The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-23
TALMAGE ON CHRISTMAS TIDE.
THE CHANT FROM THE Sky on THE
NIGHT JESUS WAS BORN.

started Born in the Manager Rt
BethIehem-MOst of the Worlds De-
Iiverers Born in Barn-LiISe Birth
PIaces-SymPathetic Union with
Other worlds Born in the Biblical
Manager.
washington. Dec. Pin his sermon to-
day. Dr. Talmage chose the universal
theme Of the seasOn-the Christmas-tide.
The text selected was Now when Jesus
was born in Bethlehem" Matt 81.
At midnight from one OF the galleries
OF the sky a chant broke. To an ordin-
airy observer there was no reason for
such a celestial demonstration A poor
man and wife-travelers, Joseph and
Mary by name-had lodged in an clubhouse
Of an unimportant village The supreme
hour Of soIemnity had passed. and upon
the pallid forehead and cheek of Mary
God had set the dignity. the grandeur, the
tenderness. the everlasting and divine sig
nihcance of motherhood.
But such scenes had often occurred in
Bethlehem, yet never before had star
been unfixed. or had a baton of light mar
shalled over the hills winged orchestra.
If there had been such brilliant and
mighty recognition at an advent in the
House Of Caesar, or the House of Haps-
burg. 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 unapprecative
auditors the window of the stable too
rude to be serenaded by other worlds.
1t is my joy to tell you what was born
that night in the village barn; and as l
want to make my discourse accumulaiive
and climacteric l begin, in the first place.
by telling you that that night in the
Bethlehem manger was born encourage-
ment for all the poorly started lie had
only two frends-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
wonder the mediaeval painters represent
the oxen as kneelng before the infant
Jesus for there were no men there al
that time TO worship. From the depths
of that poverty he rose until to-day ne IS
honored in all Christendom, and sits on
the imperial throne in heaven.
What name is mightast to-day in Chris
tendon? 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 TINS
hour2 Jesus. From what depths of pow
erty to what hight of renown! AND so let
all those who are poorly started remem-
born or more disadvantageously than
this Christ Let them look up to his eX-
ample while they have time and eternity
Do You know that the vast majority of
the worlds deliVerers had barnlike birth
places2 Luther, the emancipation OF re-
figion, born among the mmes. Shakes
peare the emancipation of literature, born
In an humble home at Stratford-on-Avon.
Columbus the discoverer of a world, born
in poverty at Genoa. Hogarth, the dis
coverer Of how to make art accumulative
and administrative of virtue, born IN an
humble home in Westmoreland. kftto
and Prideaux, whose keys unlocked new
apartments in the holy scriptures which
had 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 to-day, and
j want to tell you, although the whole
world may be opposed to you, and inside
and outside OF your occupations or pro-
fessions there may by those who would
hinder your ascent, on your side and en-
listed in your behalf are the sympathetic
heart and the almighty arm of One who
one Christmas night about eighteen hun
dred ana nlnety-nYe years ago was
wrapped in swadding clothes and laid
In manager. Oh, what magnificent en-
enlargement for the poorly started!
Again, / have to tell you that in that
village barn that night was born good
VIII to men, whether you call it kindness.
or forbearance or forgiveness, or genial
ityt or affection, or love. 1t was no sport
of high heaven to send its favorite to that
humiliation. 1t was sacrifice for a re-
bellous world. After the calamity in par
adise not only did the 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 and paw, but under the
very tree from which the forbidden fruit
was piucked were Matched out war and
revenge and malice and envy and jeal-
ousy and the whole brood of cOckatrices
But against that scene l set the Bethle-
hem manger which says, BLESS rather
than curse. endure rather than assault"
q m nj rrHf s.FTfe al.
tiveness. 1t says 'fSheathe your sword
dlsmount your guns, dismantle your bat
teries, turn the warship Constellation,
that carries shot and she'll into a grain
ship to take food to furnishing Ireland
hook your cavalry horses to the plow use
your deadly gunpoWer in blasting rocks
and in patriotic celebration, stop your
lawsuits, quit writing anonymous letters
extract the sting from your sarcasm, let
your wit coruscate but never burn, drop
all the harsh words out of your vocab1I-
lary-'Good will to men,
oh" you say, Il can't exercise it;
won't exercise it until they apologize; l
won't forgive them until they ask me to
forgive them" You are no Christian then
II say you are no Christian, or you are
a very inconsistent Christian. If you for
give not men their trespasses, how can
you expect your Heavenly Father to for
give. you? Forgive them If they ask your
forgiveness, and forgive them anyhow
men"
Oh, my Lord Jesus. drop that spirit into
L
you what the world wants more than any
thing else-more helping hands, more
sympathetic hearts, more kind words that
never die. more disposition to give other
people a ride and to carry the heavy end
81 the load and give other people the
light end, and to ascribe good motives in
stead OF bad, and to find our happiness
in making others happy
Out of that Bethlehem crib let the bear
ana the lion eat straw like an OK. Good
Will 70 men," That principle will vet set
ue all controversies, and under il the
world will keep on improving until there
VIII be only two antagonists in all the
earth, and they WIN side by side take the
9ubhant sleigh-ride minated by the
prophet when he said, Holiness shall be
on the bells of the horses"
Again, l remark that born that Christ
mas night in the village barn was sympa-
thetic union with other worlds From
that supernatural grouping of the cloud
banks over Bethlehem, and from the
especial trains that ran down to the scene
ma that our world is beautifully and
glorlously and magnificently surrounded
me meteors are with us, for one Of them
ran to point down to the birthplace. THE
heavens are with us, because at the