The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1890-07-11
THE CARDS OF SIN.
Or. rALMAcE's DISCOURSE AT WIN.
FIELD, KANSAS.

DIR. Talmage in his sermon at Win
field, Kansas, took for his text, John
1922: 'But now they have no cloak
for their sim"
Sin is always disguised. Decked,
and CLOSED, and perfumed, and
masked, it gains admittance in places
from which it would otherwise be re
PEELED. AS silently as when it glided
to Christ ut the top of the temple, it
now addresses men. Could people
look upon sin as it always is-an ex,
halation from the pit, the putrefactipn
of infinite capacities, the CHASTITY.
loathsome, God-smitten monster that
uprooted Eden and killed Christ, and
would push the entire race into dark
ness and pain-the internal charm
would be broken. Before our first
parents trangressed, sin appeared to
them the sweetness of fruit and the
becoming as gods. To Absalom it
was the pleasure of sitting upon n
throne. To men now, sin is laughter,
and permission to luxurious gratifica-
ton. Jesus Christ in my text sug-
gests fact which everybody ought
to know, and that is that sin, to hide
its deformity and shame, is accus-
toned to wearing cloak; and the
Saviour also sent forth the truth that
God can see straight through all such
wrappings and thicknesses. l want
now to speak of several kinds of
cloaks with which men expect to
cover up their iniquities, for the fash
IN, - nn{I
constantly changing, and every day
bcholds some new style of wearing
them, and, if you will tarry a little
while, | will show you five or six of
the patterns of cloaks.
First, [ remark that there are those.
who being honored with official pow
CT. expect to make that successful
cloak for their sin. There is n
sacredness in office. God Himself is
king, and all who hold authority in
the world serve under Him. That
community has committed n mon
strous wrong who has elevated to this
dignity persons unqualified either by
their ignorance or their immortality.
Nations who elevate to posts of au-
thority ose not qualified to fill
them will feel the reaction. Solomon
expressed this thought when he 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 char
acter of those who fill them. 1 believe
God would have us respectful to the
offices, though we may have no ad
miration for their occupants. Yet
this dignity, which Office confers, can
be no apology for transgression.
Nebuchadnezzar, and Ahab, and
Herod, in the day of judgment, must
stand on the level with the herdsmen
that kept their hocks, and the fisher
men of Galilec. Pope, aud king, and
president. andgoyernQr, must give an
N . same laN .:Ss 5Ilst which Judges
,vctv oeggar and The slaye. Sin is,an
,x;ssmore obnoxious when it is impe-
rial and lordly. You cannot make
pride, or injustice, OF cruelty sacred
by giving it q throne. Belshazzar's s
-decanters could not keep the mystic
riOus 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. Jezebel's queenly
pretension could not save her from
being thrown over the wall No bar
ricade of thrones can arrest Gods
justice in its unerring march. No
splendor, or thickness of official robes
can be a sufficient cloak of sin. Henry
the Eighth, Louis the Fifteenth,
Catherine of Russia, Mary of Eng
land-did their crowns save them?
No ruler ever sat so high that the
King of kings was not above him. All
victors shall bow before Him who on
the horse goeth forth conquering and
to conquer.
Again. Elegance of manners can
not successfully hide iniquity from
the eye of God. That model, gentle
manly apostle;- Paul, writes to us:
'.Be courteous" That man can
never be respectable wording nor
q consistent Christian who lacks good
manners. He is shut out from re-
fined circles, and he certainly ought
to be hindered from entering the
church. We cannot overlook that in
q man which we could hardly excuse
in bear. One Of the first effects of
the grace of God upon an individual
is to make him n gentleman. Gruff-
ness, awkwardness, applicability,
clannishness, are fruits of the devil;
while gentleness and meekness are
fruits of the spirit. But while these
eXcellences of manner are so'import-
tant, they cannot hide any defoImity
of moral character How often is it
that we find attractiveness of person,
suavity OF manners, gracefulness of
conversation, .gallantry of behavior
thrown like wreaths upon moral
death. The flowers that grow upon
the scori@ of Vesuvius do not make
it any less of volcano. The sepul-
chres in Christ's time did not exhaust
all the whitewash. Some of the big
gest scoundrels have been the most
fascinating. If there are any depend
ing on outward gracefulness and at
tractiveness of demeanor with any