The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1894-01-05
STAR OF BETHLEHEM
20 Am tho Bright and the Mornh
STAR
Rev. DIR. i. De witt TaIma=e's ChrIsttnai
sermon-Chrint HeraIds the Dawn OF
Heaven Upon Every Christians wi
Dying Pillow.

Rev. Dr. r. De witt TalmaSe's Christmas
sermOn-Chrfrt HeraIds the Dawn OF
Heaven rpon Every Christians W.
Dying Pillow.
In the Brooklyn Tabernacle Sunday
a great audience assembled to parties
pate in the Christmas services Stand
ing before the organ, festooned With
Christmas greens this sermon was de-
l1iyere5 by Rev Dr. Talmage, after the
throngs had sung ssThe Star of Beth1e-
hem" Text, Revelation xxi, 16, "I
am the bright and the morning star.
This is Christmas eve. Our attention
and the attention Of the world is drawn
to the star that pointed down. TO the
caravansary where Christ was born
But 90 not let us forget that Christ
himself was star. Tothat lun3inOus
fact my text calls us go syEE - y
It seems as if the natural world were
anxious to make up for the damage it
did our race in furnishing the forbid
den fruit If that fruit wrought death
among the nations, now all the natural
product shall becOmea symbol Of bless
ings The showering down of- the wealth
Of the orchard will make us think Of
Him whom Solomon describes as the
apple tree among the trees of the wood,
and the flowers of tangled glen and
cultured parterre shaITbe@th dew
glintcd garland for the brow Of the
Lord Jesus Yea, even the night shall
be taxed, and its brightest star shall
be set as gem in the coronet in our
holy religion.
Z Have you e3er seen the ''1nornihg star
advantageously? II il was on your way
home fromea nights carousalE yop saw
none of its beauty If y0uS merely
turned over ousyour pillow in the dark
ness, glanefn out of the window, you
know nothing about the cheerful influ-
eHce of thatstar. But thereAaFe h&Hy
IN this house tonight who in great
passes of their life some OF them far
outat sea have gazeds at thats star ahd
been thrilled through with indeseriba-
bile gladneSs That stan comes treutb-
/ ling as though with the perils of the
darkness and get bright with the an
ieipations Of the dag. IT seems emo
stienal with all tenderness, its eyes
ell ed with the tears Of many sbfroFss
1t is the gem on the hand of the morn
ing thrpstT up 20 signal its coming,
Other Stare are dim, like ho1 y Candles
in cathedralof silver beads counted
in supef stitious litahyl Buttkis sAhSs
ing star, speaking star, historic
star, Cap feyangslisti cE star bright p nd
brilliant and triumphant symbol or the
great Redeemer. { Theltelegraphic oper-
atorlp IS his finger on the silver key OF
the electric instrument, and the tidings
fy. across the con tinent And So II
seems to me that the finger
of - inspira ton IS splaced upon
this silver pointe ins the heavens,
and its thrill is sent through ell
the earth. Behold, / bring you good
tidings of great joy which shall be to
all people. Behold, 1 am the bright
and morning. star. 2 The meaning Of
my text is this As the morning star
precedes and promises the coming of
the day, so Christ heralds the natural
and spiritual dawn.
In the first place. Christ heraldcd the
coming of the creation. There was a
time when there was no order, no sound
or beauty. No wing Stirred. No word
was, uttered. 1ightsspedal AS far as
God could look mp rs far down, as far
solitude Height and depth and length
and breadth of nothingness Did Christ
then exist? Oh yes. by Him were all
things made that are made; things in
Heaven, and things in earth and things
under the earth. - Yes, he antedated
the creation. He led forth Arctrua1s
and his soBs He shone before the first
morning, His voice was heard in the
concert when the morning stars seren-
AIDED the advent of our infant earth.
when, wrapped in swaddling clothes of
! Light 1T lay in the arms of the great
B Jehovah. He saw the flrst fountain
laid, He saw the first light ulfindled.
That. hand which Ifwas3s afterward
crushed upon the cross was thrust into
chaos, and it brought. out one world
and swung it in that orbit, and brought
( out another world and swung lit in an
other orbit, and brought out all the
worlds and swung them in their partic[
ulan orbits They came like sheep at
the call of, a shepherd They knew
His voice and he called them abby
their names. Oh, it is an interesting
thought to me to know that Christ had
something TO do with the creation. /
Scf1aA OtN EWhy 1e, - IS ~ easy LAOE HIN 10
change water into wine. He first Gre
ated the water. / see now why it was
so ieasyifor Him to cure the maniac. He
first created the intellect see now
why, it,was so easy for Him to hush the
tempest. He sank Genpesaret i see
now why twas so easy for, Him 10
swing fish into Simon's net He made
the fish. i sec now why it was so easy
for Him TO give sight to the blind man
He created the optic nerve. I see now
PShyiit was so easy for Him TO raise
lazarus from the dead .ZHe< created
the bodyfofn Lazarus and the rock that
shut hun in Some suppose that Christ
came a stranger, TO Bethlehem OH no.
He created the shepherds, and the
locks they watched, and the hills
on which they pastqred, and the
heavens that 'overarrhed thefr. heads,
and the angels that chanted the choI
rus on that aChristmasn night That
hand 5 which was afterward nailed to
the cross, was an omnipotent and crea-
tive hand and the whole universe was
poised on the tip OF, one of his fingers
Before the world was Christ was. All
the world came trooping up out of the
darkness; and ne greeted them, as a.
father greets his children, wfthIa good
morning. y ora f,good dhight.n Hail,