The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-08-12
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINES sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Opportunities for Chris
tians." preached at Madi-
son, Wis.l


Esther the Beautiful was the wife of
Ahasuerus the Abominable The time had
come for her to present petition to her IN.
famous husband in behalf Of the Israelitlsn
nation, to which she had once belonge5. She
was afraid to undertake the work lest sue
should lose her own life; but her uncle, Nor
decai, who had brought her up, encouraged
her with the suggestion that prooaoiy Sne
had been raised up of God for that peculiar
mission. WHO knoweth whether thou art
come to the kingdom for such a time as
thisg' Esther had her God-appolnted work;
you and have ours 1t Is my business 10
tell you what style Of people we ought to be
: In order that We may meet the demand or
the age in which God has cast our lot. II you
have come expecting to hear distractions
discussed or dry technicallties or reiSion
gloriied, you have come to the wrong place:
but if YOU really would like to know what
this age has a right to expect of you ,as
Christian men and women, then am ready
in the Lords name to look you in the face.
When two armies have rushed into battle
the officers of either army do not want phil
.oeophical discussions about the chemical
properties OF human blood or the nature OF
gunpowder. They want some one to man
the batteries and swab out the guns. ANA
now, when all the forces OF light and dark
ness, OF heaven and hell, have plunged into
UQ6 QgQU, IL Is uO Ilulo W SANo 60 "
the definitions and formulas and technlcall-
ties and conventionalities Of religion. What
we want is practical, earnest concentrates,
enthusiastic and triumphant help. Whatwe
need in the East you in Wisconsin need.
In the first place. in order to meet the
special demand OF this age you need to be
an Enthusiastically aggressive Christian. VI
half and half Christians we do not want any
more. The church Of Jesus Christ will be
better without ten thousand Of them. They
are the chief obstacle to the church's ad-
vancement. am speaking Of another kind
of Christian. All the appliances for your
becoming an earnest Christian are at your
hand, and there is straight path for you in
to the broad daylight Of Gods forgiveness.
You may have come here to-day the bonds
men OF the world, AMI yet before you 60 out
of these doors you may become the princes
of the Lord God Almighty. You know what
excitement there is in this country when
foreign prince comes to our shores. Why?
Because it is expected that some day he will
sit upon a throne. But what is all that
honor compared with the honor to which
God calls you-to be sons and daughters Of
kings unto God! They shall reign with
Him forever and forever"
But my friends. you need not be aggres-
.sive Christians and not like thoss persons
who spend their lives in hugging their Chris
tian graces and wondering why they do not
Of health would man have if he hid HIM
self in dark closet? A great deal Of piety
of the day is too exclusive. 1t hides itself.
It needs more fresh air, more outdoor exer-
else. There are many Christians who are
giving their entire life to self examination.
They are feeling their pu.sss to see what is
the condition of their spiritual health. How
long would man have robust physical health
If he kept all the days and weeks and months
and years of his life feeling his pulse instead
Of going out into active, earnest. everyday
work?
was once amid the wonderful, bewttch-
ing cactus growths of North Carolina. 1
never was more bewilderei with the beauty
OF flowers, and yet when I would take up
one of these cactuses and pull the leaves
apart, the beauty was all gone. You could
hardly tell that it had ever been flower.
And there are great many Christian pso-
pie in this day just pulling apart their
Christian experiences to sse what there Is
in them, and there is nothing attractive
left. This style Of self examination is a
damage instead of an advantage to their
Christian character. l remember when !
was boy l used to have small piece in
the garden that called my own, and I
planted corn there, and every few days
would pull it up to see how fast 1t was
growing. Now, there ara a great many
Christian people in this day whose sslf e1-
animation merely amounts to the pulling
up OF that which they only yesterday or
the day before planted.
Oh, my friends! if you want to have
stalwart Christian character, plant it right
out OF doors in the great field of Christian
usefulness and though storms may come
upon it, and though the hot sun Of trial may
try to consume it, it will thrive until it be-
comes great tree. in which the fowls o.
heaven may have their haoitation. I havs
no patience with these howerpot Christians.
They keep themselves under shelter, and all
their Christian experience in a small, exclu-
sive circle, when they ought to plant it in
the great garden OF tas Lord, 50 that ths
whole atmosphere could be aromatic with
their Christian usefulness. What we want
In the church Of God is mora Drawn OF piety.
The century plant is wonderfully sugges-
tive and wonderfully beautitui. but never
look ut it without thinking OF its parsimony.
1t lets whole generations 60 by bsiore it puts
forth one blossom; 50 I have really
more heartfelt admiration wasn l SEQ
the dewy tears in the blue eyes OF
the vIolets, FOR they come every spring. Ny
Christian friends, time is going by so rap
Idly that we cannot afford to be idle.
A recent statistician says that human life
now has an average Of only thirty-two years.
From these thirty-two years you must sub
tract all the time you take for sleep and ths
taxing Of food and recreation; that will leave
you about sixteen years. From those sixteen
years you must subtract all the time you are
necessarily engaged in the earning Of liveli.
hood; that will leave you about eight years.
From those eight years you must take all the
days and weeks and months-all the length
Of time that is passed in childhood and sick.
ness, leaving you about one year in whica to
work for God. Oh, my soul, wake up How
darest thou sleep in harvest time and with so
few hours in which to reap? So that state
it as q simple fact that ali the time that the
vast m aiority Of you will have for the ex-
elusive service of God viii be less than one
year!
"But," says some man, Il literally support
tae Gospel, and the church is open and thu
Gospel preached; all thu s2iritua! advan-
tages are spread before men, AMI il they
want to be save1 let them come AMI b.
sayed: have discharged all my responsi-
biiity." All! is that the Masters spirit. Is
there not an old Book somewhere taa1 CON-
mands US to 80 out into the highways and
hedges and compel the people TO come in.
What would have become OF you and me it
Christ had not come down of the hills OF
heaven, and il He had not come through tine
door or tho Bethlehem caravansary, and il
He had not with the cruShei hand OF the
crucihxion knocked at tins iron gate of tbs
sepulcaer OF our spiritual death, crying,
Lazarus come forth"
Oh. my Christian friends, this is no time
for inertia, when all the forces OF darkness
seem to be in full blast; when steam printing
presses are publishing infidel tracts; when
express railroad trains are carrying mes
sengers Of sin; when fast clippers are laden
with oDium and rum; when the night air Of
our cities is polluted with the laughter that
breaks up from the ten thousand saloons Of
jicsipotiop and abandonment. xynan the tiraS