The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-05
OUTWITEDBYTHE WORLD
REV. TALMAGE RAPS THOSE WHO
FORGET THEIR SOULS.

Matters of Religion-A Few Hints
About Church Buildings-Lack Of
Wisdom in Religious Matters Ap
parent All the Way Through
LIVINGSTON, NJ. T., Aug. 4-The Rev.
T. Dewitt Talmage, D. D., of Brooklyn,
n. Y, preached here to-day, taking for his
subject "Outwitted by the World" He
took for his text st. Luke xvi, s: "The
lldren of this world are in their genera
tion wiser than the children of light" and
delivered the following DISCOURSE:
| That is another way of saying that chris
tians are not so skillful in the manipulation
of spiritual affairs as worldlings are skillfuI
IN the management of temporalities. l see
all around me people who are alert, earn
est, concentrated, and skiuful in
monetary matters. who in the affairs
of the soul are laggards. inane, inert.
The great want of this world Is more
| common sense in matters Of religion IL
one half Of the skill and forcefulness en-
| ployed III financial affairs were employed
| In disseminating the truths of Christ, and
! trying TO make the world better, within ten
| years the last juggernaut would fall, the
last throne of oppression upset, the last
lniqutty tumble, and the anthem that was
chanted over Bethlehem on Christmas
night would be echoed and re-echoed
from all nations and kindred and people:
GLORY to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will to men,
| Some years ago, on a train going toward
the southwest, as the porter Of the seeping
car was making up the berths at the even
| ing tide, saw a man kneel down to pray.
Worldly people in the car looked on, as
much as to say, what does this meango 1
suppose most Of the people in the car
nat
| he was fanatic; but he disturbed no one
| when he knelt, and he disturbed no one
| when he arose. In after conversation with
| him l found out that he was member of a
church In my own city, that he
was seafaring man, and that
he was on his way to New Or
| learns to take command of a vessel. |
thought then, as think now, that ten such
men-men with such courage for God as
| that man had-would bring the whole
| city to Christ, a thousand such men would
bring the whole land to God; ten thousand
| such men, in a short time, would bring the
whole world into the kingdom of Jesus.
| That he was successful in worldly affairs,
found out. That he was skillfu in spiritual
affairs, you are well persuaded. If men
had the courage, the pluck, the alertness,
the acumen, the industry, the common
sense in matters Of the soul that they have
in earthly matters this would be a very
| ulloT6nb KIM Oh WOFl0 10 live IN.
| In the first place, we want more common
sense in the building and conduct OF
churches. The idea Of adaptiveness is
always paramount in any o,her kind of
structure. IL bankers meet together and
they resolve upon putting up a bank, the
bank is especially adapted to banking pur-
poses; If manufacturing company put up
a building, it is to be adapted to
manufacturing purposes; but adapt
iveness is not always the question in the
| rearing of churches. In many of our
churches we want more light, more
| room, more venti alton, more comfort
Vast sums OF money are expended on ecce-
sastical structures and men sit down in
| them, and you ask a man how he likes the
church; he says: II like it very well, but
can't hearn As though a shawl factory
| were good for everything but making
| shawls. The voice of the preacher dashes
against the pillars. Men sit down under
the shadows of the Gothic arches and shiver.
| and feel they must be getting religion, or
something else, they feel so uncomfortable.
| MOs my friends, we want more common
| sense in the rearing of c1urches. There is
no excuse for lack of light when the heavens
| are full of 1t, no excuse for lack of fresh air
when the world swims in it. 1t ought to
be an expression not only of our spiritual
| happiness, but of our physical comfort.
when we say: "How amiable are thy taher-
nacles, o Lord God of hostsl A day in thy
| courts is better than a thousand"
Again L remark We want more COM
mon sense in the obtaining of religious
hope. All men understand that in order to
succeed in worldly directions they must
| concentrate. They think on that one SUBJ
iect until their mind takes fire with the
velocity of their own thoughts All their
| acumen, all their strategy, all their wisdom.
| all their common sense, they put in that
one direction and they succeed. But how
| seldom it, is true in the matter of seeking
after God. While no man expects to ac-
complish anything for this world without
| concentration and enthusiasm, how many
there are expecting after awhile to get into
| the kingdom of Col without the use Of any
| such means. A miller in California, many
years ago, held up a sparkle Of gold
until it bewitched nations. Tens
OF thousands Of people left their
| homes. They took their blankets and their
| pickaxes and their pistols and went to the
wilds Of California. Cities sprang up sud-
| denly on the Pacific coast. Merchants put
| aside their elegant apparel and put on the
| miners garb. All the land was full of the
talk about gold. Gold in the eyes, gold in
| the ears, gold in the wake of ships, gold in
| the streets-gold, gold, gold. Word comes
to US that the mountain of Gods love is full
| Of bright treasure; that men have been
| digging there, and have brought up
gold, and amethyst, and carbuncle,
| and jasper, and sardonyx, and chryso-
| prasus, and all the precious stones out
Of which the walls of heaven were builded.
Word comes of man who, digging in that
mine for one hour, has broug tup treasures
worth more than all the stars that keep
| vigil over our sick and dying world Is it
| q bogus company that is formed9 Is 1t un-
developed territory9 Oh, no, the story is
| true There are thousands of people in this
audience who would be willing to rise and
testify that they have discovered that gold,
| and have it in their possession. Notwith-.
standing all this, what is the circumstance
| One would suppose that the announcement
would send people in great excitement up
and down our streets, that at midnight
men would knock att your door, asking
how they may get those treasures Instead
of that many of us put our hands behind
our backs and walk up and down in front
Of che mine of eternal riches, and say:
| "Well, if l am to be saved,
will be saved; and if am to be
damned l will be damned, and there is moth
ing to do about it," Why, my brother, do
| you not do that way in business mattersg
| Why do you not tomorrow go TO your store
and sit down and fold your arms and say:
"If these goods are to be sold, they will be
sold; and If they are not to be sold, they will
not be sold; there is nothing for me to do
about it," No, you dispatch your agents, you
print your advertisements, you adorn your