The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1899-12-30
A CHRISTMAS SERMON
Dr.. Talmage Tells the Story of the
Incarnation.
Sunshine and shadow on the Cradle
of the saviOur-PrncticaI Use
Made of Religious Fcs-
Oval Days
Copyright. 1899. by LouIs-Klopsch.l

told by DR.. Talmage in new way, an,
practical use is made of these days o
fesiivTty; next, Matthew 1:l7: $50 al
the generations from Abraham To Dayi,
are IA generations. and from David un
Ill the carrying away into babylon al
II generations, and from the carryih;
AWAY into Baby!on unto Christ are i
generations"
From what many consider the dulles
mud most unimportant chapter OF thu
New Testament ! take my text and fine
IL full Of practical, startling and eterna
interest. This chapter is the front door
OF the New Testament, through which
al the splendors of evangelism and
apostolicity enter. Three times II
generations are spoken of in my text
that is, AZ generations, reaching down
10 Christ. They all had relation TO
Him. And AT least ~ generations past
affect US. II they were good, we feel
the result Of the goodness. If they were
bad. we feel the result Of their wicked
ness. IL some were good and some were
bad, it is an intermingling influence
that puts its mighty hand upon us.
And as we feel the effect of AT least ~
generations past we will in turn ipsiu-
ence n least AZ generations TO come, IL
the world shall last 1000 years. So
you see the cradle is more important
than the grave.
! propose 10 show you some Of the
shadows upon the Christie cradle of
Bethlehem and then the sunshine that
poured in upon the pillow Of straw. No
tice among the shadows on that infants
bed that there was here and there a
specimen Of dissolute ancestry. Beau
tiful Ruth his ancestrcss? 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
idoiatrous and cruel Ammon and OPP
prcssive Rehoboam and some men
whose denominations may not be pa-ic-
uIarized. So you see bad men may have
good descendants. One of the most
consecrated men ! ever knew was the
son Of a man who lived and died bias
phcmer In the lire of an oppressive
Rehoboam comes gracious and merci-
full and glorious Christ. Great encour-
ngemcnt for those who had in the AZ
generations that preceded them, how
ever close by or however far back, some
instances of pernicious 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
originally settled by honest men and
good women. Some who are now on
judicial benches in Australia and in
high governmental position and in
learned and useful professions and lead
ers in social life are the grandsons and
granddaughters Of men and women
who were exiled from Great Britain to
Australia for arson and theft ana as
sault and fraud and murder.
Since we are all more or less affected
by our ancestry we ought TO be patient
with those who go wrong, remember
ing that they may be the victims Of
unhappy antecedents. How lcnicnt it
ought TO make us in our judgment Of
the fallen! Perhaps they had ~ gen.
erations back Of them pushing them the
wrong way. Five hundred years before
they were born there may have been
parentage Of niquity augmented by
corrupt parentage 200 years ago. Do
not blame man because he cannot
swim up the rapids Of Niagara. Do not
blame q ship captain because he cannot
ouiride Caribbean whrlwind. 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 n bad propen-
sity 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 "thc iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation" but says
nothing about the second generations;
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 II 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 fam
lily records. The old place for the fam
lily record in the Bible, between the Old
and the New Testamcnts, is a most APP
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
stress and sanctity from its position.
That record is appropriately bound up
with eternities. DO not simply say in
your family record: Born al such a
time and died AT such a time" but II
there has been among your ancestors
some man or woman especially conse-
Grated and useful make a note OF il for
the encouragement OF the following
genegations. Two family records OF the
Bibld-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