The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1899-12-29
A CHRISTMAS SERMON
Dr.. Talmage Tells the Story of the
Incarnation.
Sunshine and Shadow on the Cradle
of the SRviour-PrRcticnI Use
Made of Religious Fes-
tival Days.

practical use is made of these days of
festivity; next, Matthew 1:17: 80 all
the generations from Abraham to David
are Ia generations, and from David un-
til the carrying away into Babylon are
IA generations, and from the carrying
away into Babylon unto Christ are Il
generations"
From what many consider the dullest
and most unimportant chapter of tie
New Testament 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 times IA
generations are spoken of in my text
that is, AZ generations, reaching down
TO Christ. They all had relation to
Him. And at least AZ generations past
affect us. If they were good, we feel
the result of the goodness. If they were
bad, we feel the result of their wicked
ness. If 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 AZ
generations past we will in turn in4lu-
ence az least AZ generations to come, If
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. No
tice among the shadows on that infants
bed that there was here and there
specimen of dissolute ancestry. Beau
tiful 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 i'm that genealogical table were
idolatrous and cruel Ammon and OPP
pressive Rehoboam and some men
whose denominations may not be partic-
ulsrized. So you see bad men may have
good descendants. One of the most
consecrated men l ever knew was the
son of n man who lived and died BIAS
phemer. In the line of an oppressive
Rehoboam comes gracious and merci-
full and glorious Christ. Great encour-
agement 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 i'm 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 womcN
who were exiled from Great Britain TO
Australia for arson and theft and 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 lenient it
ought to make us in our judgment of
the fallen! Perhaps they had ~ gem
erations back of them pushing them the
they were born there may have been a
parentage of iniquity augmented by a
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
outride a 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 propen-
sity which he now feels. One of the Ten
Commandments given on Mount Sinai
recognizes the fact that evil may skip
generation, when the commandment
speaks OF visiting "the niquity of the
fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation" but says
nothing about the second generation;
and If evil may skip one generation why
not two and three and four and five
generations, making mighty leap and
alighting very hard upon the head and
the heart of some poor victim? Better
be little merciful toward the culprit
lest after awhile some hereditary evil
born in the year 1000 or 1900, 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 ola
and the New Testaments, is 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 it's position.
That record is appropriately bound up
with eternities. Do not simply say in
your family record; Born at such a
time and died at such time" but If
there has been among your ancestors
some man or woman especially conss-
Grated and useful make a note of 1t for
the encouragement of the following
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