The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1902-02-25
LESSON OF THE NATIVITY
DR.. TaImage Says On That Christmas
Night God hOnored
Motherhood.
A Tribute TO Science Most Famous Nigh,
In History.

DIR. Talmage is full OF the nativity and ap-
propriate for the holidays; tex, Luke ii,
10, and they came with haste AID found
Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a
manager"
The black window shutters of a Deeem-
Der night were thrown open, and some of
sing stood there and. putting back the
drapery of a cloud, chanted a peace an
them until all the echoes of hill and val
ley applauded and encored the halleluiah
chorus. Come, let us go into that Christ
mas scene as though we had never before
worshiped at the manger Here is a Ma
donna worth looking at. / wonder not
that the most frequent name in all lands
and in all Christian countries is Mary
ana there are Marys in palaces and
Marys IN cabins, and, though German and
French and Italian and Spanish and Eng
hsh pronounce II differently they are all
namesakes of the one whom we find on n
ped OF straw, with her pale face against
the SOFT cheek OF Christ in the night of the
nativity. All the great painters have tried
on canvas, to present Mary and her child
and the Incidents of that most famous
night I'm the world s history. Raphael in three
glnerent masterpieces, celebrated them
Ilntoretto and Ghirandajo surpassed
themselves in the alteration of the Magi
Correggio needed to do no more than his
Madonna to become immortal. The Ma
donna of the Lily" by Leonardo da Vinci
will kindle the admiration of all ages But
when / think of the small room of that
gallery containing the "Sistine Madonna"
Yet all of them were copies of st. Mat.
thew's Madonna and Luke's Madonna. the
inspired Madonna of the old book which
we had put into our hands when we were
infants, and that we hope to have under
our heads when we die.
Behold, in the first place that on the
first night of Christ's life God honored the
brute creation You cannot get into that
Bethlehem barn without going past the
camels, the mules. the dogs the oxen The
brutes of that stable heard the first cry of
the infant Lord. Some of the old painters
represent the oxen and camels kpeelinp
that night before the newborn babe And
well might they knee! Have you ever
thought that Christ came among other
things, 90 alleviate the sufferings of the
brute creation? Was it not appropriate
that He should. during the first few DAYS
and nights of His life on earth, be sur
rounded by the dumb beasts, whose moan
and plant and believing have for ages been
prayer to God for the arresting of their
fortunes and the righting of their wrongs?
Not a kennel in all the centuries, not a
birds nest, not a WORKOUT horse on tow
path, not a herd freezing in the poorly
built cow-pen, not a freight car in sum
mer time bringing the beeves to market
without water through a thousand miles
of agony, not surgeons witnessing the
struggles of fox or rabbit or pigeon or dog
in the horrors of vivisection but has an in
terest in the fact that Christ was born in
a stable surrounded by brutes.
Standing then, as / imagine now 7 do.
IN that Bethlehem night, with an infant
Christ on the one side and the SPECIFICS
creatures OF God ON the other, / cry:
Look out how you strike the rowel into
that horses side; take off that curbed bit
from that bleeding mouth; remove that
saddle from that raw back; shoot not for
fun that bird that is too small for food:
forget not to put water into the cage OF
that canary; throw out some crumbs to
those birds caught too far north in the
winters inclemency; arrest that man who
is making that one horse draw a load
heavy enough for three; rush in upon that
scene where boys are torturing a cat or
transixing butterfly and grasshopper;
drive not off that old robin, for her nest
is a mothers cradle and under her wing
there may be three or four musicians OF
the sky in training. In your families and
in your schools teach the coming genera
ton more mercy than the present genera
ton has ever shown, and In this marvellous
Bible picture Of the nativity, while YOU
point out to them the angel, show them
also the camel, and while they hear the
celestial chant let them also hear the
cows moan.
Behold also in this Bible scene how on
that Christmas night God honored child
hood. Childhood was to be honored by
that advent. He must have child's light
limbs and a chiid's dimpled hand and
hair, and babyhood was to be honored for
all time to come and a cradle was to mean
more than grave Mighty God! May
the reflection of that one child's face be
seen in all infantile facesl
Enough have all those fathers and moth
ers on hand if they have a child in the
house throne. crown, a scepter,
kingdom, under charge BE careful how
you strike him across the head EARRING
the brain. What YOU say to him will be
centennial and n fhnuearh will NO
stoY the echo and re-echo. Do not say,
cit is only a child" Rather say. "It is
only an immortal" IT is only master.
piece of Jehovah. 10 is only being that
Bhall outlive sun and moon and star and
ages quadriennial. God has infinite re.
sources, and He can give presents of great
value, but when He wants to give the rich.
est possible gift to a household He looks
around all the worlds and all the universe
and then gives a child. Yea, IN all ages
God has houored childhood. He makes
almost every picture n failure unless there
be child either playing on tine floor o.
looking through the window or seated or
the lap gazing into the face of the mother
10 was a child in Naaman's kitchen that
told the great Syrian warrior whore he
might 60 and get cured of the leprosy
which at his seventh plunge nm the Jordan
was left at the bottom of the river. II
was TO the cradle of leaves in which a child
was lain. rocked by the Nile that God
called the attention of history 1t was o
sick child that evoked Christs curative
sympathies To was "a child that Christ set
in the midst Of the squabbliug disciples &C
teach the lesson Of humility. A child de-
cided Waterloo. showing the army of Blu.
cher how it could take n short cut through
the fields when If the old road had been
followed, the Prussan general would have
come up too late TO save tn dcstiuics OF
Europe. It was a child that decided Get
tysburg he having overheard two Confcd-
crate generals ln conversation iu which
they decided 20 march for Gettvshurg i'm
stead OF Harrisburg and. this reported 20
Governor Curtin. the Federal forces
started 70 meet their opponents at Gettvs.
burg And to-day the child is to decide
oil the great battles. make all the laws.
settle OF the destinics and usher in tho
worlds salvation or destruction Men
women, nations. all earth and all heaven,
behold the child
Notice also that in this Bible nioht
scene God honOred science Who are the
three wise men kneeiing before the Divine
luiantf Not Doors, not ignoramuscs. but
Caspar, Bathasar and Melcmor. men who
knew all that was TO be known They were
the Isaac Ncwtons and Herschels and Far
adays of their time. Their alchemy was
the fOrerunner of our sublime chemistry.
their astrolOgy the mother of our magni6-
cent astronomy, Qpd when ] SEQ thee
scientists bowling before the beautiful
babe 7 see che prophecy OF the time whef
an the telescopes and microscopes. and aif.
Tho Tovdon lars and all fho electric L.t