Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-06-30
COMMON CLOAKS FOR SIN
DR.. TALMAGE PULLS AWAY THE
RAGS THAT HIDE INIoUlTY.

Less Chance for Heaven Than the HUM
bIest Person Who Loves God.
WINFIELD, Kan, juno CDR. Talmage
deals In his sermon today in characteristic
style with the various garbs in which sin
masquerades in modern society, and in
stripping the monster of its DISCUSSES he
aims not only to reveal its deformity to the
world, but to put his hearers on their
guard against self delusion His text is
John XIV, %: But now they have no cloak
for their sim"
Sin Is always disguised. Deckec and
CLOSED and perfumed and masked 1t
gains admittance in places from which 1t
would otherwise be repealed AS silently
as when it glided into Eden, and as plausi-
bly, as when it talked to Christ at the top
of the temple, 1t now addresses men. Could
people look upon sin as it always is-an
exhalation from the pit, the putrefaction
of infinite capacities, the CHASTITY, loath-
some, God smitten monster that uprooted
Eden and killed Christ, and would push
the entire race into darkness and pain-the
internal charm would be broken. Before
our first parents transgressed, sin appeared
to them the sweetness of fruit and the be-
coming as gods. To Absalom it was che
p4cdSuIG VI SltbluB upon IL CnNOuos Az uleu
now sin Is laughter and permission to
luxurious qualification. Jesus Christ in
my text suggests a fact which everybody
ought to know, and that is that sin, to
hide It's deformity and shame, is accus-
toned to wearing a cloak; and the Saviour
also sets forts the truth that God can see
straight through all such wrappings and
thicknesses. want now to speak of sew
eral kinds of cloaks with which men ex-
pect to cover up their iniquities, for the
fashion in regard to these garments is con-
stantly changing and every day beholds
some new style OF wearing them, and II
you will tarry little while l will show
you five or six of the patterns of cloaks.
EARTHLY POWER IS OF NO AVAIL
First, remark that there are those who,
being honored with official power, expect
to make that successful cloak for their
sin. There is sacredness in Office. God
himself is king, and all who hold authority
in the world serve under him, That COM
munity has committed a monstrous wrong
who has elevated to this dignity persons
unqualified 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 ex-
pressed 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 character of those who fill them,
believe God would have us respectful to
the offices, though we may have no admi-
ration for their occupants Yet this dig
nifty 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 fishermen
of Galilee. 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 cannot make
pride or injustice or cruelty sacred by
giving it 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. Jezebels queenly pre-
tension could not save her from being
thrown over the wall. No barricade of
thrones can arrest Gods justice in its un-
erring march No splendor or thickness
of official robes can be a sufficient cloak Of
sin. Henry VIII, Louis XIV, Catharine of
Russia Maryof EHgland-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
white hoIeN goeth forth conquering and to
conquer.
GOOD MANNERS CAN'T HIDE INIQUITY.
Again, elegance of manners cannot sue
cessfully hide iniquity from the eye Of God.
That model, gentlcmanly apostle, Paul.
writes to us: BE courteous" That man
can neither be 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
overlook that IN n man which we could
hardly excuse in a bear. Ono OF the first
effects of the grace of God upon an indi-
vidual is to make him gentleman. Gruff-
ness, awkwardness, applicability, clan
nishness are fruits of the devil, while
gentleness and meekness are fruits of the
Spirit. But while these excellences of
manner are so important they cannot hide
any deformity Of moral character. How
often is it that we find attractiyeness Of
person, suavity of manners, gracefulness
of conversation. gallantry of behavior
thrown like wreaths upon moral death.
The flowers that grow upon the scorie of
Vesuvius do not make it any less of vol
cano. 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 gracefulness and attractive
ness of demeanor, with any hope that be-
cause OF that God will forgive the sin of
their soul, let me assure them that the di-
vine Justice cannot 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
cover 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 sweetly
you smiled, nor how impressively you
Restured The deeds done in the body will
be the test, and not the rules of Lord Ches-
terrified
HEART AND MOUTH BOTH MUST PROFESS.
Again, let me say that the mere profess
sion of religion is but n poor wrapping of
naked soul. The Importance of making a
public profession of religion II the heart
be renewed cannot be exaggerated. Christ
positively and with the earnestness of the
might before his crucifixion commanded It,
But it is the result of Christian character,
not the cause Of it. Our church certificate
Is poor tito TO heaven. We may have
the name and not the reality. There are
those who seem to throw themselves back
with complacency upon their public con-
fession of Christ although they give no
signs Of renewal II Satan can induce q
man 10 build on such "A rotton foundation