The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-12-26
4 CHRISTMASSERM
suNstiNE AND SHADOW ON TINE
CRADLE or THE SAVIOUR.

tsFesting Way the story of the In.
osrnation-Practical Uses of Reii.
gioas Festival Days.
copyright. Louis Klopsch. 1891
WASHINGTON, Dee. 2A.-The story Of
the Incarnation is here told by DR.. Tai
mage In q new way, and practical use
Is made Of these days Of festivity; text,
Matthew l. II. $50 all the generations
from Abraham to David are IA genera
tions, and from David until the carrying
away into Babylon are IA generations,
and from the carrying away into Babylon
unto Christ arc IA generations"
From what many consider the dullsst
and most unimportant chapter Of the
New Testament take my text and find
1t full Of practical, startling and eternal
interest. This chapter Is the front door
Of the New Testament, through which all
tho splendors of evangelism and aposto-
licity enter. Three times II generations
are spoken of in my text-that Is, AZ
generations, reaching down to Christ.
They oil had relation to him. And at
least AZ generations past affect Us. II
they were good, we feel the result Of the
goodness. II they were bad, we feel the
result Of their wickedness. II some were
good and some were bad, it IL an inter-
mingling influence that puts its mighty
hand upon us. And as we feel the effect
of at least AZ generations past we will in
turn influence at least AZ generations to
come, IL the world shall last 1000 years.
So you see the cradle Is more important
than the grave.
propose to show you some of the
shadows upon the Christie cradle Of
Bethlehem and then the sunshine that
poured In upon the pillow Of straw. Mo-
tice among the shadows on that infants
bed that there was here and there a
specimen Of absolute ancestry. Beauti-
full Ruth his ancestress? Oh, yes! De-
vout Asa one of his forefathers? Oh,
yes! Honest Joseph his father? Oh,
yes! Holy Mary his mother? Oh, yes!
But In that genealogical table were
idolatrous and cruel Ammon and OPP
pressive Rehoboam and some men whose
denominations may not be particularzed.
So you see bad men may have good de-
scendants. One Of the most consecrated
men ever knew was the son Of man
who lived and died blasphemer. In the
line Of an oppressive Rehoboam comes
a gracious and mereiful and glorious
Christ. Great encouragement for those
who had In the AZ generations that pre-
coded them, however close by or how
ever far back, some instances Of perni-
cious and baleful and corrupt ancestry.
To my amazement found In those
parts of Australia to which many years
ago felons were transported from Eng
land that the percentage Of crime was
less than In those parts Of Australia orig
inally settled by honest men aud good
women. Some who are now on judicial
benches in Australia and In high gov
ernnlental position and in learned and
useful professions and leaders in social
life are the graudsons and granddaugh-
tiers Of men and women who were ex-
He'd from Great Britain to Australia for
arson and theft and assault and fraud
and murder. 30 you see it is possible for
the descendants of those who do wrong
to do right. Perhaps we make too much
of the doctrine of heredity. While those
of us who can gratefully turn In our fam
lily record to healthful and virtuous pedi-
gree, let not those who have had abhor-
rent natures in the ancestral line despair
of usefulness and happiness and heaven.
We should BE Lenient.
Since we are all more or less affected
by our ancestry we ought to be patient
with those who 60 wrong, remembering
that they may be the victims Of unhappy
antecedents. How lenieut it ought to make
us in our judgments of the fallenl Per-
haps they had AZ generations back of
them pushing them the wrong way. Five
hundred years before they were born
there may have been parentage of in
isuity augmented by corrupt percentage
200 years ago. Do not blame man be-
cause he cannot swim up the rapids Of
Niagara. Do not blame ship captain
because .he cannot outride Caribbean
whirlwind. The father Of this man who
does wrong may have been all right and
his mother all right, but away back in
the centuries there may have started a
bad propensity which he now feels. One
of the Ten Commandments given on
Mount Sinai recognizes the fact that evil
may skip a generation, when the COM
mandment speaks of visiting "the in
iquity of the fathers upon the children
unto the third and fourth generation"
but-says nothing about the second gem
eration and IL evil may skip one genera
ton why not two and three and foar and
five generations, making mighty leap
and alighting very hard upon the head
and the heart Of some poor victim? Bet
ter be little merciful toward the culprit
lest after awhile some hereditary evil
born in the year 1000 or 100, having
skipped the centuries, alight just as
heavy upon you.
Meanwhile keep carefully your family
records The old place for the family
record In the Bible, between the Old and
New Testaments, is a most appropriate
place. That record, putin such Impress
I've surroundings Of chapter, bounded on
one side by the prophecies Of Malachi
and on the other side by the gospel Of
Matthew will receive stress and sanctity
from its position. That record is appro-
priately bound up with eternities. Do
not simply say in your family record,
"Born at such time and died at such a
time" but IL there has been among your
ancestors some man or woman especially
consecrated and useful make note of It
for the encouragement Of the following
generations. Two family records of the
Bble-the one in Matthew reaching from
Abraham to Christ and the other in Luke
beginning with Joseph and reaching back
to the garden Of Eden, with the sublime
statement (which was the son Of Adam,
which was the son of God" l charge
you to this duty of keeping the family
record by the AZ generations which are
past and the ~ generations which are to
come. 1t is good thing-the new habit
abroad of seeking for ones pedigree. The
IL %, ;lr do ho I'd hun