babbat-
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 thema
At hnphazard and without special direcs
ton, and they leaving, as they 60 away
from US, physical fatigue and mental ex-l
haustion, the effect of late hours and reck-
lessness Of diet, adding another chapter to
the moral and spiritual and eternal disasters.
which have resulted from misspent holi-.
daysi q, mol A stout and resounding moi
for all the eight days.
propose that we divide this holiday sea-.
son, the two Sabbaths of the holiday and
the six days between, into three chapters.
The frst part chapter OF illustrious BIRTH
day: the second part u chapter Of annual
decadence; the third part chapter Of chro-
biological Introduction.
First. then, q chapter Of illustrious births
day. Not day Of any year but hes been
marked by the nativity OF some good or
great soul Among discoverers, the birth,
day of Humboldt was Sept. IA and OF David
ask~<
mers, tho birthday OF Isaac Newton was
Dec. rs and of Herschel Nov. II. Among
orators, the birthday OF Cicero was Jan. s
and OF Chrysostom, JAM IA. Among prison
reformers, the birthday OF John Howard
was Sept. Q. and Of Elizabeth Fry May1.
Among painters, the birthday Of Raphael
was March 2e, and OF Michael Angelo March
8. Among statesmen, the birthday OF
Washington was Feb. %, Of
Hamilton May 8. and OF Jeffer-
son April y. Among consecratsd
souls. the birthday of Mrs. He-
mans was Sept. 25 of Lucretia Mota, Jan.
3, and Of Isabella Graham. July 29 Bup
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
Olivet, Jesus Of the heavenly thronei Ths
greatest pictures have beenl made about
fees on field Of battle or In hospital or On
long march or In nartyrdom have been in-
spired by his self-abnegetion. The finest
works OF eioquence ever spoken have been
uttered Ia the proclamation of his gospel
The grandest 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 spaks.n There
have been other reformers, but none
like him who will not have com-
pleted 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 IKE roe and the last case of
dementa shall come 10 its right mind.
There have been other discoverers, 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 painters, but mona
like him who put the image Of God on
lost soul No wonder we celebrate his birth.
Protestant church. Catholic church, Greek
church, Sc. Isaao's of ST. Petersburg, Sc.
Peters at Rome, the Madeleine at Paris, st.
Pauls In London, Joining all our American
cathedrals and churches and log cabin
meeting houses and homes In keeping this
pre-eminent birth festival.
Elaborate and prolonged efforts have been
made to show that the star that pointed to
the nanger In which Christ was born was
not what IL appeared to be, butt conjuuc-
iion of Jupiter and Saturn. Our wise men
of the west say that the wise men Of the
east were mistaken. Astronomer, you
know, can calculate backward as well al
forward, and as they can tell what will oc-
cur hundred years from now among tha
heavenly bodies, 80 they can accurately cali
oulate backward and tell what occurred
eighteen or nineteen hundred years ago.
And il 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 10 hang over that
village, and IL is suggested by learned pro-
fessor that the magi may have had weak
eyes, so that the two stars may have looked
like one. In order to take everything SUI
pernatural out Of the story, we have to
blind the eyes OF the magi and introduce a
second star to help out the idea Of the one
star. But prefer the simple story of the
Bible. that light Of some kind--stellar or
meteoric--pointed from the sky TO the
straw cradle. When it is so easy for God
to make world that be puts eighteen mill
lions OF them within one sweep of the tele-
scope, be could certainly afford one silyery
or fiery signal OF some kind 10 point the
world TO the place where the sovereign OF
the universe lay incarnated and infautile