Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-12-25
TALMAGE
SERMON
BY Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,,
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Presby-
terrain Church, Chicago

L., ~ lDS III lldIEtT.
How large is an average crib? az
suppose" you answer, about four
feet long and two feet wide. 1t is as
large perhaps as an average manager
at the end of a horses STALL mt which
the four legged animals MUNICH their
oats and hay after long, tircsome
days work" Yes my friend. you are
right Your definition is so completely
right that in this Christmas sermon |
am going TO preach about famous
Manager which was once used for a
cradle. | am going to talk about a
rock, in which nearly 1000 years ago
was laid a newborn babe. About this
manger the wise men from the east
and the shepherds from the surround
ing hills gathered. and over it the an
gels SING the first lullaby in the chant
Of the Christmas song. This stone
cradle was the mangcr of Bethlehem
of .ludaea. It WAS the first earthly rest
ing place of the Divine Child. who WAS
the son OF Mary the Virgin and wns
also the only bcgotten Son of the Fa-
ther God.
But while we may try in this Christ
mas sermon to picture the manager
Christ, yet we must be careful not to
weaken our picture by reciting too
much the false legends and the fcti-
tious stories that have been written
about the Bethlehem khan We must
remember that the many Christmas su-
perstitions may be positive hindrance
and confusion to the gospel student. as
the wrong use of books can sometimes
weaken the intellect of modern pro-
feSHional man. Only the other day [
had this idea vigorously emphasized.
In conversation with prominent west
ern judge | asked him the question:
How can you account for it that in
the youthful days of Abraham Lincoln
Illinois was able 10 develop so many
great legal minds? There was prac-
ticing at The Illinois bar not only
Lincoln, but also a stephen 4. Doug.
las, an Elihu Il. Washburn. a David
Davis, Sidney BreeSe Norman +.
Judd. n Leonard SWEET. Il William III.
iitll'!Oil anu II score OF OlISTS with
notable legal brains. These men had
seemingly no legal advantages They
went from county seat to county seat
on horseback. they had comparative
~ no books and but few reference IL
braries." With that the judge turned
and put his hand upon me as he i'm
prcsSiycly said: "Mr. Tnlmage. YOU
have now touched unon one Of my pet
beliefs. | believe in this age of null
titudinouS printing presses that books
can often be n positive dctriment to a
man. These men had great legal minds
because their intcllects were not stunt.
ed by too much reading They learned
first the gccat underlying principles of
the law. Th"u upon these true prin-
ciples used for a foundation they CON
centratcd ana focused all their brain
power to write out their eases. In
that thinking ana solving they made
themselves great" so today in this
Christmas sermon upon the manger
Christ we would cover up all the fict-
tious descriptions which the famous
artists have painted. We would close
the lid of every book which In legend
would try to tell MS that on the night
Jesus was born the sheep and the
goats and the cattle and the horse
Blended the knee as did the wise men
to worship AT the feet of the newborn
Child. And in the simple nativity ac-
count written by the biographer St
Luke we would find four underlying
gospel principles or reasons why Je-
sus should have opened his earthly
eyes first in a stable and not in a
palace.
Manifestation of Divine Love.
The whole rendering of the Verse of
my text reads thus: And this shall be
for sign unto you; We shall lind the
babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. ly-
ING in manger." The manger is sim
pinned and tender manifestation of the
divine love. 1t is not difficult for the
average uninspired man to think Of .Je-
hoVah as God of majesty of power,
OF fiery passion, a God who can hold
the seas in the palm of his hand and Il
God who can unsheathe the fiery swords
:
then in the darkest days of barburic SUI
perstitiOn We're able TO think of such
gods as that! When the Euroclydons !
We're born in the Mediterranean archi- |
pelago and instantly sprang up as full |.
grown giants and with their swiftly |
moving feet leapcd from wave top to |
wave top and dronched their long locks |
and wide flowing robes with the white |
Foam and out Of n mere Satanic desire |
TO destroy hurled the shipping upon the |
Ing coasts with wreckugc, il was very |
easy matter for the ancients TO picture
a Neptune striking right and left with |
his trident and to call him god of the |
seas When the mighty conquerors of |
The east made triumphul entry after ell
try into the city Of Rome. with de-
ihroncd kings chained to their chariot
wheels and with their leeions loaded
down with captured spois. after whole
regions had been brought under the
shadow of the sceptel held in a Cnsar's
hand, it WAS not Il very difficult matter
for the Romans to build great temple
10 Mars, the god of war. 1t was not a
very difficult matter to rear this gigaD.
tic temple, even though thousands and
hundreds of thousands of men and Wo-
men hnd to be sacrificed Mt its shrine
ana though the walls of the temple had
to be covered with the captured tro-
miles INpD tbn I{al,pn,rs wan,