Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1891-01-05
A NEW YEARS SERMON.
PREACHED BY Or TALMAGE, SUN
DAY, JAN 4, 1891.

He Describes Forward 1Iovement-Ihe
Conflict Between Right and Wrong.
Christians should Not Lose Courage,
but should Press on to Victory.
BROOKLYN. Jan. DIR Talmage's
New Years sermon is a ringing battle
cry to ministers and Christians. every
where, calling upon them TO join in
combined charge on the intrenchments
of sin and Satan. 1t made a deep i'm
preston on the vast crowds who heard
it in this city this morning. and at The
Christian Herald service tonight IN
New York The enthusiasm at the lat
ter service was increased by the effect
i've aid rendered by large volunteer
choir which has been organized from
the audiences, who sung with a volume
and fervor seldom equaled. After the
singing of the hymn commencing,
Come Holy Spirit heavenly dove,
With all thy quickening powers,
DR. Talnage preached the following
sermon from the text Luke xiv, 40,
''Tarry We in the city of Jerusalem I'M
til We be endued with power from on
high"
For few months, in the providence
of God. have two pulpits, one in Brook
lyn and the other in New York, and
through the kindness of the printing
press an ever widening opportunity
To all such hearers and readers [ come
with an especial message. The time
has arrived for Il forward movement
such us the church and the world have
never seen. That there is need for
such a religious movement is evident
from the fact that never since our
world was swung out among the planets
has there been such an organized and
determined effort to overthrow right
eousness and make the Ten Command
nents obsolete and the whole Bible a
derision Meanwhile alcoholism is tax
ing down it's victims by the hundreds
of thousands, and the political parties
get down on their knees, practically
saying: 20 thou almighty rum jug! we
bow down before thee. Give US the
offices, city, state and national. Oh,
give US the offices and we will worship
thee for ever and ever, Amen.
The Christian Sabbath meanwhile,
spiritual rest. is being secuIarized and
abolished As if the bad publishing
houses of our own country had ex-
hausted their literary filth, the French
and Russian sewers have been invited
to pour their scurrility and moral slush
into the trough where our American
swine are now wallOwing. Meanwhile
there are enough houses of infamy in
all our cities. open and unmOiested of
the law, to invoke the Omnipotent
wrath which buried SodOm under a
deluge of birthstone. The pandemO-
Mac world, | think, has massed its
troops, and they are this moment ply
ing their batteries upon family circles,
church circles, social circles, political
circles and national circles. Apollyon
is in the saddle, and, riding at the head
of his myrmidOns, would capture this
world for darkness and woe.
THE CHRISTIAN SIDE OF THE FIGHT.
That is one side of the conflict now
raging On the other side we have the
most magnificent gospel machinery that
the world ever saw or heaven ever in
vented. In the first place, there are in
this country more than so, 900 ministers
of religion, and, take them as a class,
more cOnsecrated, holier, more consist
ent, more self denying, more faithful
men never lived. [ know them by the
l have met them in every
city. | am told, not by them, but by
people outside our profession, people
engaged in Christian and reformatory
work, that the clergy of America are
at the head of all good enterprises, and
whoever else fail they may be depend
ed on The truth of this is demonstrate
ed by the fact that when minister of
religion does fail, it is so exceptional
that the newspapers report it as some
thing startling while a hundred men
in other callings may go down without
the matter being considered as espe
cially worth mentioning.
In addition to their equipment in
moral character the clergy Of this
country have all that the schools can
give. All archaeological, rhetorical,
scientific, scholastic, literary attain
ment So much for the Christian min
istry of all denominations. In the next
place, on our side OF the conflict we
have the grandest churches of all time,
and higher style of membership and
more Of them, and host without num-
Der of splendid men and women who
are doing their best to have this world
purified, elevated, gospeliZed. But we
all feel that something is wanting
Enough hearty songs have been sung
and enough earnest sermons preached
within the last six months to save all
the cities of America; and saving the
cities you save the world, for they over
flow all the land either with their re-
igion or their infalny.
SOME STARTLING FACTS.
But look at some of the startling
facts 1t is nearly nineteen hundred
years since Jesus Christ came by the
way of Bethlehem caravansary to save
this world, yet the most of the world
has been no more touched by this most
stupendous fact of all eternity than if
ON the first Christmas night the beasts
of the stall, amid the bleatings of their
own young, had not heard the bleating
of the Lamb that was to be slain. Out
of the eighteen hundred million of the
human race, fourteen hundred million
are without God and without hope in
the world, the camel driver of Arabia,
Mahomet, with his nine wives, having
half as many disciples as our blessed
Christ. and more people ere worship
ing chunks of painted wood and
carved stone than are worshiping the
living and eternal God. Meanwhile,
the most of US who are engaged in
Christian work. speak for myself as
well as others-are toiling up to our
full capacity of body, mind and soul,
harnessed up to the last buckle, not
able to draw pound more than we are
drawing, or lift an ounce more than
we are lifting.
What is the matter? My text lets
out The secret. We all need more OF
the power from on high. Not muscular
power, not logical power, not scientific
power, not social power, not financial
power, not brain power but power
cOmplish more in one week than with
from on high With it we could ac-