The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-12-01
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON
AT THE TAsERNACLE-"A FAMILY
DIFFICULTY SETTLED"

In Matters OF Church Attendance should
the wife Go with the Husband or the
Husband with the wife?-The Gospel
Alphabet.
BRooKLYv, Nov y. The Rev. T. Dewitt
Talmage, y. D., preached in the Brooklyn
Tabernacle this morning on the subject I'm
Matters Of Church Attendance Should the
Wife Go with the Husband or the Husband
60 with the Wifty7 The tabernacle still re-
tains the decoration Of Thanksgiving day,
being specimens Of American products from
the north, south, east and west. A vast con-
gregation sang the opening hymn, beginning:
Come. let Us join our friends above,
Who have obtained the prize,
And on the eagle wings OF love
II Joys celestial rise.
For the greater part, the hymns used in
DR.. Talnags's church are old and familiar
and when the whole audience rises to sing,
Led by Professor Ali. the eornetist, and Pro
fessor Henry Eyre Browne, the organist, the
effect is overpowering.
DR. Talmage's text was from Genesis xiii,
8, g. Set there be no strife, pray thee be
tween me and thee, and between my herdmen
and thy herimen. Is not the whole land he
fore thcef' DR.. Talmage said:
Uncle and nephew, Abram and Lot, both
pious, both millionaires, and with such large
focks Of bleating sheep and lowing cattle
that their herdmen got into a fight, perhaps
about the best pasture, or about the best
water privilege, or because the COW 4 one
got hooked by the horns Of the other Not
p their poverty Of opportunity, but their
wealth, was the cause Of controversy between
these two men. To Abram, the glorious old
Bedouin sheik, such controversy seemed abb
- 60
sea room in the middle Of the Atlantic ocean.
There was a vast reach Of country, corn
fields, vineyards harvests and plenty Of
room in ilimitable acreage SNow," says
Abram: let as agree 20 differ. Here are
the mountain districts, swept by the tonic
and sea breeze, and with wide reaching pros
pect, or there is the plain Of the Jordan, with
tropical lux1riance. You may have either
lot, who was not as rich as Abram, and
might have been expected to take the second
choice, made the first selection, and with
modcsty that must have made Abram smile,
said 20 him: You may have the rocks and
the fine prospect; / VIII take the valley Of
the Jordan, with all its lHxuriance Of corn
fields and the river 10 water the focks, and
the genial climate. and the wealth imfneasur-
able" 50 the controversy was forever
settled, and great souled Abram carried ont
strife, I pray three, between me and thee,
and between my herdmcn 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
Nlspucius, but ought 10 have been been
called Columbia, after its discoverer, Colum-
bus, we have a wealth of religious privilege
and opportunity that is positively bewilder-
ing Churches of oil styles Of creeds, and Of
an styles Of governments, and all styles of
worship and all STYLES Of architecture What
opulence Of ecclesiastical opportunity! Now,
while in desolate regions there may be only
ono church. and it must be that or nothing,
IN tho opulent districts of this country, there
is such "a proiusion that there ought to be no
difficulty in making a selection No fight
about yestments, or between liturgical or
non -liturgical adherents, or as 10 baptismal
modes. or a handful Of water as compared
with riverful. II Abram prefers to dwell
IN the heights. where he can only get
sprinkling from the clouds, let him consent
that Lot have all the Jordan in which to i'm
merse himself Let there be no strife, /
pray thee, between thee and me, and between
thy herdmen and my herdmen. Is not the
whole land before thee"
Especially is il unfortunate when families
allow, at the breakfast. or dining, or tea ia
bic, angry discussion as 10 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 Episoopacy, and one
at one side of the table saying he 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 eccle-
siasticsm, and in the middle OF every discus
sion on such subjects there is kindhng of
indignation and it needs some old father
Abram 70 come and put his foot on the load
ed fuse before the explosion takes place, and
say: "Iet there be no strife, pray thee, be
tween me and thee, and between my herd
men and thy herdmen. Is not the whole
land before thee'
/ 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 offense: but [ approach it
without the slightest trepidation, for | am
sure | have the Divine direction in the
matters propose TO present 1t is a tremen-
dous question, asked all over Christendom
often asked with tears and sobs and heart
breaks, and involving the peace of families,
the eternal happiness Of many souls: In
matters 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. viii go with you into any
well selected theological library, and l viii
show YOU sermons from ministers in all de
nominations that set forth man as a sinner
and Christ as a deliverer from sin and sorrow
That is the whole gospel. Get that into your
soul and you are fitted for the here and the
hereafter The world has twenty-six letters
in its alphabet and there are only two letters
in the gospel alphabet-S and c; S standing for
our sin. c standing for Christ, our rescue,
blessed be His glorious name foreverl In any
church where You can thoroughly learn these
two letters and all they stand for, you ought
TO be edited and happy. There are differ
ences, we admit and some denominations we
like better than others But suppose three
or four of US make solemn agree
ment to meet each other week
from now in Chicago on important business,
and one goes by the New York Central rail-
road, another 10y the Erie railroad, another
by the Pennsylvania railroad another by the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad. One goes this
way, because the mountains are grander,
another takes this. because the cars are more
luxurious. another 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 to meet is concerned, it
makes no difference if we only get there.
Now, any one Of the innumerable evangel-
zeal denominations if you practice its teach
ing-although some of their trains run ON a
broad gauge, and some on a narrow gauge
win bring you out at the city of the New
Jerusalem
II being evident that you will be safe in
any OF the evangelical denominations. pro
coed to remark, first: If one of the married
couple be a Christian and the other not. the
one Christian is bound 20 go anywhere TO a
church where the unconverted companion is
willing TO go, II he or she win 80 to no other
You, of the connubial partnership, are a
Christian. You are safe for the skies Then
1t is your first duty to secure the eternal
safety of your lifetime associate. Is not the
everlasting welfare Of your wife impenitent,
or your husband impenitent, of more I'M.
portance than your church relationship Is
not tho residence of your companion for the
next quadrillon of years nightier considera-
ton to you than the qualification of Your
ecclesiastical taste for forty or fifty years
A man or woman that would stop
half minute to weigh preferences as
TO whether he or she had better go with the
unconverted companion TO this or that
church or denomination has no religion at
ALL and never has had and fear never will
have You are loaded up with what you
suppose TO be religion, but you are like Capt
Frobisher, who brought back from his yoy-
age OF discovery a shipload of what he sup
posed valuable minerals, yet instead of being
silver and gold, were nothing but common
stones of the field. to be hurled out finally as
useless. Mighty Cod In all Thy realm Is
there one man or woman protesting religion
Yet so stolid, so untitled, 80 far gone unto