The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1889-12-12
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE'S SUNDAY
SERMON.
Preached at Athens, Greece, Oh tho
GLORY OF the AT; er Life.

Both these sentences written by the most
illustrious merely human being the world
ever saw, one who walked these streets, ana
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
i'm this CITY and III your nearby city or Cor
inth. Yesterday, standing oh the old fortress
at Corinth. the Aero Corinthus, out from the
ruins at its base arose in my Imagination the
old city, Just rs Paul saw it. l have been
told that for splcndor the world beholds no
such wonder to-day as that ancient Corlntp
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 wharvcS, in the construction OF
which whole kingdoms had been absorbed
war gallcys with three banks of oars pushed
out and confounded the navy yards of ALI the
world. Huge handed machinery. such as
modern invention cannot equal, lifted ships
from the sea on one side and transported
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 III 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 dissipatiohs. Column ana
statue and temple bewildered the beholder.
There were white marble fountains, into
which. from apertureS ut the side, there
p,shed waters everywhere known for healthi
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 Cesar was not satlslled un-
ill he had captured them for Rome. Armed
officials, the corintharii, paced up and down
to sec 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 shrine), and
citadel so thoroughly impregnable that Glib
raltar is a heap of sand compared with it.
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 my texts They had heard the best music
that had come from the best Instruments Ill
all the world; they had heard songs floating
from morning porticos and melting III even
ing groves: they had passed their whole lives
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. Ah, 1t
was hold thing for Paul to stand there amid
all that and say: "All this is nothing. These
sounds that come from the temple OF Neptune
arcnot music compared with the harmonieS
of which speak. These waters rushing in
the basin of Pyrcne are not pure. These
statues of Bacchus and Mercury are not ex-
ouisite. Your citadel Of Aero -Corinthus Is
not strong compared with that which l 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
ina one written by Paul, show us that we
haveSvery imperfect eyesight, and that our
day of vision is yet to come; for now we see
through glass, darkly, but then face toface.
So Paul takes the responsibility of saying
that:even the Bible is an indistinct mirror,
and thatits 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
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 lis 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 foI The scaffolding. The idea l 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
Cmincntly true in regard to our view of God
We hear so much about God that VIC con-
cludc that we understand Him. He is repre-
scnted rs having the tenderness Of n father,
the firrmeSs Of u judge, the polnp Of king
ond the love Of q mother. We hear about
Him. tax about Him. write about Him. We
lisp His n":uc iii Infancy and il tremblcS on
tongue of the dying octogenarian. We
think that we know very much about Him
Take the attribute of mercy. Do we under.
that word, mercy. 1t speaks again and again
of the tender lncrcies of God, of the sure
mercies, Of the great mcrcies. of the mercy
that endrreth forever, of the multitude OF
His nercies. 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 a picture OF
fhn St,,ly- thnc c1N i,t hn cl-
the dew upon the grass, and the husbandnan
on the way to the field Beautiful picture of
The morning! But we rise at daybreak, and
CUP on hill TO sec for ourselves that which
was represented to U.s. While we look, the
mountains arc TRANSPORTED. The FURNISHED
gates of heaven swing open and shut, to let
pass host of fiery splendors. The cloud:
are all abloHn, ond hang pendant from arbor'
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
Ismornlng among the mountains. Now you
go home, and how tame your picture Of tht
morning seems in contrast? Greater than
that shall be the contrast between this script
ural view of God and that which we Ghal
have when standing face to face. Thisis 4
picture Of the morning; that will be the
morning itself.
AGAIN: Ny texts are true OF the Saviour
e1celiency. BY image, and sweet rhythm of
expression, and startling antithescS Christ is
set forth-Hislcve. His iscompassion, His work,
His life, His death, His resurrection. We are
challenged to measure it, to compute it, to
weigh it. In the hour of our broken ell
thrallment, we mount up into high expert
ence Of His love, and shout until the coun-
tenance glows, and the blood bounds and
the whole nature is exhiltiratcd II have
found Him" And yet it is through glass,
darkly. We see not half of that compassion
ate face. We feel not half the warmth of
that loving heart. We wait for death to let