The Brookhaven leader., 1890-07-10
TALMAGES SERMON.
Cloalzs Under Which Sin Hides Its
Head in Society.
The Elegance OF Manners of Polite So.
ciety Too often, Nowadays, Con-
ceals n Seethiug Cauldron OF
Vice and immortality.


following sermon at Winfield, Kas.,
during his Western trip, taking for his
text:
But now they have no cloak for their sin.
John XIV, %.
Sin is always disguised. Decked and
CLOSED, and perfumed, and masked, it
gains admittance in places from which
it would otherwise be repeled. As ST.
lently as when it glided into Eden, and
as plausibly as when it talked to Christ
at the top of the temple, it now ad-
dresses men. Could people look upon
sin as it always is-an exha-
lation from the pit the putrefac-
ton 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 parents
transgressed sin appeared to them the
sweetness of fruit and the becoming
as gods. To Absalom it was the
pleasure of sitting upon throne.
To men now sin Is laugh
ter, and permission to luxurious graft
fcation. Jesus Christ in my text sug-
gests fact which every body ought to
know, and that is that sin, to hide its
deformity and shame, is accustomed to
wearing cloak, and the Saviour also
sets forth the truth that God
can see straight through all
such wrappings and thicknesses. l
want now to speak of several
Ia 90 81 l. NIT hioh
to cover up their iniquities, for the
fashion in regard to these garments is
constantly changing, and every day be-
holds some new style of wearing them,
and, If you will tarry little while, i
will show you five or six of the pat
terms of the cloaks.
First, ! remark that there are those
who, being honored with official power,
expect to make that 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 COM
mitted a monstrous wrong which has
elevated to this dignity persons I'M
qualified either by their ignorance or
their immortality Nations who elevate
to posts of authority those not qualified
to fill them will feel the reaction
Solomon expressed this thought when
he said: "Noe unto thee, o, land, when
thy King is child and thy Princes
drink in the morning" While posi-
tions of trust may be disgraced by
the character of those who fill them, l
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. Nebuchad
nezzar, and Ahab, and Herod, in the
day Of Judgment, must stand on the
level with the herdsmen that kept
their flocks, and the fishermen of Cali
lee. Pope, and King, and President,
and Governor, must give an account to
God, 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
can not 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 liter
ally hurried him from the throne to
the dogs. The imperial vestments of
wicked Jehoram could not keep Jehu's
arrow from striking through his heart.
Jezebels queenly pretension could not
save her from being thrown over the
wall. No barricade of thrones can ar
rest Gods justice in its unerring march.
No splendor or thickness of official
robes can be sufficient cloak of sin.
Henry VIII, Louis Nv, Catherine of
Russia, Mary of England-did their
crowns save them? No ruler ever sat
so high that the King of Kings was not
above him. All victors shall bow be-
fore Him who on the white horse goeth
forth conquering and to conquer.
Again: Elegance of manners can not
successfully hide iniquity from the eye
of God. That model, gentlemanly apos-
tie, Paul, writes to us: "Be courteous.
That man can neither be a respecta BILE
wording nor a consistent Christian
who lacks good manners He is shut
out from refined circles, and he certain
~ ought to be hindered from entering
the church. We can not overlook that
in a bear. One of the first effect of the
grace of God upon an individual is to
make him a gentleman. Gruffness,
awkwardness, implacability, clan
nishness, are fruits of the devil;
while gentleness and meekness
are fruits of the Spirit. But while
these eXcelences of manner are so i'm
portant, they can not hide any deform-
ity of moral character. How often it is
that we find attractiveness of person,
sauvity of manners, gracefulness of
conversation, Gallantry of behavior,
thrown like wraths upon moral death.
The flowers that grow upon the scori9
Of Nesuvius do not make it any less of
volcano. The sepulchers in Christ's
time did not exhaust all the whitewash.
Some of the biggest scoundrels have
been the most fascinating. If there are
any depending on outward grace
fulness and attractiveness of demeanor
with any hope that because of that God
will forgive the sin of their soul, let me
assure them that the Divine justice can
not be satisfied with smiles and elegant
gesticulation. Christ looks deeper than
the skin, and such ragged cloak as
the one in which you are trying to COW
er yourself will be no hiding in the day
of His power. God will not, in the judg-
ment, ask how gracefully you walked,
nor how politely You bowed, nor how