The Opelousas courier., 1890-07-26
REV. DIR. TALMAaE
IRE BROOKLYN pIvINE'S SUM-
DAY SERMON.
subjrct: "cloaks for SIN"

SSH SsH. -. 4 - =.
Sin is always disguisel. Decked and
Closed ARD p RUINED and masked it gains
fdtnlttancc into Faces from which it would
ofaerAis e he reIe'led. As silently as when
IT silled into Eden, aul as p'ausibiy as " hen
II talked 10 Christ at the tan ct the temple,
u EpSg, 5d''HcsSts incH. 6ftfift Faariasthsk
N SD as Ii always is-an exlIalation rom
the pit, the putt efaetion of infinite capaci-
ties the ghastly, ioathsome. God smitten
monster flat uprooted Eden and killed
thiIst, end would push the entire
race into darkness and pain - the
Internal charm would be broken. Before
our first parents trahsgressed. sin appeared
TO then, the Sweetness af fruit and 5be be-
epshittg 81, gods, 10 Absaioni it was the
b~ieas{lfe Of Sitting Upon. 3. throne. 4 men
how SIN Is hightsr ard Permission Is 1uxur-
ious qualification. Jesus Christ in nv text
suggests a fact which everybody ought to
know, and that is that sin, to hide its de-
formlty and shame, is accustomed to wear
ing a cloak; and the Saviour also sets forth
the truth that God can see straight through
all such ~wrappings and thicknesses. | want
now to speak of several kinds of cloaks with
which mel expect 10 cover lip their iniqui-
ties for the fashion in regard tn, theee gar
1teP'ats. IS constantly changing and every day
beholds sotHe iew style of wearing thetd, and
II you will tatry d little while I will show
you five or six OF the patterns of cloaks.
First, | remark that there are those who,
being honored with official power, expect to
make that a successful cloak for their sin.
There is a sacredness in Office. God Himself
is King, and all who hold authority in the
world serve under Him. That community
has committed a monstrous wrong who has
elevated to this dignity persons unqualified
either by their ignorance or their immoral
ity. Nations whoelevate to posts Of author
sfr thnea %o4 A,,olJGal b. ali &ln..3 xAJtI Eao1
the reaction: Solomon EXPRESSED his
thought when he6 said: Woe unto thee, o
land, when thy King is a child and thy
Princes drink in the morning" While
positions of trust may be disgraced by
the character of those who fill them, |
believe God would nave us respectful to the
offices, though we may have no admiration
for their occupants. Yet this dignity which
Office confers can be no apology for trans
erosion. Nebuchadnezzar and Ahab and
Herod in tbs day of judgment must stand en-
the level with the herdsmen that kept their
hocks and the fishermen of Galilee. Pope
and King and President and Governor must
give an account to Goa, and be judged by the
same law as that which judges the beggar
and the slave. Sin is all the more obnoxious
when it is imperial and lordly. You cannot
make pride or injustice or cruelty sacred by
giving it a throne. Belshazzar's decanters
could not keep the mysterious finger from
writing ON the wall. Ahab's sin literally
hurled him from the throne to the dogs.
The imperial vestments of wicked Jehoram
could not keep Jehu's arrow from striking
through his heart. Jezebefs queenly pre-
tension could not save her from being
thrown over the wall. No barricade of
throne can arrest Gods justice in its I'M
erring march. No splendor or thickness
of official robes can be a sufficient cloak OF
sin. Henry VIII, Louis XIV, Catharine OF
Russia, Mary of England-did their crown
save them2 No ruler ever sat so high That
the King of Kings was not above him. All
victors shall bow before Him who On the
white horse goeth forth conquering and to
conquer.
Again, elegance of manners cannot sue
c~essful1y hide iniquity from the eye of God.
That modal; gentlemanly APOSTLE, Paul,
writes to us: "Be courteous" That man
can neither be a respectable wording nor
a consistent Christian who lacks good
manners He is shut out from refined CIR
cles, and he certainly ought to be hindered
from entering the church. We cannot over.
look that in a mar which we could
hardly excuse in a bear. One of the first
| effects of the grace of God Upon an indi-
yidual is to make him a gentleman. Grutf-
ness. awkwardness, implacabilty, clanish-
ness are fruits of the devil, while gentle
ness and meekness are fruits OF the Spirit.
buG While Gl6S0 6AJCiiCASOS Va
are SO important they cannot hide any
deformity of moral character. How ofOen
is it that we find attraetiveness of person,
suayity of manners, gracefulness OF
conversation, gallantry OF benavlo
thrown ike wreaihs Upon moral death:
The flowers that grow upon the scori8 81
yesuvius do not make it any less or a vol
cano. The sepulcbers in Chrlsts Time oIu
not exhaust all the whitewash. Some OF the
biggest scoundrels have been the most fas-
~cinating. If there are any depending on OUT
ward pTacefuIness and attractiveness OF De
meanor. with any hope that because OF tna5
God will forgive the sin OF their soul, let me
| assure them that the divine justice cannon
be satisfied with smiles AMI elegant gesucuia
tion. Christ looks deeper than the SKID ana
s11cb q ragged cloak as the one IN wnlcn you
arafrvine to cover yourself will be no hiding
in the nav of His " God will not IN bne
Indictment ask how gracefully you walked
nor nov politely You bowed, nor now sWeeuy
Won smiled, nor how mpresslyely you
eestured. The deeds don. in the BODY Wll
Be the test, and not the III 5 OF LORD Ches
terffeld.
If relieion is but a poor wrapping OF a naked
sonl The Importance of making a pubic
profession of religion il the heart be re
neWed cannot be exaggerated. Christ posi-
lively and with the earnestness of the nigh
before His crucifxion commanded it. But j
is the result of Christian character. not tn
cause of it. Our church certificate is a poo
title to heaven. We mayhave the name ant
not the reality. There are those who seen
to throw themselves back with compIacency
upon their public confession of Christ al
though they give no signs of renewal. [
Satan can nduce a man to build on such {
rotten foundation as that he has accom-
plished his object. We cannot imagine tn
adherence with which God looks upon sucl
a procedure. What would be the feelings o
q shepherd If he saw q wolf in tn
same fold with his hocks, howevel
quiet he might seem to lie, or a gen
eral If among his troops he saw on
wearing the appointed uniform who never
theless really belonged to the opposing host
Thus must the heavenly shepherd look upol
those who, though they are not His sheep
have climbed up SOME other way, n thu
must the Lord of hosts look upon those VIII
pretend to be soldiers of the cross while the
are His armed enemies. Ii any of you fin
yourself deficient in the great tests of Chris
tan character, do not, I beg of you, loo
upon your profession of religion as anythIn
consofatory. If you have taken your pres
ent position from q view that you hav
of Christ and your need of Him, rejoice wit
JOY unSpeakaDie and Iuil OF glory ana Ga
your hands for giadness; but it you I'm
yourself with nothing but the name of ift
while dead in trespasses and sins, arouse be
fore the door is shut. That gilded profes
sion-tba world may not be able to Sc
through it, but in the day of divine reckon
ing it will be found that you have no cloa
for yeur sin.
Furthermore, outward morality will i
no covering for the hidden iniquity OF th
Spirit. The God Of Christ makes no assau
upon good works. They are as beautiful j
Gods = as in ours. Punctuality. truthful
ness. ~aimsgiying, affection and many Jothe
exceIlences Of life that might be nentinne
" iIIalWays be admired of God end man. bL