The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1891-03-12
PRACTICAL RELIGION.
AN ELOQUENT SERMON BY DR..
TALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine Dis
courses From the Text Faith
Without Works"

dead. Jas. H., 20.
The Roman Catholic Church has
been charged with putting too much
stress upon good works and not
enough upon faith. l charge Protest
antism with putting not enough stress
upon good works as connected with
salvation. Good works will never save
man, but if a man have not good
works he has no real faith and no gen.
uine religion. There are those who
depend upon the fact that they are all
right inside, while their conduct is
wrong outside. Their religion for the
most part is made up of talk-vigorous
talk, fluent talk, boastful talk, per-
petual talk. They will entertain you
by the hour in telling you how good
they are. They come up to such a
higher life that we have no patience
with ordinary Christians in the plain
discharge of their duty. AS near as
can tell, this ocean craft is mostly sail
and very little tonnage. Foretopmast
staysail. foretopmast studding sail,
maintop sail, mizzentop sail-every-
thing from flying jib 70 mizzen spanker,
but making no useful voyage. Now
the world has got tired of this, and it
wants religion that will work into all
the circumstances of life. We do not
want new religion, but the old re-
ligion applied IN all possible directions.
Yonder is a river with steep and
rocky banks, and it roars like a young
| Niagara as it rolls over its rough bed.
1t does nothing but talk about itself
all the way from its source in the
mountain to the place where it empties
into the sea. The banks are SO steep
the cattle cannot come down to drink.
1t does not run one fertilizing rill into
the adjoining field. 1t has not one
grist mill or factory on either side.
1t sulks in wet weather with chilling
fogs. No one cares when that river is
born among the rocks, and no one
cares when it dies into the sea. But
yonder is another river, and it moses
its banks with the warm tides, and it
rocks with floral lullaby the water ILL
lies asleep on its bosom. 1t invites
herds of cattle, and hocks of sheep,
! and coveys OF birds to come there and
drink. 1t has three grist mills on one
side and SIX cotton factories on the
other. 1t is the wealth of two hundred
miles of luxurlant farms. The birds
OF heaven Chanted when it was born
IN the mountains, and the ocean ship
ping will press in from the sea to hail
it as it comes down to the Atlantic
coast. The one river is a man who
lives for himself, the other river is a
man who lives for Others.
Do you know how the site OF the
ancient city of Jerusalem was chosen !?
There were two brothers who had ad-
joining farms. The one brother had
large family, the other had no fam
lily. The brother with large family
said, "There is my brother with no
family; he must be lonely, and l will
try to cheer him up, and I wild take
some of the sheaves from my field in
the night time and set them over on
his farm and say nothing about it. I"
The other brother said, "My brother
has large family and it is difficult
for him to support them, and l will
help him along, and l will take some
of the sheaves from my own farm in
the night time and set them over on
his farm and say nothing about it"
So the work of transference went on
night after night, and night after
night, but every morning things
seemed to be just as they were, for
though sheaves had been subtracted
from each ia N, sheaves had also been
added, and the brothers were perplexed
and could not understand. But one
night the brothers happened to meet
while making this generous transfer
ence and the spot where they met was
SO sacred that it was chosen as the
site or the city of Jerusalem. If that
tradition should prove unfounded it
will nevertheless stand as a beautiful
allegory setting forth the idea that
wherever kindly and generous and
loving act is performed that is the
spot fit for some temple of commem-
Grafton.
l have often spoken to you about
faith, but now speak to you about
works, for "faith without works is
dead" | think you will agree with
me in the statement that the great
want of this world is more practical
religion. We want practical religion
to go into all merchandise. 1t will
supervise the labelling of goods. 1t will
not allow man to say thing was
made in one factory when it was made
in another. 1t will not allow the mer-
chant to say that watch was manufac-
tured in Geneva, Switzerland, when i,
was manufactured in Massachusetts,.
1t will not allow the merchant to say
that wine came from Madeira when i,
came from California. Practical re.
ligion will walk along by the store
shelves and tear off all the tags tha,
make misrepresentation. 1t will moi
allow the merchant to say that is purs
coffee when dandelion root and chic
ory and other ingredients 60 into it
1t will not allow him to say that i:
pure sugar when there are in it sand
and ground glass.
When practical religion gets its full