Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1889-05-25
"A POISONED DINNER"
DR.. Talmage's Regular Sun
day Sermon.
Gilgal-He F'easts Them or Poi
sOnOu Herbs-BewAre Of the
CaldrOns Sin and Death.

who sang with grand effect the hymn be.
ginning.
My soul, be on thy guard;
Ten thousands foes arise,
And hosts OF Gin are pressing hard
To draw thee from the skies.
His subject was "A Poisoned Dinner"
and his text III Kings iv, 40: 80 they
poured out for the men to eat. And II
came to pass. as they were eating Of the
pottage, that they cried out, and said, o
thou man Of God, there is death in the
pot. And they could not eat thereof"
Elisha had gone down TO lecture to
the students in the theological seminary
At Gilgal. He found the students very
hungry, as students are apt TO be. 1t IS
very seldom the world makes large pro.
vision for those who give themselves to
intellectual toll. In order that these
students may be prepared to hear what
Elisha says he first feeds their hunger.
He knew very well it is useless TO talk,
TO preach. to lecture with hungry men.
SO Elisha, recognizing this common
sense principle. which eve.y Christian
ought TO recognize, sends servan out TO
get food for these hungry students. They
pick up some good, healthful herbs, but
they happen to pick up also some
coloquintida, a bitter, poisonous, death
full herb. They bring all these herbs,
they put them into the boiling pot, they
stir them up. and then a portion OF this
food ia brought to the students and their
professors. Seated at the table one of
the hungry students begins Immediately
to eat, and he happens to get hold of
some Of the coloquintida. He knew it
by the taste. He cries out: Poison,
poisonl o. thou man of God. there is
death in the potp' CONSERVATION Is
thrown over the whole group. What a
fortunate thing it WAS that this student
30 early found the c%eloquintida in the
mixture at the tablet You will by refer
ence find this story is precisely as | have
mentioned 1t.
Well, in our day there are great cald-
rons of sin and death. ~Coloquintida of
mighty temptation is pressed into it.
Some dip it out, and tsste. and reject it
and live. Others dip il out. taste 1t, keep
on and die. And it is the business Of
every minister of religion and every mai
who wishes well to the human race, and
wants to keep the world back from its
follies and its sufferings, to cry out, "Be-
warel poison, poison Look out for this
caldronl Stand back Bewarep'
Sin has done an awful work in wi
world. 1t has gone out through all the
ages, it has mixed up u great caldron OF
trouble and suffering and pain, and the
whole race is poisoued-poisoned in
body, poisoned in mind, poisoned in soul.
But blessed be God that the gospel Of
Jesus Christ is tue an idOte, n where
there was sin there saall be pardon, and
where there was suffering there shall be
comfort. and Hhere there was death
there shall be life
Some time ago, you will remember,
persuaded YOU OF the importance OF
DtllG IilhlllAbjt w lh''E .'Nhh " 'NhtiC'
At the came time | tGid to you briefly
what this morning | wish 20 say with
great emphasis, that while we sympa-
thize with the sinner we must denounce
the sin, that white we pity the unfortu-
nate we must be vehement against
.ransgression SIN is a jagged thing that
needs 10 be ronghly handled. You have
no right to garland it with fine phrases
-. -Iat,~. Van nannnt n0tnh a
buffalo with a silken lasso.
A group of emigrants settle in a wild
region. The next day a wild beast comes
down from the mountain and carries OF
one of the children. The next day a
wild beast comes down from the moup-
tain and carries off another child. Forth
with all the neighbors band to-
gether, and they so out with
torch in one hand and gun in
the other to hunt these monsters downsto
find their hiding place, 70 light Up and
ransack the caverns, and to destroy the
invaders OF their houses. So we want
now not merely to talk about the sins
and follies of the world, we wan to go
behind them, back of them. Down in
the caverns where they hide we need to
20 with the torch of Gods word in one
hand and the sword OF Gods eternal
spirit in the other to hunt out and STAY
these iniquitles in their hiding places.
Or. to come back to the figure suggested
by my text, we want to find what are the
caldrons Of sin and death from which the
iniauities of society are dipped out.
l.. In the first place, | remark: that
unhappy and undisciplined homes are the
chaldrOns Of great iniquity.
Parents harsh and cruel on the one
hand. or on the other hand loose in their
government, wickedly loose in their gov
eminent, are raising up a nation of vipers.
A home where scolding and fretfulness
are dominant is blood relation to the gal
lows and the penitentiaryl Petulance is
a serpent that crawls up into the family
nursery sometimes and brushes every
thing. Why, there are parents who even
make religion Disgusting to their Chi
dren. They scold them for not loving
Christ. They have an eSasperating way
OF doing their duty. The house is FIJI
Of the war whoop Of contention, anC
from such a place husband and sons g
out To die.
Oh, is there a Hagar leading away
Ishmael into the aceurt TO be smitten Q
the thirst and parched of the SAND? i