Western Kansas world., 1888-01-07
WHOLESOME RECREATION.
Discourse by DR.. Talmage in the Brook
lyn Tabernacle.

The Gymnasium as a Means of Recuper-
ating Mental and Physical Energies
Music Source of ulimitable Recreation
and Amusement
BROOKLYN, Dec. 18.-At the Tabernacle
this morning the whole congregation sang
the hymn beginning:
The hill of Zion yields
thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heavenly helds
Or walk the golden streets.
The Rev. L. De Witt Talmage, D. D.,
preached on "Recreations Good and Bad, !"
taking two texts: L Cor. vii, 81: "They
that use this world, as not abusing it,"
and Judges xvi, 25: Sand it came to pass,
when their hearts were merry, that they
said, Call for Samson, that he may make
Nus sport. And they called for Samson out
of the prison house; and he made them
sport" Dr. Talmage said:
We are entering the gayest season of
the year. The winter opens before us the
gates of thousand amusements, some of
them good and some bad. One of my
texts will show you that amusements may
be destructive, my other text will show you
that amusements may be under the divine
blessing and direction.
There were 5000 people assembled in
the temple of Dagon. They had come to
make sport of eyeless Samson. They
were all ready for the entertainment. They
began to clap and pound, impatient for
the amusement to begin, and they cried,
Fetch him out! fetch him out" .Yonder
I see the blind old giant coming, led by
the hand of child into the very midst of
the temple. At his first appearance there
goes up shout of laughter and derision.
The blind old giant pretends he is tired,
and wants to rest himself against the pill
lars of the house; so he says to the lad
who leads him, "Show me where the main
strong man puts his right hand on one
pillar and his left hand on another pillar,
and, with the mightiest push that mortal
ever made, throws himself forward until
the whole house comes down in thunder
GUS crash, grinding the audience like
grapes in a wine press. "And so it came
to pass. when their hearts were merry, that
they said, Call for Samson, that he may
make Us sport. And they called for Sam
son out of the prison house; and he made
them sport.
In other words: There are amuseme nts
that are destructive, and bring down dis
aster and death upon the heads of those
who practice them. While they laugh and
that Gay in GAIA are as nothing compared
with the tens C thousands who have been
destroyed by sinful amusements.
But the other text / have read implies
that there is lawful use of the world as
well as an unlawful abuse of it, and the
difference between the man Christian and
the man un- Christian is, that in the former
case the man masters the world, while
in the latter case the world masters him.
For whom did God make this grand and
beautiful world? For whom this wonder
full expenditure of color, this gracefulness
of line, this mosaic of the ground, this
fresco Of the sky, this glowing fruitage of |
orchard and vineyard, this full orchestra |
OF the tempest, in which the tree branches |
flute, and the winds trumpet, and the |
thunders drum, and all the splendors of |
earth and sky come clashing their Gym
balls? For whom did God spring the |
arched bridge of colors resting upon but |
tresses of broken storm clouds? For |
whom did He gather the upholstery of fire |
around the window of the setting sun? For |
all men; but more especially for His own |
dear children.
If you build large mansion, and spread
great feast after it to celebrate the COM
pletion of the structure, do you allow
strangers to come in and occupy the place
while you thrust your own children in the
kitchen or the barn or the fields? Oh, no.
You say: 81 am very glad to see strangers
In my mansion, but my own sons and
daughters shall have the first right there"
Now God has built this grand mansion of q
world. and He has spread a glorious feast
in il; and while those who are strangers to
nis grace may come in, 1 think that God
especially intends to give the advantage to
His own children, those who are the sons
and daughters of the Lord Almighty, those
who through grace can look up and say,
abba, Father" You cannot make me be-
lieve that God gives more advantage to the
world than He gives to the church bought
by His own blood. If, therefore, people of
the world have looked with dolorous SYM
pathy upon those who make profession of
verts are going down into privation and
into hardship. Why did not they tarry a
little longer in the world, and have some OF
its enjoyments and amusements and recre-
ationsp" say to such men of the world,
I" You are greatly mistaken" and before
get through will show that those people
who stay out of the kingdom of God have
the hardships and self denials, while those
who come in have the joys and the satis-
faction.
This morning, in the name of the King
OF Heaven and earth, L serve q writ of
ejectment on all the sinful and polluted
who have squatted on the domain of
earthly pleasure as though it belonged to
them, while claim, in behalf of the good
and the pure and the true, the eternal in
heritance which God has given them.
Hitherto, Christian philanthropists, cler-
ical and lay, have busted themselves chiefly
in denouncing sinful recreations: but feel
we have no right to stand before men and
women in whose hearts there is desire
For recreation amounting to positive neces-
sity, deneuncing this and that and the
other thing, when we do not propose to
give them something better. God helping
me this morning, and with reference to my.l
last account I shall enter upon sphere
not usual in sermonizing, but q subject ,
which I think ought to be presented at this !,
lime. propose now to lay before you ;;
some of the recreations which are not only +.
but positively helpful and ad. !,
In fha frat r,1oco r no,o,oou1