Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-09-29
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divins'S SUI
day Sermon.
Subject: "a Proposition to Celebrate tn"
Nineteen Hundrcdth Birthday of Christ
Ly an International Jubilee
TEXT 80 US child is born, Isaiah tx,

! spared and another given. All the bells OF
| gladness ring over the cradle. l know not
why any one should doubt that OF old star
pointed down TO the Saviours 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 custom OF
celebrating the anniversary OF such an event,
and clear on into the eighties and nineties
the recurrence of that day OF the year in an
\ old mans life causes recO ZnitiOn and more or
less congratulation. SO also Nations are ac-
| customed TO celebrate the anniversary Of
! their birth and the anniversary of the birth
of their great heroes or deliverers or bene1ac-
! tors. The 22d OF February and the 4th Of
July are never allowed to pass in our land
without banquet and Grafton and bell ring
/ ingand cannOnade. But all other birthday
anniversaries are tame 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 doXoloSy, put
the words OF my text into National and con-
tinenta and hemisphere chorus, TO us
child is born" On the 25th OF December
each year that is the theme in st. Paurs and
st. Peters and St. Marks and st. Isaacs and
all the dedicated cathedrals, chapels, meet
ing houses and churches clear round the
world.
We shall soon reach the nineteen hun
dre3th anniversary OF that happiest event OF
all time. This century is dying. Only seven
more pusations. and lis heart will cease 10
beat. The fingers OF many OF you will write
it at the head Of your letters and the foot Of
YOUR important documents, 1900" 1t will
be "a physical and moral sensation unlike
anything else you have before experienced.
Not one hand that wrote that "1s0l" at the
induction Of this century will have cunning
left to write 1901" at the induction Of an
other
The death OF one century and the birth OF
another century will be sublime and sug.
cestiye and stupendous beyond all estimate.
To stand by the grave Of one century and by
the cradle of another will be an opportunity
such as whole generations of the worlds in
habitants never experienced. l pray God
that there may be no sickness or casualty TO
hinder your arrival at that goal or to hinder
your taking part in the yeledictory Of the de-
parting century and the salutation of tho
new.
But as that season will be the nineteen
hundredth anniversary Of a Saviours birth,
now nominate that q great international
jubilee or exposition be opened in this clus-
ter OF cities by the seacoast on Christmas
DAY, the 25th OF December. 1900, to be con-
1901. This century closing December 31st,
1900. and the new century beginning JanU-
AIRY lst. 1901. will it not be time for all Nj
tons to turn aside for few weeks or months
IRON everything else and emphasize the birth
OF the greatest being who ever touched our
planet. and could there be more appropri-
ate time for such commemorltioD than this
elimination Of the centuries which are dated
from His nativity You know that all his
tory dates either from before Christ or after
Christ. from i. c. or A. D. It will be the
year Of our Lord 1900 passing into the year
1901.
We have had the Centennial at Pniladel-
phia. celebrative Of the one hundredth an
niversary of our Nation birth. We have
had the magnificent eXpOsitiOns at New Or
leans and Atlanta and Augusta and st.
Louis. We have the present Worlds expos!-
ton at Chicago, ceebrative OF this CONT
nent's emergence. AMI there are at least two
other great celebrations promised for this
country and other countries will have their
historic events to commemorate, but the On9
event that has most to 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
eclipsed by the enthus asm that would cele-
brate the ransom OF all nations the first step
toward the accomplishing OF it being taken
by an infantile foot one winters night about
five miles from Jerusalem, when the clouds
dropped the angelic cantanta. 'GlOrytO God
in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
10 men,
The three or four questions that would DO
asked me concerning this nomination oftime
and place proceed to answer. What prac-
teal use would come Of such international
celebration? Answer-The biggest stride
the world ever took toward the evangelical
ton Of all Nations That is a grand and
wonderful convocation, the religious con-
gress at Chicago. 1t will put intelligently be-
fore the world the nature Of false religions
which have been brutaliZing the Nations,
tramping womanhood into the dust, enact
ing the horrors of infanticide, kindling
funeral pyres for shrieking victims, and
rolling iuggernauts across the mangled bod
les of their wOrshiperS.
But no one suppOses that any one will ts
converted to Christ by hearing Confucianism
or Buddhism or any form OF heathenism
eulogized. That is 10 be done afterwards.
And how can it so well be done as by cee-
bratiOn Of many weeks OF the birth and char
acter and achievements OF the wondrous and
Unprecedented Christ? To such an exposi-
tion the kings and queens of the earth would
not send their representatives-they would
come themselves
The story Of a SaviouIs advent could not
be told without telling the story OF His mis-
sion. All the world say, why this ado,
this universal demonstration What a vivid
presentation it would be, when at such con-
vocation the physicians of the world should
tell what Christ has done for hospitals and
the Arrangement of human pain, and when
Christian lawyers declare what Christ has
done for the establishment Of good laws and
Christian conquerors should tell what Christ
had done in the conquest OF Nations, and
Christian rulers Of the earth would tell what
Christ had done in the Government Of earthly
dominions
Thirty days of such celebration would do
more to tell the world who Christ is than
any thirty years. Not land on earth but
would hear of it and discuss il. Not an eye
50 dimmed by the superstition Of ages but
would see the illumination. The difference
of Christ's religion from all others is that its
one way of dissemination is by a simple
telling, not argument. not skilful eXeget-
lists. pOlemics or the science Of theological
fstcuffs but telling. Tell We the
daughter OF Zion, Behold. thy King cometh."
"GO quickly and tell His disciples that He
has risen from the dead" Go home TO thy
friends and tell them how great things the
Lord hath done for thee 'When lie -
come, He will tell US all things A religion
Of Ceiling
And in what way could all Nations 50 we'll
be told that Christ had come as by such an
international emphasizing OF His nativity
All India would cry out about such an affair,
for you know they have their railroads and
telegraphs. "What is going on in America"
All China would cry out. "What is that great
excitement in America All the Islands Of
the sea would come down the gangplanSs Of
the arriving ships and ask what is that
they are celebrating in American II woul1
be the mightiest missionary movement the
world has ever seen II would be the turn
ing point in the worlds destiny 1t would
waken the slumbering Nations with one
touch,
Gtstion the Secoad-HOw would you have
such an international jubilee conducted? An
swer All arts should be marsEaled. and art
in its most attractive and impressive shape
First. architecture. While all academies OF
music. and all churches, and all great halls
would be needed, there should be one great
auditorium erected to hold such an audience
as has never been seen on any sacred occa-
sion in America.
II Scrioonius Curio, at the cost OF q king |
dom, could build the first two vast amphi- |
theatres, placing then back to back, hold |
ing great audiences for dramatic representa- !
ton. and then by won ier,ul machinery |
could turn them round with all their |
audiences in them, making the two |
uraa afr.rfr 4.