News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-11-18
THE SUNDAY PULPIT.
DIR. TALMAGE TtLKs TO THE LOCO
MOTIVE ENGINEERS.
He Finds I'm Their brotherhood mn Iilustra-
tration of the VicnriOus Suffering and
Work of Christ.

He Finds I'm Their brotherhood nu IIlustra
Work of Christ.
DR.. Talmage on Sunday had four hun,
dred locomotive engineers to listen tc
his sermon. Grand Chief Arthur was al
their head. Many of the engineers were
accompanied by their wives and chill
dren.
DR.. Talmage preached about the OBJ
stacles encountered by Christ in His
mission upon earth. First of all, said
the preacher, there was His worldly oc-
cupation. He had to earn his living by
carpentry, trade always respected and
always honored for its usefulness. But
you know very well that in order to sue
ceed in any trade, occupation, or pro-
fession there must be entire concentra-
ton upon that one thing, and these
fatigues of carpentry were hindrance,
must have been hindrance to this work
of Christ. know we read great deal
about what men have achieved in intel
lectual directions and in moral reform
who at the same time were compelled to
carry on some worldly occupation. But
you know as well as | do that fatigued
body is a poor adjunct to toiling mind.
Here Christ came forth to do, what
10 upbuIld kingdom, to introduce a
new code of morals, to start O religion
| which was to revolutionize all nations.
You know as well as know that if we
are going to accomplish anything in the
world we must concentrate upon one
| object. Yet here Christ had all the
| fat1gues of carpentering while at the
same time He had this tremendous mis-
sion, and the fact that He had so much
| worldly work to do must have been a
| hindrance. In His fathers carpenter
shop He had only to talk with men who
| brought things to mend, or who wanted
some article for agriculture manufac-
| tured, and it was a worldly considera-
tion, and right out from this carpenters
| shop Christ is called to be a public
| speaker, to stand in the face of mobs
while some blasphemed and some shook
their fists at Him. To address an order
| ly and respectful assemblage is not as
easy as some might suppose, but to
speak to an eXasperated mob, what
| courage, what concentration were de-
manded of Christ. While the villagers
of Nazareth heard the humping of His
hammer all nations were to hear the
stroke of His spiritual upbuilding.
Mighty men in those times always had
something in their apparel to indicate
that they were distinguished-so
epaulet, something in their robe, some
adornment of apparel; SO these people,
seeing such an one coming, would say
''Make way for him; here comes a digni-
tary or an officer of government" None
of the Caesars would have dared to appear
in ordinary citizens dress. But here comes
Christ in plain coat. 1t was far from
shabby, because | find that after He had
worn it great while even then the gam
blers thought it worth railing about,
the question being whose it should be.
But still it was plain coat, just as you
and | might wear, and He went out like
an ordinary man, ofttinnes ol4 what
seemed an ordinary mission. Then His
diet was against Him. No cupbearer
brought in a golden chalice the wine for
Him to drink. He breakfasted on the
seashore, first having boiled the fish.
He went out, not entertained. | now
think of only one case where He was at
banquet, and that was far from sump-
tuous, because to relieve the awkward
ness of the host one of the''guests had to
provide some wine for the company.
Other kings rode; he walked. Others
had heralds ahead and applauding sub
jects behind; He went among those who
were uninfiuential. Other kings slept
under an embroidered canopy; He on a
shelterless hill. He rode but once, on a
colt and that borrowed. Ay, His poy-
orfJ xr7oc /
to establish institutions, 1t takes money
to forward revolution, whether for good
or for bad. Here is penniless Christ.
When His tax was due He had to per-
form miracle in order to pay the tax :
the piece of money found in the fish.
Men of means are afraid of penniless
protector lest loan be demanded of
them. Here comes Christ without
dollar in the world, a Christ who was
born In another mans barn and to be
buried in another man 8 sepulcher, and
suppose people said, "Who is to pav for
this relig1on2 Who are to charter the
ships that are to carry the missionaries 2
Who Is to pay the salaries of the teach
ers ? What, pull down an established
religion Can it be done bya penniless
protector 2" More than that. want you
to notice the fact that the consideration
that He had never graduated from any
school was against him. If man has
cone with tiploma from q college, or
certificate fIom a seminary, and has
travelled through foreign lands, we say
to ourselves, che ought to know a good
deal anyhow; he ought to have some in
formation. But here was Christ, who had
no diploma. He had not attended any
academy where he could have learned the
alphabet of the language He spoh G. The
Jews were sensible when they cried out
"How hath this man letters, having
never learned 2" And yet here, with no
philosophic backing at all He Just
come out and he expects these white
haired, these gray bearded men who had
studied theology all their lives long to
bow before him. We have learned in
our day that man may be as ignorant
with a diploma as without it, and that a
college cannot turn sluggard into a
philosopher and that a seminary cannot
teach fool to preach. An empty head
after the laying on of the hands of the
Presbytery is empty still. Besides that,
my friends, we want to notice that !
the brevity of His. life was against
Him. You must remember that He /
did not live to even what we
call mid life. At 33 years of age He
expired. Well, now, but very few men
accomplished much for the church or
for the world before 33 years of age.
The men who are thoroughly establish |
ed in business, occupation, profession,
trade, at 30 years of age are the excep- |
ton. Christ was young. 1t was against .
Him. People said: ct cannot be this !
young man knows more about these
things than those who have been study |
ing them for twenty, thirty, forty and
down to 20 or so years of age" 1t was
all against Him. Those were obstacles
He had to overcome. Aye, the fact
that He reversed the worlds maxims
was against Him. Public theory said I
blessed is the merchant who owns n
castle down on the banks of the Lake
Galilee" Christ said: ''Blessed are the
poor." Public theory said: blessed is
the man who has all kinds of festiyitv /
and amid statuary and amid all luxuries
lives and reigns." Christ said: "BIessed
are they that mourn" Public theory
said: blessed is the Roman eaole. the
flap OF whose wings startled all nations.
and whose cruel beak intiicts cruelty !
upon all WHO oppose" Christ said:
"Blessed are tie merciful." Pubic
theory id: IAN eye for an eve, tooth
for tooth; if man knocks your eve
out you knock his out; if he breaks |
your tooth, you break his tooth; sarcasm
for sarc SIN, persecution for persecution:
paw n man in his own coin, wound for