Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-01-18
lcorrright. Lonis Klopsoh 1saa. !

story OF the incarnation Told in n
New Way-Uses of the Festival.
F., Copyright. Lonis Klopsch. 1921
| WASHINGTON, ID. C.--The story OF the in
carnation is here told by DR.. Talmnge in a
| new way, and practical use Is made oil
these days of festivity; text, Matthew. j.,
| IL, $50 all the generations from Abraham
| to David are fourteen generations, and
| from David until the carving away into
| Babylon are fourteen generations, and
| from the carrying awav into Babylon unto
| Christ are fourteen generations"
| From what manv consi'ler the dulast
and most unimnortnnt chapter OF thu New
| Testament 1 take my text and Gnd it full
| OF practical, startling and eternal inter-
| est. The chapter is the front door OF tho
| New Testament, through which all the
! splendors OF evangelism and apostolicity
enter Three times fourteen generations
| nre spoken OF in my teYt-that is, forty
two generations--reachn down to Christ
| They al! had relation to Him. and at least
| forty-two generations past affect us. II
| they were good, we feel the result OF the
goodness. IT thew ware bad. we feel the
| result OF their wickedness. II some were
! good and some were bad, 1t is an inter-
mingling influence that puts its mighty
| hand upon us. And as we feel the effect Of
| mt least forty-two generations past we will
| in turn Influence at least forty-two gener-
| ations to come, il the worl shalt last a
! thousand years. 50, YOU see, the cradle
! Is more important than the grave.
| propose to show vou some Of the shad-
ows upon the Christie cradle Of Bethlehem
| aud then the sunshine that pourel in upon
/ the pillow OF straw. Notice among the
| shadows on that Infants bed that there
| was bore and there n specimen OF dissolute
! ancestry. Beautiful Ruth His ancestress?
Oh, yes! Devout Asa one OF His forefathers?
Oh, yesl Honest Joseph His father? oh,
| yes! Holy Mary His Mother? Oh, vesi
a Dp tn ri
atrous and cruel Ammon and oppressive
| Rehoboam and some men whose abomina-
| tions may not be particularlzed. SO you
| see bad men may have good descendants.
| One of the most consecrated men l ever
| knew was the son of man who lived and
| died basphemer. In the line OF an op-
! pressive Rehoboam comes u gracious and
| merciful and glorious Christ. Great en-
! couragement for those who had in the
! forty-two generations that preceded them,
however close by or however far back,
some instances of pernicious and baleful
and CORFU pit ancestry.
70 my nmazement, found in those parts
| OF Australia to which many years ago fell
ons were transported from England that
| the percentage of crime was legs than in
those parts or Australia originally settled
by honest men and good women. Some
who are now on judicial benches in Austria
liza. and in high governmental positions.
and in learned and useful professions, and
leaders in social life, are the Grandsons and
granddaughters OF men aud women who
were exiled from Great Britain to Austria
lia for arson and theft and assault and
fraud and murder. SO you see it is posi-
BILE for the descendants of those who do
wrong to do right.
Meanwhile keep carefully your family
records. The old place for the family
record in the Bible, between the Old aud
New Testaments. Is q most appropriate
INN
sive surroundings OF chapter, bounded on
one side by the prophecies of Malachi and
on the other side by the Gospel OF
Matthew, will receive strsss and sanctity
from its position. That record is appro-
priately bound up with the 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
consecra.ed ana useful make note of 1t
for the encouragement of the following
generations. Two family records of the
Bible-the one in Matthew reaching from
Abraham to Christ and the one 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" / charge you
to this duty of keeping the family record
by the forty-two generations which are
past and the forty-two generations which
are to come. 1t is good thing-the new
habit abroad of seeking for ones pedigree.
Another shadow on the Christie cradle
was that it stood under depraved king.
Herod was at that time ruler and the Q )n-
piete impersonation OF all depravities. It
was an unfavornble time for innocence to
expect good treatment. SO dark was the
shadow dropping on the cradle from that
iniquitous throne that the peasant mother
had to lift her babe out of it and make
hnsty flight. Depraved habits of those In
81 nj oOpiat bv an ata
and from the immorals of the Herodic
throne Judge OF the immoruls of nation
There was malaria of sin In the air when
the infant Christ first breathed it. Thckest
shawl could no. keep the Babe warm when
In that wintry month with His mother He
became a fugitive.
Historic Is say that it was at n time OF
peace that Christ was born, but His birth
aroused ar antagonism of which the Beth
lehem massac was only n feeble express
sion. War OF the mightiest nation OF the
earth opened against that CRADLE! The in
nuenee ut came forth that night from
that surrounding OF camels aud sheep and
oxen challenged the iniquities OF all the
centuries and will not cease until 1t has
destroyed them. What pronunciamento
went forth from that black and barbarian
throne, practically saying, 'Slay all the
babes under two years of age, and that
wide slaughter will surely include the
death OF the one child that most threatens
my dominion" Awful time 1t was for the
occupant oil that cradlel II He escape the
knife OF the assassin, then the wild beasts
paw or the bandits clutch or the midnight
chill between Bethlehem OF Judea and
Cairo Egypt, will secure His destruction.
All the powers OF earth and all the demons
of hell bombarded that cradle.
Another shadow upon that Christie
cradle was the obscurity of the place of
birth. bethlehem was an obscure village.
David, the shepherd boy, had been born
there, but after he became general and
king he gave 1t no significance. think
never mentioning it but to ask for drink
OF water out of the old we'll to which he
used to go in childhood-the village so
small and unimportant that 1t had to be
separated in mind from another Bethlehem
then existing, and so was called Bethlehem
of JudHa. There was u great capital of
Jerusalem; there were the fifteen beauti-
ful cities on the beach of Galilee, any of
them good place to be born In; there
were great towns famous at that time, but
the nativity We to-day celebrate was In u
village which Christ intimated had been
| called by some "the least among the
princes of Juda." Christ Himself was to
make the town famous for all time and all
eternity,