The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-12-11
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Paurs Mission in Athens"
Preached at Athens, Greecel

preached at Athens, Greece.)
TEXTS: "Eye hath not seen nor ear heard"
Il Corinthians H., 9. For no,U ace see
through glass dorkly."-I Corinthians
xiii, 12.
Both these sentences written by the most
illustrious merely human being the world
ever saw, one who walked these streets, and
preached from yonder pile of rocks, Mars
Hill. Though more classic associations are
connected with this city than with any city
under the sun, because here Socrates, and
Plato and Aristotle, and Demosthenes, and
Pericles, and Heroditus, and Pythagoras, and
Xenophon, and Praxiteles wrote or chiseled,
or taught or thundered or sung, yet In my
mind all those men and their teachings were
eclipsed by Paul and the Gospel he preached
in this city and in your nearby city OF Cor
inth. Yesterday, standing on the old fortress
at Corinth the Acro-C Corinthus, out from the
ruins at its base arose in my imagination the
old city. lust as Paul saw it. l have been
told that for splendor the world beholds no
such wonder to-day as that anclent Corlnth
standing on an isthmus washed by two seas,
the one sea bringing the commerce OF Europe,
the other sea bringing the commerce OF Asia:
From her wharves, in the construction OF
which whole kingdoms had been absorbed,
out and confounded the navy yards Of all the
world Huge handed machinery, such as
modern invention cannot equal, lifted ships
from the sea on one side and tranported
them on trucks across the isthmus and sat
them down in the sea on the other side The
revenue officers Of the city went down
through the olive groves that lined the
beach to collect tariff from all nations.
The mirth of all people sported in her
Isthmian games, and the beauty OF all
lands sat in her theatres, walked her
porticos and threw itself on the altar Of
her stupendous dissipations. Column and
statue and temple bewildered the beholder.
There were white marble fountains, into
which, from apertures at the side. there
gushed waters everywhere known for health
giving qualities Around these basins,
twisted into wreaths Of stone, there were all
the beauties of sculpture and architecture;
while standing, as if to guard the costly dis
play, was statue Of Hercules of FURNISHED
Corinthian brass. Vases of terra Gotta
adorned the cemeteries of the dead--vases SO
costly that Julius Caesar was not satisfied un-
til he had captured them for Rome. Armed
officials the corintharii, paced up and down
to see that no statue was defaced, no pedestal
oyerthrown, no bas-relief touched. From the
edge Of the city the hill held its magnificent
| burden of columns and towers and temples
1000 slaves waiting at one shr1ne), ana
citadel so thoroughly impregnable that Glib
raltar is heap of sand compared WIN IL.
Amid all that strength and magnlhcence
Corinth stood and defied the world.
OH it was not to rustics who had never
seen ANYTHING grand that Paul uttered one
| of nv texts. They had heard the best music
that had come from the best Instruments IN
all the world; they had heard songs floating
| from morning porticos and melting. in even
ing groves; they had passed their whole nVes
among pictures and sculpture and architect
ure and Corinthian brass, which had been
nodded and shaped until there was no
chariot wheel in which it had not sped, and
no tower in which it had not glittered, and
| no gateway that it had not adorned. All, it
was bold thing for Paul to stand there amid
all that and say: ''All this is nothing. These
sounds that come from the temple Of Neptune
are not music compared with the harmonies
) of which I speak. These waters rushing In
| the basin of Pyrene are not pure. These
! statues Of Bacchus and Mercury are not eI-
quisite. Your citadel of Aero Corinthus IS
not strong compared with that which offer
| to the poorest slave that puts down his bur-
| den at the brazen gate. You Corinthians
think this is splendid city; you think you
have heard all sweet sounds and seen all
! beautiful sights; but tell you eye hath not
seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath
prepared for them that love Him." Indeed,
both my texts the one spoken by Paul and
the one written by Paul, show us that We
have very imperfect eyesight, and that our
day of vision is yet to come; for now we see
So Paul takes the responsibility Of saying
that even the Bible is an indistinct mirror,
and that its mission shall be finally suspended.
! I think there may be one Bible In heaven
| fastened to the throne. just as now, in a
museum, we have a lamp exhumed from
e; Herculaneum or Nineveh, and we look at it
with great interest and say: "How poor a
light it must have given, compared with our
modern lamps" SO think that this Bible,
which was lamp to our feet in this world,
may lie near the throne of God, exciting our
interest to all eternity by the contrast be-
| tween its comparatively feeble light and the
illumination of heaven. The Bible now, is
the scaffolding to the rising temple, but
when the building is done there will be no
use for the scaffolding. The idea shall de-
velop to-day is, that in this world our knowl-
edge is comparatively dim and unsatisfac-
tory, but nevertheless is Introductory to
! grander and more complete vision. This is
eminently true in regard to our view Of God
We hear so much about God that we con-
elHde that we understand Him. He is repre-
sented as having the tenderness of a father,
the frmness Of a judge, the pomp Of king
and the love Of a mother. We hear about
Him. talk about Him, write about Him. We
lisp His name in infancy. and it trembles on
10 tongue of the dying octogenarian. We
think that we know very much about Him.
Take the attribute of mercy. Do we under
stand it? The Bible blossoms all over with
that word, mercy. 1t speaks again and again
Of the tender mercies Of God, Of the sure
mercies Of the great mercies. of the mercy
that endureth forever, of the multitude Of
His mercies And yet know that the views
we have Of this great being are most indef-
mite, one sided and incomplete. When, at
death, the gates shall fly open, and we shall
look directly upon Him, how new and sur
| prising! We see upon canvas q picture of
the morning. We study the cloud in the sky,
the dew upon the grass and the husbandman
on the way to the field. Beautiful picture OF
the morning! But we rise at daybreak, and
go up on hill to see for ourselves that which
was represented to us. While we look, the
nountainf are transfgured. The FURNISHED
gates of heaven swing open aud shut, to let
pass a host of fiery splendors. The clouds
are all abloom, and hang pendant from arbors
of alabaster and amethyst. The waters make
pathway of inlaid pearl for the light to walk
upon; and there is morning on the sea. The
crags uncover their Scared visage; and there
ismorning among the mountains. Now you
go home, and how tame your picture Of the
morning seems in contrast? Greater than
that shall he the contrast between this script
ural view Of God and that which we shall
have when standing face to face. This is
picture of the morning; that will be the
morning itself.
Again: My texts are true of the Saviours
excellency. By image, and sweet. rhythm of
expression, and startling antitheses, Christ is
Jet tforth-His love, His compassion, His work,