Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-02-02
ONLY ONE TAKING OFF
The Topic Chosen for the Regular
Sunday Sermon of Or. Talmage.
A SINGLE THING is LACKING.
Great Interest Taken in the Academy of
Music Services.
MORE THAN A THOUSAND CONVERTS
rpFcIkL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH,

hundreds of persons, moved by his stirring
appeals, rise for prayers, and the orchestra
seats are soon filed by those seeking spirit
ual guidance. Among the recent converts
was son of a prominent minister of the
Gospel and personal friend of DR.. Tai
mage. Passing among them, conversing
with one and another, are workers from the
Young Mems Christian Association, ii
having become physical impossibility for
DR.. Talmage TO speak individually with the
rapidly increasing numbers who desire per-
sonal religious counsel. These are indeed
solemn scenes, unprecedented within those
walls. No less than 1000 persons are said
to have been led already by these services to
enter on Christian life. The text of DR..
Talmace's sermon was: Zone thing thou
lackest" Mark x:21.
The young man Of the text was splendid
nature. We fall in love with him at the first
glance. He was amiable. and frank, and earn
est, and educated and refined, and respectable.
and moral and vet he was not a Christian. And
so Christ addresses HIM in the words that
have read to you: zone thing thou lackest" "
suppose that that text was more appropri-
ate TO the young man of whom have spoken
than it is appropriate TO great multitude of
in which you are not lacking. For instance,
You are not lacking in good home. 1t is per.
haps no more than an hour ago that you closed
the door, returning to see whether it was
well fastened. of one of the best homes in
this city. The younger children of the house
already asleep, the older ones, hear
lng your returning footsteps, will rush to the
door TO meet you. And in these winter even
lngs, the children at the stand with their les
sons. the wife plying the needle. and you read
ing the book or the paper, you feel that you
4 NnI@ @hora xo,, 1ool i,,
the refnements and cour;esies of life. You
understand the polite phraseoogy of invita-
tlon, regard, and apology. You have ap-
proprlate apparel. l shall wear no better dress
at the wedding than when come to the mar
riage Of the Kings son. If am well clothed
on other occasions. l will be In religious
audience However reckless L may be about
my personal appearance at other times when 1
come into a consecrated assemblage l shall
have on the best dress l have. We all under
stand the proprieties of everyday life and the
propuetles of Sabbath life.
One Trait of Character.
Neither are you lacking IN your admiration
of the Christian religion. There is nothing
that makes you so angry as to have a man ma
lign Christ. You get RED in the face, and you
say: Sir, 1 want you to understand that
though am not myseif Christian 1 don't
like such things as that said In my store" and
the man goes of. giving you parting saluta-
uon, bat you hardly answer him. You are pro-
Noh6O DttOuu all DOunQS. Many OF
have been supporters of religion and
have given more to the cause of Christ
than some who profess His faith.
There is nothing that would please you more
than to see your son or daughter standing at
the altar of Christ taking the vows of the
Christian. 1t might be little hard on YOU
and might make you nervous and agltated for
a little while; but you would be man enough to
say: MY child, that is right Go on j am
glad you haven't been kept back by NV ex-
ample. l hope some day to join you." You
out wonder SAYS: Il am sinner" You re-
spond: so am l." Some one saws: II believe
that Christ came to save the world" You saw:
so do 1" Looking at your character, at your
surroundings, find thousand things about
which TO congratulate you: and yet Unjust tell.
you IN the love and fear of God. and with ref
erence 10 my last account: 'One thing thou
laclest."
You need, my friends, in the first place, the
element OF happiness Some day you feel
wretched. You do not know what is the mat
ter with you. You say: II did not sleep
last night, think that must be the reason of
my restlessness:" or Il have eaten something
that did not agree with me, and 1 think that
must be the reason" And you are unhappy.
Q, my friends, happiness does not depend upor
physical condition. Some of the happIest
people have ever known have been those who
have been wrapped in consumption. or stung
with neuralgia, or burning with the slow fire of
some fever. shall never forget one man in nv
nrst parish who, in excruciation of body, cried:
No Happiness Outside of Christ.
''Mr. Talmage. L forget all my pain in the
love and Joy of Jesus Christ. can't think of
my sutferings when think of Christ" Why,
his face was illumined. There are young men
in this house who would give testimony to
show that there is no happiness outside of
Christ, while there great JOY in His service
There are young men who have not been
Christians more than six months, who would
stand up tonight, if / should ask them and
say in those six months they have had more ioy
and satisfaction than in all the years of their
frivolity and dissipation. Go to the door of
that gin-shop tonight, and when the gang of
young men come out, ask them whether they
are happy. Tnev laugh along the street. and
they leer, and they shout; but nobody has any
IDEA that they are happy.
could call upon the aged men in this house
TO give testimony. There are aged men here
who rried the world, and they tried religion,
and they willing to testify on'our side. Ii
was not long ago that an aged man arose in
praying circle, and said: Brethren, l lost nv
son just as he graduated from college, and it
broke my heart; but am glad now he is gone
He is at rest escaped from all sorrow and from
all trouble. And then, in 1857. lost all nv
property, and you see l am getting old, and it is
rather hard upon me; but am sure God will
not let me suffer. He has not taken care OF me
Tor % wears now TO let me drop out of his
hands" went into the room of an aged man
his eye-slght nearly gone, his hearing nearly
EOne-and what do you suppose he was talking
about? The goodness of God and the Joys of
religion. He said: I would like TO go over
and join my wife on the other side of the flood,
and L am waiting until the Lord calls me.
! am happy now. I shall he happy there" What
is il that gave that aged man so much salts
faction and peace? Physical exuberance? No;
II has all gone. Sunshine. He cannot see it
The voices of friends He cannot hear them
1t is the grace Of God, that is brighter than
sunshine and that is sweeter than music If
harpist takes harp and finds that all the
strings are broken but one string he does NOT
try to play upon it. Yet. here 1 will show YOU
an aged man, the strings of whose ioy are ali
broken save one, ana vet he thrums il with such
satisfaction, such melody. that the angels of
God stop the swift stroke of their wings and
hover about the place until the music ceases
O!religion's ways are ways of pleasantness
and all her paths are peace" And if Won have
not tic satisfaction that is to be found in Jesus
Christ, must tell you, with all the copcen-
tTated emphasis of my soul: Zone thing thou
laCkest"
People With Opportunities.
There are people here of high social position
ana large means and cultured minds. who if
they would come into the kingdom of God,
would set the city on fire with religious awak-
enlnG. Oh hear you not the more than million
voices Of those in these two cities who are un-
converted? Voices of those who in these two
cities are dying IN their sins? They want light
They want bread. They want Christ. They
want heaven. Oh, that the Lord would make
You hamIng evaugel. As for myself, l have
sworn before high heaven that will preach
tDlS Gospel as well as can. in all Its fullness.
until every Der of my body and every faculty
OF my mind and every passion or my soul is ex-
hausIed- But we all have work TO do. eau
not do your work, nor can Won do my work
God points us out the place where we are to
serve, and yet are there not pepple in this
house Who are 3O 40, 50 and 60 years OF age,
ana yet nave not begun The great work for
which they were created? With every worldly
equipment: "One thing thou lackest"
Again, Won lack the element of personaI
safety: Mhere eo are those people who associ-