Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-09-25
HTNDREDTH
ANNIVERSARY AND A PROPOSITION CON-
OERNNG IT.
An Hour Of Tremendous Imporhnes IN he Hisio-
~ Of The Human Family - Dr.. Talmaggs
Tabernacle Sermon Yesterday.

BROOKLYN, September 94.-At the
Brooklyn Tabernacle this forenoon,
Rev. DR.. Talmage preached q sermon Of
unusual interest 90 a vast audience, the
subject being "The Nineteen Hundredth
Anniversary; A Proposition Concerning
H." The text was taken from Isaiah O:
8; ITO Us a child is born"
That Is tremendous hour IN the his
tory Of any family when an immortal
spirit Is incarnated. Out OF very dark
cloud there descends a very bright
morning 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 a star
pointed down TO the Saviour's birth
place, for q star OF joy points down 70
every honorable nativity. A new eter-
nifty dates from that hour, that minute.
Beautiful and appropriate is the custom
OF celebrating the Anniversary Of such
an event, aud clear on into the eighties
and nineties, the recurrence Of that
day Of the year In an old mans life
causes recognition and more or less
eOngratulatiOn. So, also, nations are
accustomed 70 celebrate the anniver-
sary of their birth and the anniversary
Of the birth Of their great heroes or de-
llverers or beneiactors. The 22d of
February and
THE FOURTH OF JULY
are never allowed 20 pass In our land
without banquet and grafton aud bell
ringing and cannonade But all other
birthday anniversaries are tame comb
pared with the Christmas festivity,S
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 doxolOgy, put the words Of my
text into national and continental aud
hemisphere chorus: $40 Us a child is
born. On the 25th OF December each
year that Is the theme st. Paups and
st. Peters and st. Marks and ST.
lsaac's and all the dedicated cathedrals,
chapels, meeting houses aud churches
clear round the world. We shall soon
reach the nineteen hundreth auniyer-
sary OF that happest event OF all time.
This century is dying. Only seven
more pulsations and its heart will cease
20 beat. The fingers OF many Of you
viii write az the head Of your letters
and the foot OF your important docu-
ments, 1000" III will be q physical
and moral sensation unlike anything
else you have before experienced. Not
one hand that wrote "lSOl" at the in
ductlOn of this century will have cum
ming left 70 write '19Ol" at the Undue
tiOn Of another. The death Of one CEN
EdTy and the birth OF another century
will be sublime and suggestive and stu
pendOus beyond all estimate. To stand
by the grave OF one century and by the
cradle OF another will be an opportunity
such as whole generation of the
worlds Inhabitants never experienced.
j pray God there may be no sickness or
casualty 70 hinder your arrival az that
goal, or to hinder your taking part in
the yaledictory Of the departing CEN
tury and the salutation OF the new.
But as that season will be the nineteen
hundredth anniversary OF a Saviour's
birth, now nominate that a great In
ternational jubilee % Z ipositIon be
opened IN this cluster oil cities by the
sea coast -
on RsimsrMAs DAY,
the 25hS6Ds December, 1900, 20 be con-
tinrsga for 40 least one month into the
year 1901. This century closing De-
cember 31st, 1900, and the new century
beginning January LIST, 1901, will 10 not
be time for oil nations 70 turn aside for
q 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 COM
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, B. G. or A. ID. 10 will be the
year Of our Lord 1900, passing into the
year 1901. We had the Centennial at
Philadelphia, celebratlve of the one
hundredreth anniversary of our
nations birth. We have had
the magnificent Expeditions at New
Orleans, and Atlanta, and Augusta
aud st. Louis. We have the present
Worlds Exposition at Chicago, celebra-
tive Of the four huudredth anniversary
OF this continents emergence, and there
are at least two other great celebrations
promised for this country, aud other
countries will have their historic events
70 commemorate, but the one event that
has most so do with the welfare OF all
nations IS the arrival Of Jesus Christ on
this planet, and all the enthusiasm ever
witnessed at London or Vienna or Paris
or any Of our American cities would be
ecllpsed by the enthusiasm that would
celebrate the ransom of all nations, the
first step towards the accomplishing Of
10 being taken by an infantile foot one
winters night, about 1--WE miles from
Jerusalem, when the clouds dropped the
angelic cantata: "GlOry 70 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 would
ever took toward the EMANCIPATION Of
an nations. This Is a grand aud won
derful convocatlOn, the Religious Con-
gress at Chicago. 1t will put inteli-
GENTLY before the world the nature Of
false religion which have been brutal
izing the nations, trampliug waman-
hood into the dust, enacting the hOr-
rors o 9 nfanticide, 6indling funeral
pyres for shrleking victims, and rolling
juggernaUJs across the mangled bodies
of their worshippers. But no one sup
noses that anyone will be converted 20
Christ by hearing Coniucianlsm or
Buddhism or any form OF heathenism
eulogized That is to be done after
ward. Aud how can 10 so we'll be
49,, "a hv- q onIahr1tion ~ many vvnalrs