Milford chronicle., 1905-12-22
Calrnaqe
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee. D. D.

Los Angeles. Cal, Dec. 17.-This i
n unique study of the life and characte
of Joseph the carpenter, in whose ez
ample the preacher finds a lesson of in
spiration for all husbands and parents
The text is Matthew i, 1G, Joseph, tn,
husband of Mary, Of whom was bor
Jesus"
Amazing it is to read the reviews Of
the latest books of our prominent nov
elists. 1t seems as though we are pc
rusing the columns of a homiletic re
view or are reading the resume of the
sermons of ministers written in a re
ligious weekly instead of a summary
of the imaginative works of our secular
writers. The noyelists fad of finding
his heroes and heroines among the cas-
tied walls of chivalric times has to a
great extent passed away Our mod
ern Bulwers are not searching among
the smoke and the tOttering walls Of a
licentious Pompeii to seek out their
blinded Lydias. Our Charles Kingsleys
are not roaming about the edge of a
Sahara to find the footprints of a beau
tiful heather celibate, Hypatia by
name. Our brilliant Sir Walter SCOTS
are not turning the ruins of a Kenil-
worth castle into a gorgeous banquet
hall where the rival earls of mighty
kingdom are rising side by side to
drink the health Of a virgin queen. But
a large percentage of our modern nov
elists are finding the scenic settings for
their most powerful chapters among
the Judaean hills or by the placid wa
ters of lake Galilee or down among the
vine clad valleys of a Samaritan capi-
tai.
Yes, the Biblical historical novel is to
be reckoned with as among the most
Interesting and popular of all modern
novels. While thinking along this line
a catalogue of one of our public libra
ries was placed in my hand. As l
turned the pages I read the following
names Of some of the great books of
fiction: There were Joseph Ingraham's
"The Prince of the House of DAVID"
and his "Pillar of Fire, or IsraellIn |
Bondage;" there were Georg EbeI |
"Joshua" and Florence Kingsley's ''1E |
tus, a Comrade of the Cross" theE |
was Marie Corellps "Barabbas," b.
sides a score of other names suggestive
Of Biblical lore, while Edward Everet
Hale's I'm His Name" and Charlt
sheldon's "In His Steps," and Ha
Gaines christian" and Lew WallaceI
ben -Hur," and Nellie L. HelmA
sfWhen Jesus Was Here Among Men,
all deal directly or indirectly with ori
entail teachings and directly with thdh
life Of Jesus translated into moderIri
thought.
But, though many Of the great char
aeters of the Old and New Testaments |,
have been made to come forth out Of
their graves and live and breathe as in
times of yore, there is one Bible char
acter who has never, so far as 1 know,
been made the hero of a historical nov
elist's tale Indeed, there is one Bible
character that has never, so far as
know, been made the subject of SER
mon. The ministers seem to ignore
making a sketch of this man, just as
10 the historical novelists. l allude
here to the character of Joseph. 1 do
not mean Joseph who was the son of
Did Jacob or Joseph Of Aramathea, but
If Joseph of Nazareth, Joseph of Beth
chem, Joseph the carpenter, Joseph
who was the husband of Mary, OF
whom Jesus was born.
Now, as the annual Christmas holi-
lays are but few days off 1 thought 1
you'd preach a sermon about Joseph
he carpenter. 1 want to tell you why
Ie was at the manger. In other ser
nons you have heard why Mary was
here, and why the shepherds were
here, and why the wise men were
here, and why the sheep and the cattle
nd the horses were there. Today [
rant to tell you why Joseph was there !
md of all the characters of the Bible
here is not one which appeals to me l
a more vivid way than does this q
rawny, rugged, stout limbed mechan- L
} who passed so much of his time c
mOng the Zebulon hills. t
Joseph came to the manger, in the o
rst place, to make it possible for Jesus b
be born in Bethlehem Of Judaea. He I
lme to the manger in order that the a
ords Of the prophet might be fulfilled. p
e came to the manger because toward b
ldaea all the sages Of the Jerusalem d
lpital were looking for the expected n
IN Of God to be born. He came to the tt
anger, for if he had not come Mary IL
e Virgin would never have gone there h
give birth to her child, and the wise g
en- Of the east would never have been ST
lie to find there the infant Christ. es
his being born in Bethlehem was abb el
lutely essential for the fulhllment Of b,
ophecy. ia
The Stamp of Divinity. "
There were two ways by which the
amp Of divinity was to be placed up
Christ's life. The first was by his
racles. What do 1 mean by that? II
nply this: When the people began IN
crowd around Jesus, and he said, Il hi
the Son Of God; follow me-" the Cl
ople answered, 'How do we know hi
~ art the CHRISTI" He said, 81 will tb
DIV you; come and see." Then he do