Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1891-01-22
BEHIND AND BEFORE.
TALMAGES NEW YEARS SERMON
AGLANCE IN BOTH DIRECTIONS.

Their ArmOr and Begin ViSor-
Gus Onslaught Against Sin and
Eatan.-Why the World IL Not Now
Christianized.--An Earnest Appeal
for Prayer.
BROOKLYN, N. Y, January 4.--Dr. Tai
images New Years sermon is ringing
battle-cry to ministers and Christians
everywhere, calling upon them to join in
y combined charge on the entertainments Of
OF sin and Satan. 1t made deep impress
sion on the vast crowds who heard it in
this city this morning and at the service
In New York tonight. Tho enthusiasm at
the latter service was increased b. the
effective aid rendered by a largo volunteer
choir which has been organized from tho
audiences, who sung with volume and |
fervor seldom cqualled. After the singing !
OF the hymn commencing,
Come Holy Spirit. Heavenly Dove
With all thy quickening powers,-
Or. Talmage preached tho following ser
mon from the text, Luke "a: 49: ''Tarry
ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be
cndued with power from on high
For o few months, in the providence OF
God, l have two pulpits. one in Brooklyn
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 mes
sage. The time has arrived for forward
movement such as the church and tho
world have never seen. That there is need
for such u religious movement is evident
from the fact that never since our world
was rolled out among the planets has there
beer such an organized and determined
effort to overthrow righteousness and make
tho Ten Commandments obsolete and the
whole Bible derison. Meanwhile alco-
holism is taking down its victims by tho
hundreds of thousands. and the political
parties get down on their knees, practically
saying: 20 thou almighty Rum jug, wo
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, appointed for physical, mental
and spiritual rest. is being secularizcd and
abolished. AS if the bad publishing houses
Of our own country had exhausted their
| literary filth, the French and Russian sew
ers have been invited to pour their sour
| rlitv and immoral sl,ish into the trough
where our Amer lean swine are now wal
| lowing. Meanwhile. there are enough
| houses of infamy in all our cities, open and
unmoested of the law, to invoke the Om-
nipotent wrath which buried Sodom under
deluge Of birthstone. he pandemoniac
world. / think, has massad its troops and
they are this moment plying their batteries
upon family circles, church circles, social
circles political circles and national circles.
Apollyon is in the saddle and riding at tho
head of his myrmdons would capture this
world for darkness and woe.
That is one side of the conflict now rag
ing On the other side we have the most
magnificent Gospel machinery that the
world ever saw or heaven ever invented.
In the first place, in this country more than
eighty thousand ministers of religion and,
take them as class, more cousecrated
holier. more consistent, more self-denying
more faithful men mover lived. l know
them by the thousands. l have met then
in every city. am told, not by them blu
by people outside our profession, people
, engaged in Christian and rcformator'
work, that the clergy Of America arc a
the head of all good enterprises and, who
4 ever else fail, they may DO depended on
, The truth of this is demonstrated BY Thu
fact that when a minister of religion doe
~ fall, it is so exceptional that the news
/, papers report it as something startling
@ while hundred men in other callings ma!
, go down without the matter being consid
cred as especially worth mentioning. Il
addition to their equipment in moral char
acter, the clergy Of this country have al
l that the schools can give. All archnolog
ical, rhetorical, scientific. scholastic
literary attainment. So much for tn
Christian ministry Of all denominations
: In the next place on our side Of the confic
I we have the grandest churches Of all tim
+ and higher style of membership, and NOR
of them, and host without number Q
splendid men and women who are doin
|. -heir best to have this world purified
o levated, gospelized. But we all fec
"a That something is wanting. Enoug
hearty songs have been sung and cnoug
)arpest sermons preached within the las
: six months to save all the cities of Americ
y and saving the cities you save the worlt
!. for they overflow all the land either wit
:, their religion or their infamy.
- But look at some Of the startling facts
IS It is nearly nineteen hundred years sine
II Jesus Christ came by the way OF Bethlchc,
caravansary TO save this world. yet tn
most of the world has been no more touche
BY this most stupcndous fact Of all eternit
than ii on tho first Christmas night til
IS beasts of the stall, amid the bleatings G
& their own young, had not heard the blea
If ing of the Lamb that was to be slain. Ot
Of the eighteen hundred million OF the hi
10 man race fourteen hundred million ar
81 without God and without hope in the worl
lr the camel driver Of Arabia, Mahomet, wit
r. his nine wives, having half as many disc
=, pies as our blessed Christi and more Poop
y are worshpping chunks OF painted wood al
II carved stone than arc worshippng the Ii
Id ing and eternal God. Meanwhile, the mo
fe Of US who are engaged in Christian work
10 Ispeak for myself as we'll as others-a
boiling up to our full capacity OF bod
10 mind and SOUL harnessed up to the la
r. buckle, not able to draw pound mo-
IN than VIC are drawing, or lift an ounce mo
;, than we are lifting.
:. What Is tho matter? My text lets o
~ the secret We all need more OF the pow