Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1895-12-26
A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
REV. Or. TALMAeE breaches ON
cHRlsT's MISSION,

was born in Bethlehem, " Matthew II, 1.
At midnight from one Of the galleries Of
the sky chant broke. To an ordinary OBJ
server there was no reason for such CO.
lestial demonstration. A poor man and
Joseph and Mary by name
had lodged in an outhouse of an unim-
portant village. The supreme hour Of
solemnity had passed, and upon the pallid
forehead and cheek Of Mary God had set
the dignity, the grandeur, the tenderness,
the everlasting and divine significance Of
But such scenes had often occurred in
Bethlehem, yet never before had star
been unfxed or had baton Of light mar
shaled over the hills winged orchestra. II
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 archangelic
circumference. The stage seems too small
for so great an act, the music too grand
for such ISpappreciative auditors, the win
dow of Il y stable too rude to be serenaded
by other worlds.
1t is my Joy to tell you what was worn
that night in the village barn, and as
want to make my discourse accumulatiye
and olimacteric I begin in the first place
by telling you that that night in the Beth
lehem manger was born encouragement
for all the poorly started. He had only
two friends-they 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 Won
der the mideival painters represent the
oxen as kneeling before the infant Jesus,
for there were no men there at that time
to worship From the depths Of that pov-
erty he rose until today he Is honored in
all Christendom and sits on the imperial
throne in heaven.
nIightiest Name In Christendom.
What name is mightiest today in Chris
tendomS Jesus. Who has moro friends
on earth than any other beingf Jesus. Be-
fore whom do the most thousands kneel In
chapel and church and cathedral this hourf
Jesus. From what depths of poverty to
what height of renownI And SO let all
those who are poorly started remember
that they cannot be more poorly born OF
more disadvantageously than this Christ.
Let them look up to his example while
they have time and eternity to initiate 1t.
Do you know that the vast majority OF
the worlds deliverers had barnlike birth
places? Luther, the emancipator OF reli'
gion, born among the mines. Shakespeare,
the emancipator of literature, born in on
humble home at Stratford-on-Avon. Co
4, oIN,,s icon Of n xxy0rld hnrTl in
poverty at Genoa. Hogarth, the discoverel
of how to make art accumulative and ad
ministrative of virtue, born in humble
home in Westmoreland. Kitto and Pri
deaux, whose keys unlocked new apart
ments in the Holy Scriptures which hat
never been entered, born in want Yes,
have to tell you that nine out of ten of the
worlds deliverers were born in want.
l stir your holy ambitions today, and
want to tell you, although the whole world
may be opposed to you, and inside ant
outside of your occupations or professions
there may be those who would hinder YOU
ascent, on your side and enlisted in youl
behalf are the sympathetic heart and the
almighty arm of one who one Christina.
night about eighteen hundred and ninety
| five years ago was wrapped in swaddline
clothes and laid in a manger. Oh, what
magnificent encouragement for the poorly
started
Sacrifice For the World.
Again, have to tell you that in tha
| village barn that night was born good will
| to men, whether you call it kindness, o.
forbearance, or forgiveness, or geniality
| or affection, or love.
1t was no sport Of high heaven tx
| send its fayorite to that humiliation.
| was sacrifice for rebellious world. Afte
| the calamity in paradise, not only did th
OK begin to gore, and the adder to sting
| and the elephant to smite with his tusk
| and the lion to put to bad use tooth ant
| paw, but under the very tree from whicl
| the forbidden fruit was plucked wer
Matched out war and revenge and malic
| and envy and jealously and the who'll
| brood Of cockatrices.
| But against that scene set the Bethle
hem manger, which says, "Bless rathe
| than curse, endure rather than assault,
and that Christmas night puts out vim
! dictiveness. 1t says, "Sheathe your sword
| dismount your guns, dismantle your bat
| teries, turn the warship Constellation
| that carries shot and shell into q grain
ship to take food to famishing Ireland
hook your cavalry horses to the plow, us
your deadly gunpowder in blasting rock
and in patriotic celebration, stop your law
suits, quit writing anonymous letters, ex
! tract the sting from your sarcasm, let you
| wit coruscate but never burn, drop all th
harsh words out of your rvocabulary-'Go Goo,
will to men,"
"Oh," you say, ~ can't exercise it.
| won't exercise it until they apologize.
| won't forgive them until they ask me T.
forgive Them" You are no Christian thel
| Il say you are no Christian, or you are
| very inconsistent Christian. If you forgiv
not men their trespasses, how can you ex
| pect your heavenly Father to forgive you
| Forgive them If they ask your forgiveness
and forgive them anyhow. Shake hand
| all around. nGood will to men.
0 my Lord Jesus, drop that spirit int
/ all our hearts this Christmas tilne tel
| you what the world wants more than any
| thing else - more helping hands, NOR
| sympathetic hearts, more kind words tina
1 never die, more disposition to give othe
people ride and to carry the heavy en-
of the load and give other people the ligh
end, and to ascribe good motives instea
Of bad, and to find our happiness in max
ing others happy.
Good Will to Men.
Out Of that Bethlehem crib let the bea
and the lion eat straw like an OK. 1000
will to men, That principle will yet SET
tie all controversies, and under it th
world will keep on improving until ther
will be only two antagonists in all th
earth, and they will side by side take th
jubilant sleigh ride intimated by th