The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-02-04
COME r
Tia Word Which Stands at the
Front Door Of the Bible.
It h tho Mightiest OF All Sollcitants, Either
for Good or Bad-GOd's Invitation
to . Sinful WOrld--Rev. DIR.
Talmage's Sermon.

For his sermon last Sunday DR.. Tai
mage chose the following texts: "Come,"
Genesis vi, IS; Come" Revelations
xii, II. The eloquent divine spoke as
follows:
Imperial, tender, and all-persuasive is
this word Come" Six hundred and
seventy-eight times is it found in the
Scriptures. 1t stands at the front gate
of the Bible as in my first text, inviting
antedeluvians into Noah's ark, and it
stands at the other gate of the Bible, as
in my second text, inviting the postdilu-
VANS into the ark of a Saviour's mercy.
"Come" is only word of four letters,
but it is the queen Of words, and nearly
the entire nation Of English vocabulary
bows to its scepter. 1t is an ocean into
which empties ten thousand rivers of
meaning. Other words drive, but this
beckons. All moods of feeling hath
that word Come" Sometimes it weeps
and sometimes it laughs. Sometimes it
prays, sometimes it tempts, and some
times 1t destroys. 1t sounds from the
door OF the church and from the serag-
lios of sin, from the gates Of Heaven
and the gates of hell. 1t is continent
and accrescent of all power. 1t is the
heiress of most of the past and the
almoner of most Of the future. "Come"
You may pronounce it so that all the
heavens will be heard in its cadences,
or pronounce it so that all the woes Of
time and eternity shall reverberate in
Its one syllable. It is on the lip Of saint
and profigate. It is the mightiest Of
Ill solicitants either for good or bad.
To-day weigh anchor, and haul in
the planks, and set sail on that great
word, although l am sure will not be
able to reach the further shore. l will
let down the fathoming line into this
sea and try to measure its depths, and,
though tie together all the cables and
cordage have on board, 1 will not be
able to touch bottom. All the power Of
the Christian religion is in that word
"Come." The dictatorial and command
atory in religion is of no avail. The i'm
perative mood is not the appropriate
mood when we would have people saw
ingly impressed. They may be coaxed,
but they can not be driven. Our hearts
are like our homes, at friendly knock
the door will be opened, but an attempt
to force open our door would land the
assailant in prison. Our theological
seminaries, which keep young men three
vaorc in thai,. M, Inv, no oc, 1o,,r ob
ing them into the ministry, will do well
If in so short time they can teach the
candidates for the holy Office how to say
with right emphasis and information and
power that one word-"Comew That
man who has such efficiency in Chris
tian work, and that woman who ha.
such power to persuade people to quit
the wrong and begin the right, went
through a series of losses, bereave
ments, prosecutions, and the trials o.
twenty or thirty years before they coult
make it triumph of grace every time
they uttered the word Come"
, You must remember that in many
case our Come" has mightier ''Come'
to conquer before it has any effect a
, all. just give me the accurate census
l the statistics, of how many are down il
: fraud, in drunkenness, in gambling, il
impurity, or in vice of any sort, and
a will give you the accurate census or sta
t tistics of how many have been slain BY
r the word Come" 'Come and clicl
o wineglasses with me at this ivory bar
"Come and see what we can win at thi
: gambling table" Come. enter with m,
v this doubtful speculation" ''Come witt
: me and read those infdel tracts OF
r Christianity" ''Come with me to plac
of bad amusement" Come with me il
= a gay bout through underground New
. York" If in this city there are twent,
0 thousand who are down in moral char
! acter, then twenty thousand fell unde
the power of the word Come" | wa
s reading of wife whose husband ha,
f been overthrown by strong drink, an
@ she went to the saloon where he wa
f ruined, and she said: "Give me back m
husband. And the bartender, pointin
4 to maudlin and battered man drows
= ing in the corner of the barroom
G "There he is; jim, wake up; here's you
II wife come for you" And the woma
said: "Do you call that my husband
What have you been doing with him?
!. that the manly brow? Is that the clea
n eye? Is that the noble heart that mai
a ried? What vile drug have you give
- him that has turned him into fien6
,. Take your tiger claws off of him. Ur
coil those serpent folds of evil habit
- that are crushing him. Give me bac
. my husband, the one with whom stoo
- at the altar ten years ago. Give hil
= back to me-" Victim was he, as mil
|; ions of others have been, of the wor
"Comew
Now we want all the world over I
harness this word for good as Other
have harnessed it for evil, and it wi
= draw the five continents and the sea
= between them, yea, it will draw tn
=, whole earth back 70 the God from whol
:, it has wandered. 1t is that wooing an
persuasive word that will lead men ,
give up their sins. Was skepticism eve
n brought into love of the truth bv a
= ebullition of hot words against infide
: ity? Was ever the blasphemer stoppe
! in his oaths by denunciation of bla
; phemy? Was ever drunkard weant
' from his cups by the temperance lectu
er's mimicry of staggering step and hi
Z cough? No. 1t was: ''Come with n
y to church to-day and hear our singing
T. Come and let me introduce you to
% Christian man whom you will be SUI
to admire;" Come with me into asso,