The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-10-27
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
"cHRlsT's FINISHED WORK. 10
HIS SUBJECT.

and Power were Arrayed Against Him.
BRooKLYv, oct. 2l-The throngs in and
around the Brooklyn Tabernacle on Sabbath
mornings and evening", are larger than at
any tine during the II years Of Dr. Tai
images pastorate. This morning the opening
hymn was that beginning:
Oh. could speak the matches worth,
On, could 4 sound the glories forth
That IN my Saviour shinel
The text was john, xvii, 4: Il have finished
the work which Thou gavest me TO dor The
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, d. D., said:
There IS profound satisfaction IN the com
pletion 81 anything we have undertaken We
lift the capstone with exultation, while, on
the other hand there Is nothing more disap-
pointing than, after having toiled in a GER
tain direction, 70 find that our time Is wasted
and our investment rruGticsa Christ came
20 throw MP highway on which the whole
world might If &c chose, mount into heaven.
He did b. The foul mOuthel crew who at
tempted To tread on him could not extiuguish
the sublime satisfaction which he expressed
when he said Il have finished the work which
Thou gayest me 10 do
Alexander the Great was wounded. and the
doctors could not medicate his wounds, and
he seemed To lie dying, and in his dream the
sick man saw a plant with peculiar flower,
and be dreamed that that plant was put upon
his wound, and that Immediately il was cured.
And Alexander, waking from his dream, told
this 70 The physician, and tie physician wnn-
dered out until he found just the kind Of plant
which the sick man bad described, brought it
% him, and the wound was healed.
Well, the human race had been burt with
the ghastliest Of al wounds-that Of sin. II
was the business Of Christ 10 bring a balm for
that wound-the balm OF divine restoration.
10 carrying this business 10 a successful issue
the difficulties were stupcndous.
In mnHy of our plans We have our friends
70 help US; some b draw q sketch OF the plan,
others 10 help US in the execution. But
Christ fOught every inch Of His way against
bitter hostility, and amid circumstances all
calculated to depress and defeat In the first
place, His worldly occupation was against
Him. find that lie earned His livelihood
10y the carpenters tradc-an occupation
always 10 be highly regarded and respected.
But you know, as well as do that IN order
to succeed in any employment, one must give
his entire time TO it, and have TO declare
that the fatigucs Of carpentry were unfavor-
able 70 the execution Of a mission which re-
quired all mental and physical faculties.
Through high, hard, dry, husky, inscnsate
Judaism, 70 hew a way for new and glori-
Gus dispensation was a stupeudous under
taking that was enough 20 demand all the
concentrated energies even Of Christ. We
have great many romantic stories about
what men with physical toll have accom-
plished IN intellectual departments; but you
know that after "a man has been toiling all
day with adze and saw and hammer, plane
and ak, about all he can do is to rest. A
weary body is an unfavorable adjunct to
toiling mind. You whose upbuidiug of a
lfutyfiof, fIa v,ra0fafao ion, Of coda
of morals, the starting of revolution
which should upturn all nations, could get
some idea Of the incoherence of Christ's
worldly occupation with His heavenly mis-
Elon
In his fathers shop no moro intercourse
was necessary than is ordinarily necessary in
bargaining with men that have work 10 do;
yet Christ, with hands hard from touch of
tools Of trade, was called forth to become
public speaker, 10 preach in the face of mobs,
while some wept, and some shook their fists,
and some CRASHED upon him with their
teeth, and many wanted Him out of the way.
70 address orderly and respectful assem-
blages is not 50 easy as it may SEEM but it
requires more energy, and more force, and
more concentration TO address an exasper-
nted mob, The village Of Nazareth heard
the pounding of His hammer, but all the wide
reaches of eternity were TO hear the stroke of
His spiritual upbuilding
So, also, His habits of dress and of diet were
against Him The mighty men of Christ's
time did not appear in apparel without
trinkets and adornments None of the Caesars
would have appeared In citizens apparel
Yet here was man, here was a pretended
king, who always wore the same coat. In
deed it was far from shabby, for after he bad
worn it a long while the gamblers thought it
worth rafting about; but still it was far from
being an imperial robe. 1t was a coat that
any ordinary man might have worn on any
ordinary occasion.
Neither was there any pretention in His
diet No cup bearer with golden chalice
brought Him wine TO drink. On the seashore
He ate fish, first having broiled it Himself
No one fetched Him water TO drink but bend
ing over the well in Samaria He begged a
drink. He sat at only one banquet, and that
not at oil sumptuous, for, to relieve the
awkwardness Of the host, one of the guests
had 10 prepare wine for the company.
Other kings ride in a chariot; He walked
Other kings, rs they advance, have heralds
ahead, and applauding subjects behind;
Christ's retinue was made up of sunburned
fishermen Other kings sleep under en-
brodered canopy; this one ON shelterless
bill. Riding but once, as far as / now re-
membcr-on n colt, and that borrowed
Again. His poverty was against Him. 1t re-
quires money to build great enterprises Men
OF means are afraid Of a penniless protector,
lest n loan be demanded. 1t requires money
10 print books to build institutions, to pay
instructors. No wonder the wise men of
Christs time laughed at this Pennies Christ.
"Wiy,n they said, "who is to pay for this new
Religions Who is to charter the ships to
carry the missionaries Who is to pay the
salaries of the teacherss Shall wealthy
Judaism be discounted by penniless Christi
The consequence was that most OF the
people that followed Christ had nothing to
lose. Wealthy Joseph of Arimathea buried
Christ, but he risked no social position in
doing that. II is always safe TO bury a dead
man. Zaccheus risked no wealth or social
position in following Christ, but took posi-
ton in tree TO look down as He passed.
Nieodemus, wealthy Nicodemus. riSked moth
ing OF social position in following Christ, for
he skulked by night to find Him.
All this was against Christ So the fact
that He was not regularly graduated was
against him. If a man comes with the
diplomas of colleges and schools and theologi-
cal seninaries, and be has been through for
eign travel, the world is disposed to listen.
There was man who had graduated at no
college, bad not in any academy by ordinary
means learned the alphabet of the language
he spoke, and yet he proposed to talk to in
struvt Ia subjects which had COMPOUNDED the
nightiest intellects. John says: "The Jews
maiveled, saying, how hath this man letters,
having never learnedg"
We in our day have found out that a man
without a diploma may know as much as q
man with one, and that n college cannot
transform sluggard :nto philosopher OF a
theological seminary teach a man to preach
A.,Ff
OF the presbytery is empty still But il
shocked all existing prejudices in those oldcn
times for a man with no scholastic pretension
and no graduation from learned institution
to set himself up for teacher. Ii was all
against him.
SO also tho hrevity Of his life was against
Him. He had not come to what we call mid.
life. But very few men do anything before
SO years Of age, and yet that was the point a,
which Christ's life terminated. The first
fifteen you take in nursery and school. Their
it viii take you at least six years to get into
your occupation or profession That viii
bring you 20 81 years. Then it VIII take you
ten years, at least. to get established in YOU
life work, correcting the mistakes you have
made. If any m~l. at 50 years of age GET
fully established in his life work he IS the ex
ceptinn- Yet that Is the point at which
Christ's life terminated
Men in military life have done their mos
wonderful deeds before SO years of age There
may be exceptions TO it, but the most won
derful exploits in military proves have oc
Cured before 81 years of age. But as a legis
lator-no man becomes eminent as a lesisla
tor until be has had long years of experience
And yet the gray bearded scrihes were ex
pected TO bow down in silence before thi
young legislator, who arraigned sanhedrim
and accused governments.
Aristotle was old; Lycurgus was old