Democratic messenger., 1893-09-30
A MONSTER JUBILEE.
AN INTERESTING PROPOSITION FROM
OR. TALMAGE.

Celebrate the Nineteen Hnndrcdth Birth
day of Christ-A banquet For the Hun
gry-An Interesting Sermon
BROOKLYN. Sept. 24.-At the Brooklyn
Tabernacle this forenoon Rev. DR.. Tai
mage preached n sermon of unusual in
terest to a vast audience, the subject
being THE Nineteen Hundredth Ami
eersary. A Proposition Concerning 1t.
The text was taken from Isaiah *. 9.
ITO us child is born"
That is n tremendous hour in the his
tory of any family when an immortal
spirit is incarnated. Out of very dark
cloud there descendsa very bright morn
ing. One life spared and another given.
All the bells of gladness ring over the
cradle. know not why any one should
doubt that of old n star pointed down to
the Saviour's birthplace, for star of joy
points down to every honorable nativity.
A new eternity dates from that hour.
that minute.
Beautiful and appropriate is the Gus
tom of celebrating the anniversary Of
euch an event. and clear on into tho
eighties and the nineties the recurrence of
that day of the year in an old mans life
causes recognition and more or less con-
graduation. So also nations are nc
customed to celebrate the anniversary
of their birth and the anniversary of
the birth of their great heroes or de-
livcrers or bcnefactors. The 22d of Feb
ruary and the 4th Of July are never
allowed to pass in our land without
banquet and Grafton and bell ringing
and cannonade. But all other birthday
anniversaries are taiac compared with
the Christmas festivity. which celebrates
the birthday described in my text.
Protestant and Catholic and Greek
churches, with all the power of music
and garland and procession and doxol
ogy, put the words of my text into ma
tional and continental and hemisphere
chorus. TO MS child is born" On
the 25th of December each year that is
the theme in st. Pauls and st. Peters
and st. Marks and st. Isaac's and all
the dedicated cathedrals. chapcls. meet
ing houses and churches clear round the
world
We shall soon reach tho nineteen
hundrcth anniversary of that happicst
event of all time. This century is dy-
ing. Only seven more pulsations. and
its heart will cease TO beat. The fingers
Of many of you will write it at the head
of your letters and the foot of your i'm
portant documents. 1900" It will be
a physical and moral sensation unlike
anything else you have before expert
enced Not one hand that wrote "ls0l"
at tho induction of this century will
have cunning left to write s'l9Ol" Mt the
induction of another.
The death of one century and the birth
of another century will be sublime and
suggestive and stupendous beyond all
estimate. To stand by the grave of one
century and by the cradle of another
will he an opportunity such as whole
generations of the worlds inhabitants
never experienced. Ipray God that there
may be no sickness or casualty to hinder
Your arrival at that goal or to hinder
your taking part i'll the vcledictory Of
the departing century and tho salutation
Of the new.
But as that ccason will be the nine
teen hundredth anniversary of Saw
iour's birth. now nominate that great
international jubilee or exposition be
opened in this cluster of cities by the
seacoast on Christmas day, the 25th Of
December. 1900. to be continued for ut
least one month into the year 1901. This
century closing Dec. 81. 1900. and the
new century beginning Jan. /, 1901,
will it not be time for all nations to
turn aside for few weeks or months
from everything else and emphasize the
birth of the greatest being who ever
touched our planet, and could there be
a more appropriate time for such CON-
memoration than this elimination Of
the centuries which are dated from his
nativity: You know that all history
dates either from before Christ or after
Christ, from b. c. or a. ID. 1t will be
the year of our Lord 1900 passing into
the year 1901.
We have had the Centennial at Phila-
delphia. celebrative Of the one hundredth
anniversary Of our nations birth. We
have had the magnificent expositions ut
New Orleans and Atlanta and Augusta
and ST. Louis. We have the present
Neutrality-suspicious. at Chicago. celcbrative
of the four hundredth anniversary of this
continents cmergence, and there are
promised for this country, and 9TH
er countries will have their historic
events TO commemorate, but the one
event that has most TO do with the well
fare of all nations is the arrival of Jesus
Christ on this planet, and all the enthu-
siasm ever witnessed at London or Tien-
ma or Paris or any of our American cities
would be eclipsed by the en;.usiam that
would celebrate tine ransom Of all ma
tons the first step toward the accom-
plishing of it being taken by an infan-
tile foot one winters night about five
miles from Jerusalem. when the clouds
dropped the angelic cantata, GLORY to
God in the highest. and on earth peace,
good will to men,"
The three or four questions that would
be asked me concerning this nomination
of time and place proceed TO answer.
What practical use would come of such
international celebration? Answer-The
biggest stride the world ever took to-
ward the cvangelization of all nations.
That is il grand and wonderful convoca-
ton. the religious congress Mt Chicago.
II will pnt intelliScntly before the world
the nature Of false religions which have
been bruta.izing the nations, tramping
womanhood into the dust. cnacting the
horrors of infanticide. kindling funeral
pyres for shricking victims. and rolling
juggcrnauts across the mangled bodies
OF their worshipers.
But no one supposes that any one will
be converted to Christ by hearing Con-
fucAnism or Buddhism or any form Of
bcathenism euloSiZed. That is to be
p HI.fSl .s,- TT~--~. n~.~