The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-01-01
A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE breaches ON
CARlSTS MISSION.

and ForsivcnesS---Good Will to Men.
WASHINGTON. Dec. 22.-In his ser
mon today Dr. Talmage chose the UNI
versal theme of the season--the Christ
The text selected was.
Now when Jesus was born III Beth
lehem." Matthew II, l.
At midnight from one OF the ga
leries Of the sky a cnant broke. 10
an ordinary observer there was no rea-
sou for such a celestial demonstra-
ton. 4 poor naa aud wife-travei
ers, Joseph aud Mary by name-had
lodged in an ou,5ouSe OF an unlmpof.
tant village. The Supreme hour OF
solemnitv had passed. and upon the
pallid foreheadand cheek OF Mary God
had set the dignity, the grandeur, the
tenderness. the everlasting and divine
significance OF motherhood.
Bat such scenes had often occurred
in Bethlehem. vet never before had a
star been untixed or had a baton OF light
narshaled over the hills winged or
chestra. If there had been such bril-
liant and mighty recognition at an
advent III 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, bat barn seems too poor
a centre for such delicate and archan-
gelic circumference. The stage seems
too small for so great an act, the muse
too grand for such unappreciattye au-
ditors, the window Of the 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
sccumulative and ctimacteric | begin
in the first place By telling you that
that night in the Bethlehem mauger
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 wonder the mid;clval
painters represent the oxen as kneel-
ing before the infant Jesus, for there
we're no men there at that time to wor-
ship. From the'depths OF that power
" he rose until today he is honored IN
all Christendom and sits on the lmpe-
rial throne IN heaven.
What name is mightiest today IN
Christendom? Jesus. Who has
more friends on earth than any other
beine2 Jesus. Before whom do the
most thousands kneel in chapel and
church and cathedral this hour? Je,
sus. From what depths to poverty to
what height of renown. And so let
all those who are poorly started re,
member that they cannot be more
poorly born or more disadCantageous-
iy 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
birthplaces2 Luther. the emanclpator
of religion, born among the pines,
Shakespeare, the emaucipator of liter
atr,re, born in an humble home at
Stratford -on-Avon. Columbus, the
discoverer of world, born IN poverty
at Genoa. Hogarth, the disccverer OF
how to make art accumulatlve and ad-
ministrative of virtue, born IN an
humble home in Westmoreland. kltto
and Prideaux, whose keys unlocked
new apartmentsin in the Holy Scriptures
which had never been entered, born
in want. Yes, I have to tell you that
nine out Of ten of the worlds deliver
ers were born in want.
I stir your holy ambitions today,
and 1 want to tell you, although the
whole world may be opposed to you,
and inside and outside of your occu-
pations or professions there may be
those who would hinder your ascent,
on your side and enlisted in your be-
half are the sympathetic heart and the
almighty arm of one who one Christ,
mas night about eighteen hundred ana
ninety five years ago was wrapped III
swaddling clothes and laid IN a man
ger. On, what magnificent encourage
ment for the poorly started.
Again. have TO tell that III that
village barn that night was born good
will to men, whether you call 1t kind
ness, or forbearance, or forgiveness,
or geniality. or affection, or love.
It was no sport of high heaven to
send its favorite to that Humiliation.
It was sacrifice for rebellious world.
After the calamity in paradise, 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 un-
der the very tree from which the for
hidden fruit was plucked were hatched
out war and revenge and malice and
envy and jealousy and the whole
brood Of cockatrlces.
But against that scene set the Beth
lehem manger, which says, Bless
rather than curse. endure rather than
assault" and that Christmas night
puts out viudlcJiveneSs. 1t says,
s'Sheathe your sword, dismount your
guns, dismantle your batteries, turn
the warship Constellation that carries
shot and she'll into a grainshlp TO take
food to famishing Ireland, hook your
cavalry horses to the plow, use your
deadly gunpowder in blasting rocks
and in patriotic celebration, stop your
lawsuits. quit writing anonymous let
ters, extract the sting from your sar-
casm, let your wit coruscate but never
burn, drop all the harsh words out OF
your vocaoulary-'Good will to men.
-en," you say, Il can't exercise It.
| won't exercise it until they apollo
gize. I won't forgive them until they
ask me to forgive than. You are no
Christian then-I say you are no
Christian, or you are very inconsis-
tent Christian. If you forgive not
men their trespasses, how can you ex-
pect your heavenly Father to forgive
YOU! Forgive them if they ask your
and forgive them any.
how. Shake hands all around. Good
will 10 men.
O my Lord Jesus, drop that spirit
into all our hearts this Christmas