The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-01-11
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVlNES SUN
DAY SERMON.
Sabiect: Lessons Taught by Holt
days"
TEXT: sIn respect of a holy day."-Col'


by change Of spelling and accentuation w
cannot change the fact that holidays hav'
great significance. As long as the worlt
stan "a Christmas day and New Years day
and Easter day will be charged and sur
charged with solemn suggestiveness anc
holy mirth. Whether you take the old style
of my text and call them holy days, or the
modern style AMI 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 hol1-
:. days completely bounded. For years. Christ
mas day starting in the midst Of one week,
and New Years day starting in the midst OF
another week, we have been perplexed 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-Sabbath, December 25,
1892, and Sabbath, January !, 1893. The
one Sabbath this year commentaries the
birth Of the greetest 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 supernatural be-
cause of an unhinged star and angelic doxo-
logy, and the cther day natural, but part OF
i. a procession that started with the worlds
existence and will 90 on until the world is
burned up; both the first and last days OF
these holidays coming in with Sabbatlcal
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 direction, and they leav-
ing. as they 20 away from US physical ia
tieue and mental exhaustion, 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 resoundiug mol for all the eight days.
propose that we divide this holiday sea-
son, the two Sabbaths of the holiday and
the six Gays between, into three chapters
the first part chapter OF iuustrious birth
day; the second part a chapter Of annual de-
cadence; the third part a chapter Of chron-
oioglca introduction.
First. then, q chapter Of illustrious birth
day. Not a day OF any year but has been
marked by the nativity OF some good or
great soul. Among discoverers the birthday
of, ,Humpoldt was Sept. IA and OF David Liv.
ineston March 10. Among astronomers the
birthday OF Isaac Newton was Dec. % and
of Herschel Nov. IL. Among orators the
birthday OF Cicero was Jan. 8 and OF ChrYs-
.ostom JAM IL Among prison reform
ers the birthlay OF John Howard was
Sep. and Of Elizabeth Fry May l. Among
painters the birthday OF Raphael was March
.ss and of Michael Angelo March 6. Among
Feb. %, of Hamilton May and Of Jefferson
April 2. Among consecrated souls the
birthday Of Mrs. Hemans was Sep. 25 OF
Lucretia Mott Jan. 8 and Of Isabella Graham
July go. But what are all those birthdays
compared with Dec. 25, for on or about that
day was born one who ecipsed all the great
names OF all the osnuries Jesus of Bethle-
hem, 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. Tbs 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 eloquencs ever spoken have been
uttered In the proclamation OF His Gospel.
The grandest oratorios that have ever rollet
from orchestras were descriptive OF His life
and death. There have been other orators,
but none like Him who "spske 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 un-
stopped, and the last lame foot bounds like
a roe, and the last case Of dementis
ahall come to its right mind. There have
been other discoverers, but none like Him
liable to find how man may be just with God.
There have been other deiiverers, but none
like Him, the rescuer Of Nations. There
have been other paintsrs, but none Like Hin
who put the image OF God on q lost soul. No
wonder we celebrate His birth, Protestant
church, Catholic church, Greek church, st.
Isaac's Of st. Petersburg, St: Peters at
Rome, the Madeleine at Paris, st. PauPs In
London joining all our American cathsdrals
and churches and log cabin meeting houses
and homes in keeping this pre-eminsne olrtn
festival.
Elaborate and prolonged efforts have been
made to show that the star that pointe1 to
the manger in which Christ was born was
not what it appeared to be, but a conjunc-
ton of Jupiter and Saturn. Our wise men
OF the west say that the wise men OF the east
were mistaken. AstronomsrS you know,
can calculate backward as well as forward,
and as they can t,ll what will occur q hum
.dred years from now among the heavenly
bodies, 30 they can accurately calculate
backward aud tell what occurred eighteen
or nineteen hundred years ago. And it Is
true that seven years before Christ In
Chalaes. shont three hours before day dawn.
and Saturn. Standing in Jerusalem
and looking over toward Bethlehem,
those two stars would have seemed to hang
over that village and it Is sugg gested by
learned professor that ths magi may have
had weak eyes, so that the two stars may
have looked like one. In order to take
everything supernatural out Of the story we
have to blind the eyes OF the magi and intro
duce q 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-2ointed from ths SKY
to the straw cradle. When 1t is 50 easy for
God to make world that He puts eighteen
millions Of them within one sweep Of the
telescope, Hs could certainly afford one sill
very or fiery sigma o. soma kind to point
the world to the place where tbs sovereign
of the universe lay incarnate1 and infan-
tile.
Il God could afford to make an especial
earthquake at the cruci6xion, the aslant
rocks on Mount Calvary still showing that
there was a CONFUSION OF nature a5 that
particular spot which was felt in none OF
the surroundings, then He cou afford some
thine unusual, ssnlsSiiuy brilliant some
thing positive, something tremendous at the
nativity. II king at the birth OF son
can have the palace illuminsi and couriers
sent with swift dispatch to announce the
gladness at the gates and wake u y an empire
with canonade am not surprised that
at the birth OF tbs Son OF G,d there way
celestial agitation, an my only wonter
is that, instead Of one star or one meteor
irving signal, all worlds did not make
demonstration. Why not other worlds take
interest in the event when Christ came from
another world and another world was to get
the souls that would be saved by this Gales
tial descent? It would have been a stellar
disgrace, an astronomical scandal, If, when
the Goihead lay compressed 10 the form OF
an infant, something from above had not
pointed down. as much as to say: There
He is! Look, all earth and heaven!
Look, all time and all eternity!'
You see, the birth at Bethlehem must have
been more novel and startling to the heavens
49, 40 o,,,o;0 w;on ~, roIuoru Tt or.