The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1895-12-25
CHRIST'S MISSION.
Rev. DR.. TaImage breaches a Christ.
mas Sermons
The Worlds Greatest Emancipators We're
All of LOwly Birth - The Offenders
Hope-seasOn of Forbearance and
Forgiveness-Good Will to Men.

In his sermon Sunday DR.. Talmage
chose the universal theme of the sea-
son-the Christmastide. The text Sc
lected was, "Now when Jesus was born
in Bethlehem" Matthew ii, 1.
At midnight from one of the galleries
of the sky chant broke. To an or
dinary observer there was no reason
for such celestial demonstration. A
poor man and wife-travelers, Joseph
and Mary by name-had lodged in an
outhouse Of an unimportant village.
The supreme hour of solemnity had
passed, and upon the pallid forehead
and cheek of Mary God had set the dig
nifty, the grandeur, the tenderness, the
everlasting and divine significance of
motherhood.
But such scenes had often occurred
in Bethlehem, yet never before had a
star been unfxed or had baton OF
light marshaled over the hills winged
orchestra. If there had been such
brilliant and mighty recognition at an
advent in the house OF Pharaoh, or at
an advent in the house of Caesar, or the
house of Hapsburg, or the house OF
Stuart, we would not so much have
wondered, but barn seems too poor a
center for such delicate and archan-
gelic circumference. The stage seems
too small for SO great an act, the music
too grand for such unappreciative au-
ditors, the window of the stable too
rude to be serenaded by other worlds.
It is my joy to tell you what was
worn that night in the village barn,
and as l want to make my discourse
accumulative and climacteric begin
in the first place by telling you that
that night in the Bethlehem manger
was born encouragement for all the
poorly started. He had only two
friends-the his parents. No satin
lined cradle, no delicate attentions,
but straw, and the cattle, and the
coarse joke and banter of the camel
drivers. No wonder the mideival
painters represent the oxen as kneel-
ing before the infant Jesus, for there
were no men there at that time to
worship. From the depths of that
property he arose until to-day he is
honored in all Christiandom and sits
on the imperial throne in Heaven.
What name is mightiest to-day in
Christendom? Jesus! Who has more
friends on earth than any other being?
Jesus! Before whom do the most
thousands kneel in chapel and church
and cathedral this hour? Jesus! From
what depths of poverty to what height
of renown! And so let all those who
are poorly started remember that they
can not be more poorly born or more
disadvantageously than this Christ.
Let them look up to his example while
they have time and eternity to imi'
tate it.
Do you know that the vast majority
of the worlds deliverers had barnlike
birth places? Luther, the emancipator
of religion, born among the mines.
Shakespeare, the emancipation of liter
ature, born in an humble home at
SOluh1 bllC NLo
coverer of world, born in poverty at
Genoa Hogarth, the discoverer OF
how to make art accumulative and ad-
ministrative of virtue, born in an
humble home in Westmoreland. Kittc
and Prideaux, whose keys unlocked
new apartments in the Holy Scrip
lures which had never been entered,
born in want. Yes, have to tell you
that nine out of ten of the worlds de-
liverers were born in want.
I stir your holy ambitions to-day,
and want to tell you, although the
whole world may be opposed to you
and inside and outside of your occupa'
tions or professions there may be those
who would hinder your ascent, on
your side and enlisted in your behalf
are the sympathetic heart and the al
mighty arm of one who one Christmas
night about eighteen hundred and
ninety-fve years ago was wrapped in
swaddling clothes and laid in man
ger. Oh, what magnificent encourage
ment for the poorly started!
Again, have to tell you that in thai
village barn that night was born goo(
will to men, whether you call it kind
ness, or forbeqrance, or forgiveness, OF
geniality, or affection, or love.
1t was no sport of high Heaven tc
send its favorite to that humiliation
It was sacrifice for rebellious world
After the calamity in paradise, not on
ly did the OK begin to gore, and the
adder to sting, and the elephant tC
smite with his tusk, and the lion tC
put to bad use tooth and paw, but un
der the very tree from which the for
hidden fruit was plucked were matched
out war and revenge and malice ant
envy and jealousy and the whole brood
of cockatrices
But against that scene l set thu
Bethlehem manger, which says "Bles'
rather than curse, endure rather thar
assault" and that Christmas night
puts out vindictiveness 1t says
''Sheathe your sword, dismount you
guns, dismantle your batteries, turr
the warship Constellation, that car
ries shot and shell into a grain ship tc
take food to famishing Ireland, hool
your cavalry horses to the plow, us'
your deadly gunpowder in blasting
rocks and in patriotic celebration
stop your law suits, quit writing an
onymous letters, extract the sting
from your sarcasm, let your wit corus
cate but never burn, drop all the harsl
words out of your vocabulary-'GooC
will to men,"
"oh," you say, II can't exercise it
7 won't exercise it until they apollo