The Globe-republican., 1900-12-27
TALMAGE's SERMON.
FOR THE WORLDS OLSEN
THRALLME EMIT.
IS NJ
a Sermon Especially Appropriate for
the Christmas Season-The Mission OF
the Saviour of the yEorld-Proof That
God Is Love.


Washington, Dec 23.-In this dis
course DR.. Ta1mage describes in a new
way the sacrifices made for the worlds
disenthralment and deliverance- His
text is 7. John iv-, 16. God is love-
Perilous undertaking would it be to |
attempt a comparison between the at |
tributes of God. They are not like a |
mountain range, with here and there |
a higher peak, nor like the ocean, with |
here and there profounder depth We
cannot measure inhnities- We would
not dare to say whether his omnipo-
tence, or omniscience, omnipresence,
or immutability, wisdom, or justice,
or love is the greater attribute, but
the one mentioned in my text makes
deeper impression upon than any
other. 1t was evidently a very old
man who wrote the chapter from
which take the text. John was not
in his dotage. Prof. Eichhorn assert
ed, but you can tell by the repetitions
in the epist1e and the rambling style
and that he called grown people little
children that the author was probably
an octogenarian. Yet Paul, in mid
life mastering an audience of Athenian
critics Mars hill, said nothing
stronger or more important than did
the venerable John when he wrote the
three words of my text, God is love-
Indeed the older one gets the more
he appreciates this attribute The
harshness and the combativeness and
| the severity have gone out of the old
man, and he is more 1enient and aware
/ of his own faults, is more disposed to
! make excuses for the faults Of others,
| and he frequently CALCULATES, Poor
/ human nt.,u.e!" The young minister
| preached three sermons on the justice
| Of God and one the love of God, but
| when he got old he preached three
sermons on the love of God and one on
| the Justice of God.
| Christ-s Descent o Earth.
If high inte1ligences looked down and
| saw what was going on, they must have
| prophesied determination, complete ex-
| termination, of these offenders OF Jeho-
| YAH But no! Who is that coming
| out of the throne of heaven
| Who is that coming out of the palaces
of the eternal? 1t is the Son of the
Emperor of the universe. Down the
stairs of the high heavens he comes
! till he reaches the cold air OF a Deem
Der night in Palestine and amid the
bleatings of sheep and the lowing of
| cattle and the moaning of came1s and
the banter of the herdsmen takes his
| first sleep on earth and for 33 years
invites the wandering race to return
| to God and happiness and heaven
They were the longest SO years ever
| known in heaven. Among many high
inte11igences, what impatience to gel
him back! The Infinite Father looked
down and saw his Son slapped and
spit on and supperless and homeless
and then. amid horrors that made the
MONDAY heavens turn black in the
face, his body and soul parted. Ana
all for what? Why allow the Grown
Prince to come on such errand anG
| endure such sorrows and die such {
| death? 1t was to invite the human
race to put down its antipathies ant
| resistance 1t was because God is
: love-
? Now, there is nothing beautiful in
shipwreck. We go down to look a
the battered and split hulk of an Ole
ship on Long Island New Jersey
coast. 1t excites our interest We
= wonder when and how it came ashore
and whether it was the reck1essnes.
of pilot storm before which
D nothing could bear up. Human mature
wrecked may interest the inhabitant
) Of other worlds a curiosity, blu
there is nothing lovely in that wI1ic1
has foundered on the rocks of sin AM
sorrow Yet it was in that condition
OF moral break up that heaven move;
Y to the rescue It was loneliness hover
q ing over deformity- 1t was the life
boat putting out into the surf that at
tempted its demolition. 1t was har
g mony plying discord. It was a 1ivial
God putting his arms around a re
8 creant world.
Our Worlds wiekedness.
But for this divine feeling I tf1inl
our world would long ago have bee
demolished Just think of the organ
| lied .wickedness OF the nations. Sc
the denominations continental Behol
the false religions that hoist Mof1an
med and Buddha and Confucius! Ioo]
at the Koran and the Shastra and tn
r | Zend-Avesta that would crowd out O
the world the Holy Scriptures. Loo]
o at war, digging its trenches for tn
dead across the henispheresi See tn
great cities, with their holocaust O
: destroyed manhood and womanhood
What b1asphemies assaiI the heavens
r What butcheries sicken the centuries
What professions of crime and atrocit,
and woe encirele the gIobei If justEc
had spoken. it would have said 9TH
world deserves humiliation and lie
a | humiliation come If immutabi1It
had spoken, it would have said: :.
I have always been opposed to wicked
ness and always will be opposed to it
- es = go =