The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-03-20
tREVISIOH Or CREEDS.'
THE sUBJEGT OF DIR. TALNAGE's
DISCOURSE.


Visit to the Spot Whore Lazarus hiVet
aud Died.
At the Tabernacle Sunday morning
the Rev. T. De Witt Talmage. d. D.,
said he thought the uey Brooklyn taber'
nacle would be dedicated ia September
The subject Of his discourse was "Re'
vision Of Creeds," and he took for hi'
text John XII, A: "Loose him, and let
him 60" DR.. Talmago said:
My Bible is, at the place of this text,
written all over with tho lead pencil mark
made last December at Bethany on the
ruins Of the house Of Mary and Martha
aud Lazarus. We dismouuted from our
horses on the way up from Jordan TO the
Dead Sea. Bethany was tho GUNNER
evening retreat Of Jesus. After spend-
ing the day in the bot city Of Jerusalem
he would come out there almost every
evening to the house Of his thee friends
lthink the occupants OF the house were
orphans, for the father and mother were
not mentioned. But the son and two
daughters muat have inherited property
for it must have been, judging from
what saw Of tho foundations and the
size of the rooms, an opulcnt home. Laza-
rus, the brother, was now the head of
the household, and his sisters depended
on him and were proud Of him, for he
was very popular and everybody liked
him, aud these girls were splendid girls.
Martha, iirst.rate housekeeper, and
Mary, y spirituelle, somewhat dreamy
but aifeCtlonate, and as good girl as
could be found in all Palestine. But
one day Lazarus got sick. The sisters
were in consternatiou. Father gone and
mother gone, they feel very nervous lest
they lose their brother also. Disease did
its quick work. How the girls hung
over his pillow! Not much sleep about
that house, no sleep at all. From the
characteristics otherwise developed, l
judge that Martha prepared the mcdi-
cines and made tempting dishes Of food
for the poor appetite of the sufferer, but
Mary prayed and sobbed. WOrAe and
worse gets Lazarus, until the doctor
announces that he can do no more. Tha
shrek that went up from that household
whcu the last breath had been drawn
and the two sisters were being led by
sympathizers into the adjoining room,
all those Of u5 can imagine who have
had our own hearts broken. But why
days and dissolution hadt aiken place
In that climate the breathless body dis
inteSrates more rapidly than in ours. If,
Immediately after decease, that body
had been awakened into life, unDcliev-
ers might have said that he was only in
q comatOsC state, or in sort OF trance,
and by some vigorous manipulation or
powerful slimulant vitality had been
renewed. No! Four days dead. At
the door Of the sepulChre 10 a crowd of
people, but the three must memorable
are Jesus, who was the family friend,
and the two bercft sisters. We went
into the traditional tomb in December,
and it is deep down and dark, and with
torches we explored it. We found it
all quiet that afternoon Of our visit, but
the dag talked Of in the Bible there was
present an excited multitude. wonder
what Jesus will do. He orders the door
Of the grave removed, and then he be-
gins to descend the steps, Mary and
Martha close after them. Deeper down
into the shadows and deeper! The hot
tears Of ,sus roll over his checks and
splash upon the backs Of his hands. Were
ever so many sorrows compressed into
30 small place as in that group pressing
on down after ChriSt, all the time be-
moaniNg that he had not come before2
Now all vhe whispering and all the cry
ing ana all the sounds of shuflling feet
are stopped. 1t is the silence Of ex-
pectancy. Death had conquered, but
now tho vanquisher Of death confronted
the scene. Amid the awful hush Of the
tomb the familiar name which Christ
had often hid upon his lips in the hos
ptalities of the village home came back
to his tongue and with pathos aud an
almightincss of which the resurrection
of the last day shall be only an echo, he
cries: Lazarus! come forthl" The
eyes Oft slumberGr open and with
grcat,d fliculty he begins to ascend for the
ccremen's Of the tomb are yet on hin,
and his feet are fast and his hands are
fast and the impedimCnts to all his move
nents GIe 80 great that Jesus commando
"Take off these cerements; remove tht 81
loose him and let him gop Oh. / an
so glad that after the Lord raised LazR
rus he went on and commanded tht
loosening OF the cords that bound hi
feetsso that he could walk, and tin
breaking off the Cerement that bounC
his hands so that he could stretch ou
ii 4 az 'i.f III Saiuldllonj 6nu bnC ledTlDf
oh -, Dandage from around his jaws 81
that lie could speak. What would re
surrccted life have been to Lazarus If b
bad not been freed from all those Grip
elements of his body2 am glad tha
Christ commanded his complete emanci
patton, saying: "Loose him, and lie
dim go."
The unfortunate thing now is that 8
many Christians are only half liberated
They have been raised from the deaf
and burial Of sin into spiritual life, bu
they yet have the grave clothes on them
They are like Lazarus, hobbling up tn
stairs Of the tomb, bound hand and foot
and the object Of this sermon is to hel
free their body and free their soul, an
| shall try to obey the Masters comman
that CONES to me and comes to ever
minister Of religion. Loose him, and l.
him GO" First, maay are bound han
aud foot by religious creeds. Let n
maa mjsinterpret NE as antagonizin
creeds. have eight or ten Of them;
creed about religion, creed about ar
creed about social life, creed abOi
government, and so on. A creed is som
thing that a man believes, whether it |
written or uuwritten. The PresbyteriG
church is now agitated about its cree