Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1891-11-28
REV. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Sixth discourse on His
Recent Trip.
HIS visit 10 Athens Graphically Described
-0lOries Of tho Ancient Acropolis-
, The Apostle Paul ON Mara
Hlil, ETC., Etc

Ava W OoEhob aHu Orkohi onuk ohAo
morning with great power, the hymn
OF Isaac Watts, beginning:
"our God, our help In aGes past,
Our hope for years to come"
The sermon, which was on the Aero
polls, is the sixth OF the series DR.. Tai
mage is preaching on the subjects sug-
gested by his tour in Bible lands. His
text was taken from Acts, xviii, l6:
"While Paul waited for them at Athens
his spirit was stirred in him when he
saw the city wholly given to idolatry."
1t seemed us II morning would never
come, We had'arrived after dark In
Athens, Greece, and the night was
sleepless with expectation, and my
watch slowly announced to me and 2
and 3 and 4 o'clock; and at the first ray
Of dawn, called our party to look out
OF the window upon that city to which
Paul said he was debtor, and to which
the whole earth Is debtor for Greek
architecture, Greek sculpture, Greek
poetry, Greek eloquence, Greek PROV
ess and Greek history. That morning
in Athens we sauntered forth armed
with most generous and lovely letters
from the president Of the United States
and his secretary OF state, ana during
ali our stay in that city those letters
caused every door and every gate and
every temple and every palace to swing
open before us. The mightiest geo.
graphical name on earth to-day is
America. The signature OF an Ameri'
can president and secretary OF state
will take q man where an army could
not Those names brought us into the
presence OF most gracious and beautl-
full sovereign, the queen Of Greece, and
her cordiality was more like that OF a
sister than the occupant OF o throne
room. No formal bow as when mon
archs are approached, but q cordial
shake OF the hand. and earnest ques-
tons about our personal welfare aud our
beloved country far away.
Bat We come to the subject OF
our disrourse-tns -Acropolis. 1t Is
q rock about two miles in circumference
ut the base and 600 feet in circImfer-
euce at the Top and 800 feet high. On
1t has been crowded more elaborate
architecture and sculpture than In any
otber place under the whole heavens.
Originally fortress. aftnrward u con-
gre5aiion OF temples and statues and
pillars. their ruins an e1chantment
from which NO observer ever breaks
away. No wonder that Arislides
thought it the center OF all things
Greece, the center OF the world; Atti-
ca the center OF Greece; Athens, the
center OF Attica, and the Acropolis, the
center Of Athens.
Mars.hill is rough pile OF rock
fifty feet high. 1t was famous long be-
fore New Testament times The Fer
slams easily and terribly assaulted the
Acropolis from this hill top. Here as
sembled the coart to try criminals. 1t
was held in the night time SO that the
faces OF the judges could not be seen,
nor the faces OF the lawyers who made
the plea and so, instead Of trial being
one OF emotion. 1t must have been one
OF cool Justice. But there was one &C.
Casion on this hill memorable above all
others. A little man, physically weak.
and his rhetoric described by himself as
cont smptible, had by his sermon rocked
Athens with commotion. and he was
summoned either by writ OF law or
hearty invitation to come upon that pull
pit OF rock and give a specimen OF his
theology. All the wiseacres of Athens
turned out and turned up to hear him.
The more venerable of them sat in an
amphitheater. the granite seats OF
which are still visible. but the other
people swarmed on all sides OF the hill
and at the base OF it to hear this man,
whom some called fanatic and others
called a madcap, and others blasphe-
mer and others styled contemptuously
''this fellow"
Paul arrived in answer to tho writ or
gave them the biggest dose that NOR
tails ever took. He was so built that
nothing could scare him, and as for
Jupiter and Athena, the god and god
dess, whose images were In full sight
on an adjoining hill, he had not as much
regard for them as he had for the ant
that was crawling in the sand under his
feet. In that audience, were the first
orators OF the world, and they had
voices like flutes when they were pass
i've aud like trumpets when they were
aroused, and think they laughed in
the sleeves OF their gowns as this insig-
niflcant looking man rose to speak. In
that audience were Scholiasts, who
knew everything, or thought they did,
and from the end Of the longest hair on
the top Of their craniums to the end Of
the nail OF the longest toe, they were
stuffed with hypercriticism and they
leaned back with supercilious look 70
listen.
AS In 1889. I stood on the rock where
Paul stood, and q slab Of which 1 brought
from Athens BY consent Of the queen,