The Brookhaven leader., 1886-12-02
A DELICATE SUBJECT.
How It Was Handled by Rev. T.
De Witt Talmage, D. D.
..In the Matter of Church Attendance,
should the wife Go with the Husband,
or the Husband Go with the
wIfe:"-A Great Question.

BRooKLYN, N Y, Nov. 2S.-Mr. Talmage
preached this morning on the subject:
''Should the Wife Go to Church with Her
Husband, or the Husband with His Wifef'
He took for his text Genesis 10: SO: "Let
there be no strife, pray thee, between me
and thee, and between my herdmcn and thy
herdmen; for we be brethren. is not the
whole land before thee!n The sermon was
rs follows:
Uncle and nephew, Abram and Lot, both
pious, both millionaires, and with such
large flocks Of bleating sheep and lowing
cattle that their herdmen got into fight,
perhaps about the best pasture, or the best
water privilege, or because the cow of one
got hooked by the horns of the other Not
their poverty of opportunity, but their
wealth. was the cause Of controversy be-
tween these two men. To Abram, the glo-
rious old Bedouin sheik, such controversy
seemed absurd. 1t was like two ships
Quarreling for sea room in the middle Of the
Atlantic Ocean. There was vast reach
of country, corn-felds, vineyards, harvests
and plenty of room in illimitable acreage.
Snow says Abram, 'Let US agree to diff
fer. Here are mountain districts, swept by
the tonic and sea breeze, or with wide reach
ing prospect, or there Is the plain of the
Jordan, with tropical luxuriance. You may
Lot, who was not as rich as Abram, and
might have been expected TO take the sec
ond choice, made the first selection, and
with modesty that must have made
Abram smile, said to him. You may
have the rocks and the fine prospect; | will
take the valley of the Jordan, with all its
luxuriance of corn-fields, and the river to
water the flocks, and the genial climate,
and the wealth immeasurable.' So the
controversy was forever settled, and great
souled Abram carried out the suggestion of
the text" Let there be no strife, pray
thee, between thee and me, and between
my hcrdmen and thy herdmen. Is not the
whole land before thee!'
Well, in this, the last quarter of the nine
teenth century, and in this beautiful land,
which was called America, after Americas
Vcspucius, but ought to have been called
Columbia, after its discovercr, Columbus,
we have a wealth of religious privilege and
opportunity that is positively bcwilderlng.
Churches Of all styles of creeds and of all
styles of governments, and all styles Of
worship, and all styles Of architecture
What opulcnce Of ecclesiastical oppOrtuni-
ty! Now, while in desolate regions there
may be only one church, and it must be
that or nothing, in the opulent districts Of
this country there is such a prOfusion that
there ought TO be no difficulty i'll making a
selection. No fight about vcstments, or
between liturgical or non-hturgical adhcr-
ents, or as to baptismal modes, or handful
of water as compared with a rivcrful. If
Abram prefers to dwell IN the heights,
where he can only get a sprinkling from
the clouds, let him consent that Lot have
all the Jordan in which to imncrse him.
self. Let there be no strife. / pray thee,
between me and thee, and between my
herdmen and thy herdmcn. Is not the
whole land before theel'
Especially is it unfortunate when families
allow, at the breakfast, or dinner, or tea
table, angry discussion as to which is the
best church or denomination. one at one
end of the table saying he could not endure
the rigid doctrines of Presbyterianism: one
at the other end responding that she never
could stand the forms of EpisCOpaCy; and
one at one side of the table saying be did
not understand how anybody could bear the
noise in the Methodist Church, and another
declaring all the Baptists bigots. There
are hundreds of families hopelessly split on
ecclcsiastlcism, and in the middle of every
discussion on such subjects there is kind
ling of Indignation, and it needs some old
father Abram to come and put his foot on
the loaded fuse before the explosion takes
place, and say: Let there be no strife,
l pray thee, between me and thee, and be-
tween my hcrdmen and thy herdmen, Is
not the whole land before theeH
undertake a subject never before under
taken in any pulpit, for it is an exceedingly
delicate subject. and if not rightly handled
might give serious offensc; but approach
it without the slightest trepidation, for
am sure | have the Divine direction in the
matters | propose to present 1t is ire
mendOus question, asked all over Christcn-
dom, often asked with tears and sobs and
heart breaks, and involving the peace Of
families, the eternal happiness of many
souls: In the matter Of church attendance
should the wife go with the husband, or the
husband go with the wife!
First remember that all the evangelical
churches have enough truth in them to
save the soul and prepare us for happiness
on earth and in Heaven. l will go with
you into any Well-selected theological
library, and will show YOU sermons from
ministers in all denominations that set
forth man as sinner and Christ as de-
iivcrer from sin and sorrow. That is the
whole Gospel. Get that into your soul and
you are fitted for the here and the here
after The world has tWentysiX letters in
its alphabet, and there are only two letters
in the Gospel alphabet-S and c; S stand
ing for our sin, G standing for Christ, our
rescue, blessed be His glorious name for
ever. In any church where you can
thoroughly learn these two letters, and all
they stand Tor, you ought to be edited and
happy
There are differences, we admit, and
some denominations we like better than
others. But suppose three or four Of us
make solemn agreement to meet each other
week from now in Chicago on important
business, and one goes by the New YORK
Central railroad, another by the Erie rail-
road, another by the Pennsylvania rail
road, another by the Baltimore d Ohio
railroad. One goes this way, because the
mountains are grander; another takes this,
because the cars are more luxurious: an
other that, because the speed is greater;
another takes the other because he has
long been accustomed to that route and all
the employees are familiar. So far as our
engagement is concerned it makes no diff
ference if we only get there, Now, any
one of the innumerable evangelical demon
nations, if you practice its teaching-al-
though some of their trains run on broad
gauge and some on narrow-Will bring
you out at the city of the New Jerusalem.
1t being evident that you viii be safe in
any of the evangelical denominations, l
proceed to remark, first: If one of the mar
ried couple ne Christian and the other
not, the one Christian is bound to go any
where to a church where the unconvCrted
companion is willing to go, if he or she will
go to no other You, of the c0nnubial part
nership, are Christian; you are safe for
the skies; then it is your first duty to Sc
cure the safety of your lifetime associate.
Is not the everlasting welfare Of your wife
impenitent, of your husband impenitent, of
more Importance than your church rela-
tionshin3 Is not the residence of yOur com.