Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1899-12-25
copyright, Louis Klopsch. 1891

WASHINGTON, Dec. Zt.-1no STORY OF
the incarnation is here told by DR.. Tai
mage in a new way, and practical use
is made of these days of festivity; text
Matthew i, Il, 80 all the generations
tions, and from David until the carry
ing away into Babylon are IA genera
lions, and from the carrying away into
Babylon unto Christ are IA genera
TONS"
From what many consider the duileSt
and most unimpOrtant chapter of the
New Testament l take my text and
find it full of practical, startling and
eternal interest This chapter is the
front door of the New Testament,
through which all the splendors of
evangelism and apostolicity enter.
Three time IA generations are spoken
of in my teXt-that is, ~ generations
reaching down to Christ. They all had
relation to him, and at least ~ genera
tons past affect US. If they were good,
we feel the result of the goodness. If
they were bad, we feel the result of
their wickedness. If some were good
and some were bad, it is an intermln-
CLING influence that puts its mighty
hand upon us. And as we feel the eff
feet of at least ~ generations past we
will in turn influence at least ~ gen.
erations to come, if the world shall last
a thousand years. So, you see, the
cradle is more important than the
grave.
1 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.
Notice among the shadows on that in
fant's bed that there was here and
there specimen of dissolute ancestry.
Beautiful Ruth his ancestress? Oh,
yes! Devout Asa one of his fOrefa-
theirs? Oh, yes, Honest Joseph his
father? Oh, yes! Holy Mary his moth
er? Oh, yes! But in that genealogical
table were idOlatrOuS and cruel Am
mon and oppressive RehObOam and
some men whose denominations may
not be particufarized. So you see bad
men may have good descendants. One
of the most consecrated men l ever
knew was the son of a man who lived
and died a blasphemer. In the line Of
an oppressive RehObOam comes q gra-
cious and merciful and glorious Christ
Great encouragement for those who
had in the - generations that preced
ed them, however close by or however
far back, some instances of pernicious
and baleful and corrupt ancestry.
Effects of Ancestry.
To my amaZement, l found in those
Of TO xxyhi
ago felons were transported from Eng
land that the percentage of crime was
less than in those parts Of Australia
originally settled by honest men and
good women. Some who are now on
judicial benches in Australia, and il
high governmental positions, and in
learned and useful professions, and
leaders in social life, are the grandsons
and granddaughter of men and wOm-
en- who were exiled from Great Britain
to Australia for arson and theft and
assault and fraud and murder. So you
see it is possible for the descendants of
those who do wrong to do right.
Since we are all more or less affected
by our ancestry, we ought to be patient
with those who go wrong, remember
happy antecedentS. How lenient it
ought to make us in our judgments of
the fallen, Perhaps they had AZ gen
erations back of them pushing them
the wrong way. Five hundred years
before they were born there may have
been a parentage of iniquity augment
ed by q corrupt parentage 200 years
ago. Do not blame a man because he
cannot swim up the rapids of Niagara.
Do not blame a ship captain because
he cannot sutride a Caribbean whirl-
wind. 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
commandment speaks of visiting ''the
iniquity of the fathers upon the chill
dren unto the third and fourth genera
ton" but says nothing about the sec
ond generation, and if evil may skip
one generation why not two and three
and four and five generations, making
a mighty leap and alighting very hard
upon the head and the heart OF some
poor victim? Better be q little merci
full toward the culprit, lest after awhile
some hereditary evil born in the year
1000 or 100, having skipped the cen
turtles, alight just as heavy upon you.
Meanwhile keep carefully your fam
fly records. The old place for the fam
lily record in the Bible. between the
Old anI Noxxr iS mast an
propriate place. That record. put in
such impressive surroundings of chap
ter. bounded on one side by the prophe-
cies of Malachi and on the other side
by the gospel of Matthew. will receive