Milford chronicle., 1902-12-26
TALMACE
SERMON
y
By Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,.
Pastor Of jefferson Park Presby-
terian Church, Chicago

lowing sermon Dy heN. l.. De w lLl /
Talraage, on the epochai event of the
worlds history, from the text Luke ii,
u, Lying in a manger."
How large is an average crib? 81 .
suppose" you answer, about four
feet long and two feet wide. 1t is as
large perhaps as an average manger /
ut the end Of a horses STALL at which
the four legged animals MUNICH their
oats and hay after a long, tiresome
days work" Yes, my friend, you are
right Your definition is so completely
right that in this Christmas sermon 1
am going to preach about famous
manger, which was once used for a
cradle 1 am going TO talk about a
stone manger, hCwn out Of the solid
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 sang the first lullaby in the chant
of the Christmas song. This stone
cradle was the manger Of Bethlehem
of Judaa. 1t was the first earthly rest
ing place Of the Divine Child, who was
the son of Mary the Virgin and was
also the only begOtten Son of the Fa-
ther God.
But while we may try in this Christ
mus sermon to picture the manger
Christ, yet we must be careful not to
weaken our picture by reciting too
much the false legends and the ficti-
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 a modern pro-
fessional man. Only the other day l
had this idea vigorously emphasized.
In conversation with a prominent west
eIn Judge l asked him the question:
GLOW can you account for it that in
tie youthful days of Abraham Lincoln
illinois was able to develop so many
great legal minds? There was prac-
Ticing at the Illinois bar not only a
Lincoln, but also a Stephen A. Doug
las, an Elihu B. Washburn, a David
Iavis, a Sidney Breese, a Norman B.
Judd, a Leonard SWEET, a William H.
E[erndOn and n score of others with
notable legal brains. These men had
seemingly no legal advantages. They
went from county seat to county seat
on horseback. They had comparative
Sy no books and but few reference IL
braries." With that the judge turned
and put his hand upon me as he i'm
Eressively said: 'Mr. Talmage, you
dave now touched upon one of my pet
heliefs. l believe in this age of null
hitudinOus printing presses that books
kan often be a positive detriment to a
anan. These men had great legal minds
because their intellects were not stunt
I'D by too much reading. They learned
first the great underlying principles of
Ehe law. Then upon these true prin-
ciples used for a foundation they con-
'.entrated and focused all their brain
power to write out their cases. In
that thinking and solving they made
themselves great" So today in this
christmas sermon upon the manger
Christ we would cover up all the ficti
tious descriptions which the famous
artists have painted We would close
the lid of every book which in legend
would try to tell us that on the NIGH
Jesus was born the sheep and til,
goats and the cattle and the hOrs'
Blended the knee as did the wise mel
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 underlyin,
gospel principles or reasons why Je
sus should have opened his earthl,
eyes first in a stable and not in
palace.
A Manifestation of Divine Love.
The whole rendering of the verse o
my text reads thus: And this shall b
for sign unto you; We shall find tn
babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, ly
ing in a manger." The manger is a sim
plified and tender manifestation of tn
divine love. 1t is not difficult for tn
average uninspired man to think of Je
hoYah as a God of majesty, of power
of fiery passion, a God who can hol
the seas in the palm of his hand and
1oA W lu NetlA ullSliNtllllG lliG utlN SMUIN
of the lightning. Why, even the hes
then in the darkest days of barbaric 81
perstition were able to think of sue
gods as that! When the EurOclydOn
were born in the Mediterranean arch
pelagO and instantly sprang up as fu
grown giants and with their swift
moving feet leaped from rave top I
wave top and drenchedg then lou- loci
and wide flowing robes with the VIII.
foam and out of a mere Satanic desiI
TO destroy hurled the shipping upon IL
gagged rocks and covered the surround
ing coasts with wreckage. it was a ve1
easy matter for the ancients to pictm
a Neptune striking right and left wit
his trident and to call him god of IL
seas. When the mighty conquerors
the east made triumphal entry after e.
try into the city of Rome, with d
fhroned kings chained to their chari
wheels and with their legions loadC
down with captured spoils, after who
TegiOns had been brought under II
shadow of the scepter held in a Cesar
hand, it was not very difficult matt
for the Romans to build a great temp
to Mars, the god of war. 1t was not
II q