Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1892-02-20
WHAT HE BELIEVES.
A SERMON DETAILING THE CREED
OF DR. TALMAGE


His Words Have M Uncertain Sound.
Trust. Love aud Obey the Lord"
This L. the Hcginning. and the Middle.
aud the End.
BROOKLYN. Feb H. AT the Tabei
nacle service this morning, after the
usual reading of the Scriptures, the
congregation sing
Jesus shall reign whercrr the sun
doth his successive Journeys run.
The sermon which followed was
apparently suggested by the storm
of theological controversy now rag
ing in the churches In these times.
when il is quite uncertain what many
of the clergy really do believe, this
sermon makes il very plain what the
pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle
believes His text was taken from
Luke VI. IL. And he came down
with them and stood in the plain"
Christ on the mountains is fire
quent study. We have seen him on
the Mount of Olives. Mount of Beati
tudes. Mount Moriah. Mount Calvary.
Mount of Ascension. and il is glori
OTIS To study him on these great nat
ural elevations But how is it that
never before have we noticel him on
the plant Amid the rocks. high up
on the mountain. Christ had passed
the night. but now. at early dawn.
he is coming down with some espe
cial friends, stepping from shelving
to oshelving. here and there loosencd
stone rolling down the steep sides
ahead of him. until he gets IN level
place. so that he can Ike approached
without climbing from all sides. He
is ON the level. My text says. He
came down with them and stood in
the plain
WHAT THE WORLD WANTS
Now that is what the world wants
tNiay more than anything else 4
Christ on the level. easy to get at no
ascending. no descending, approach
able from all sides Christ ON the
plain The question among all con
set'rated people today is What * the
matter with the mInlStersi Many of
them are engaged IN picking holes IN
the Bible and apologzlng for tins and
for that In an age when
the whole tendency il Ia pay too
little reverence To the Bible. they are
fighting against Bibllulatry. or too
much reverence for the Bible They
are building a fence on the wrong
side of the road not on the side
where the precipice IS and off which
multitudes are falling. but ON the
upper side of the road, so that people
will not fall up hill, of which there is
no danger
There L. no more danger Cf Bibli
olatry. or too mach reverence for the
Scriptures, than there is that astrol
ogy will take the place of astronomy
or alchemy the place of chemistry
or the canal boat the place of the
limited express rail train What a
theological farce it Is; ministers
fighting against too much reverence
for the Scriptures, ministers making
apology for the Scriptures, ministers
pretending 10 he friends of the Bible,
yet DOING the Book more damage
than all the blatant infidels on all the
earth. The trouble Is our theulogians
are up III the mountain III fight
above the clouds about things which
they do not understand Come down
ON the PLAIN and stand beside CHRIST
who never preached a technitsility or
a didactIcism. What do you. o wise
headed e,S'lt-siastlc, know about the
DEGREES of Godt Who cares a fix
about your sublalrs,rlanism or your
supralalsir1anlsinf
What spectacle we have III our
denomination today committeestry
ing 10 patch up an old creed made
two or three hundred years ago. 80
that II will iii On the Nineteenth cen
fury Why do not our millinery es
adjustments take ont of the garrets
the coal SHUTTLE hats which your
great graDdmothers wore and try To
fit them on the head of the modern
maltlenf You cannot fix upa three
hundred year old creed so as to fit
our time. Princeton will sew on a
little piece. and Union seminary will
sew ON q little piece. and Allegheny
seminary and Danville seminary will
sew on other pieces. and by the time
the creed IL done II will he as varie
gate.l ~ J,s>eph's coat of many col
OTIS
Think of having To change an old
cre,,d to make It clear that all infants
dying 81 Ia heaven am so glad
that the committees are going to let
the babies Ill. Thank you. So many
of them are already i'll that all the
hills of heaven look like a Sunday
school anniversary Now what is
the Use of fixing upa creed which
left any doubt on that suhjecti No
man ever doubted that all infants
dying go To heaven. unless he be q
Herod or IL Charles Guiteau. was
opposed 10 overhauling the old creed
at all, but now that II has been lifted
up and it, impertectiOns set up III the
sight of the world. say. OverInard
with il and make a new cre,sl.
There are today III our denomination
five hundred men who could make a
better one could make better one
myself As we are now i'll process of
changing the creed. and no one knows
what we are expected to believe. or
will two or three years hence be ex