The Globe-republican., 1893-01-13
At the Tabernacle.

Tn selected bv Rev. DR.. Talmage
was 'ians ii, 16, I'm repect of q
holy d.
VIVA Bible here and elsewhere
calls q 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 tact
that holidays have great significance.
As long as the world stands Christmas
day and New Years day and Easter day
will be charged and surcharged with
solemn suRgestiveness and holy mirth.
Whether you take the old style Of my
text and call them holy days, or the mod
ern style and call them holidays, they
somehow set all my nerves a-tingle 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 another week,
we have been perplexea to know when
the holidays began and 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-Saboath, Dec. 25. 1892,
and Sabbath. Jan. l, 1893. The one Sab
bath this year commentaries the birth
| of the greatest being that ever walked
the earth; the other celebrates the birth
OF that which is to be one of the greatest
| years of all time; the one day super
natural because of an unhinged star and
| angelic doxolOgy, and the other day
natural, but part of a 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 Sabbatical
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 and without special direc-
| ton, and they leaving, as they go away
from US. physical fatigue and mental ex-
haustion. the effect of late hours and
recklessness of diet adding another
| chapter to the moral and spiritual and
| eternal disasters which have resulted
| from misspent HOLIDAYS? Oh. no! A
stout and resounding no! 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
chapters-the first part chapter of il
iustrious birthday; the second part a
chapter of annual decadence; the third
part q chapter of chronological intro
duction.
First, then, chapter of illustriOus
birthday. Not day OF any year but has
been marked by the nativity of some
good or great soul. Among discoveries
the birthday of Humboldt was Sept IA
and of David Livingston March 49,
Among astronomers the birthday of
Isaac Newton was Dec. 25 and of Her
schel Nov. II. Among orators the BIRTH
day OF Cicero was Jan. and of ChrYsos-
tom Jan. IA. Among prison reformers
the birthday of John Howard was Sept
2 and of Elizabeth Fry May 1. Among
painters the birthday of Raphael was
March % and of Michael Angelo March
6. Among statesmen the birthday of
Washington was Feb %, of Hamilton
May 8 and Of Jefferson April 3. Among
consecrated souls the birthday of Mrs.
Hemans was Sept. 25, of Lucretia Mott
Jan. 3 and of Isabella Graham July 80.
But what are all these birthdays COM
pared with Dee. %, 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 throne.
The greatest pictures have been made
about scenes in His lifetime. The great
est sacrifices on field of battle or in hos
pital or on long march or in martyrdom
have been inspired by His self-abnega-
ton. The finest words of eloquence ever
spoken have been uttered In the proclama-
ton of His Gospel. The grandest orato.
rios that have ever rolled from orches-
tras were descriptive of His life and
death. There have been other orators,
but none like Him who 'spake as never
man spske." 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 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 res
cuer of nations. There have been other
painters, but none like Him who put the
image of God on lost soul. No wonder
we celebrate His birth, Protestant
church, Catholic church. Greek church,
St Isaac's Of Petersburg, St Peters at
Rome, the Madeleine at Paris, st Paul's
in London joining all our American ca
thedrals 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 manger in which Christ
was born was not what it appeared to
be, but conjunction of Jupiter and sat
urn. Our wise men of the West say that
the wise men of the East were mistaken.
Astronomers, you know, can calculate
backward as we'll as forward. and as
they can tell what will occur hundred
years from now among the heavenly
bodies, so they can accurately calculate |
backward and tell what occurred eight |
cen or nineteen centuries ago. And 1t is |
true that seven years before Christ Ia |
Chaldea. about three hours before day |
dawn, there was q conjunction of Jupi- |
ter and Saturn. Standing in Jerusalem i
and looking over toward Bethlehem.
those two stars would have seemed to !
ha no oyer that VILLAGE and IL ia sno.