The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-03-30
THE SIN OF HYPOCRISY.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Makes Vigor-
GUS Onslaught Upon It.
People Who Strain at Gnats and Swallow
Camels-The Weekday Sinner and the
Sunday Christian Not Worthy Of
Emulation-Blind Guides.

The tendency to Journalism in religion
and to hypocritical pretense in society |
received severe castigation from the
pulpit of the Brooklyn tabernacle re-
Gently. DR.. Talmagc made vigorous
onslaught upon it, basing his remarks
on the text, Matthew xiii, "a: 'Ye blind
guides, who strain st a gnat and swallow
camel The preacher spoke as follows:
A proverb is compact wisdom, knowl-
edge in chunks, a library in sentence,
the electricity Of many clouds dis
charged in one bolt, river put through
u mill race. When Christ quotes the
proverb of the text, He means to set
forth the ludicrous behavior Of those
who make q great buster about small
sins and have no appreciation OF great
ones.
In my text small insect and large
quadruped are brought into comparison
"a gnat and camel. You have in
museum or on the desert seen the latter,
a great awkward sprawling creature,
with back two stories high, and stomach
having a collection of reservoirs for
desert travel, an animal forbidden to the
Jews as food, and in many literatures
entitled "the ship of the desert" The
gnat spoken of in the text is in the grub
form. 1t is born in pool or pond, after
a few weeks becomes chrysalis, and
then after few days becomes the gnat
as we recognize it. But the insect spoken
of in the text is in its very smallest
shape, and yet it inhabits the water
for my text is misprint and ought to
read 'strain out gnat."
My text shows you the prince OF in
consistencies. A man after long obser-
walton has formed the suspicion that in
q cup of water he is about to drink there
is a grub or the grandparent Of a gnat
He goes and gets sieve or strainer. He
takes the water and pours II through
the seive in the broad light. He says:
II would rather do anything almost
than drink this water until this larva
be extirpated." This water is brought
under inquisition. The experiment Is
successful. The water rushes Through
the sieve and leaves against the side OF
the sieve the grub or gnat. Then the
man carefully removes the insect and
drinks the water In placidity. But go.
ing out one day, and hungry, he de-
YOURS "ship Of the desert" the camek
which the Jews were forbidden TO eat
The gastronomer has no compunctions
of conscience. He suffers from no indi-
gestion. He puts the lower Jaw under
the camel's forefoot, and his upper jaw
over the hump on the camers back, and
gives one swallow and the .dromedary
disappears forever. He strained out a
gnat, he swallowed camel.
While Christ's audience were yet
smiling at the appositeness and wit Of
this illustration-for smile they did in
church, unless they were too stupid to
understand the hyperbole-Christ prac-
tically said to them, "That is you"
Punctilious about small things; reckless
about affairs of great magnitude. No
subject ever withered under q surgeons
knife more bitterly than did the Phari'
sees under Christ's scalpel Of truth. As
an anatomist will take a human body 10
pieces and put them pnder microscope
for examination, sol Christ finds His way
TO the heart Of the dead Pharisee and
cuts II out and puts It under the glass Of
inspection for oil generations TO exam.
inc. Those Pharisees thought that
Christ would latter them and compli'
ment them, and how they must have
writhed under the red-hot words as Hs
said: 'sYe fools, We whited sepulchers
We blind guides which strain outa gnat
and swallow camel"
There are in our days great many
gnats strained out, great many cameli
swallowed, and it is the object Of thii
sermon TO sketch a few persons who ar'
extensively engaged in that business.
First, remark, that all those minis
ters of the gospel are photographed II
the text who are very scrupulous abou
the conventionalities Of religion, but pu
no particular stress upon matters o
vast Importance. Church service ough
10 be grave and solemn. There is NJ
room for frivolity in religious convoca
ton. But there are illustrations, ans
there are hyperboles like that Of Chris
in the text that will irTidate with smile
any intelligent auditory. There ar
men like those blind guides Of the tex
who advocate only those things in reli
gious service which draw the corners o
the mouth down, and denounce all thos
things which have tendency to draw
the corners OF the mouth up, and thes
men will go TO installations and b
presbyteries and TO conferences an
TO associations, their pockets ful
Of fine sieyes to strain out tn
gnats, while in their own churches =
home every Sunday there are fifty pee
pie sound asleep. They make thei
churches great dormitory, and thei
somniferous sermons are a cradle, an
the drawled-out hymns lullaby, Will
some wakeful soul in a pew with he
fan keeps the flies off unconscious per
sons approximate. Now, say it !
worse TO sleep in church than to smil
in church, for the latter implies at leas
attention, while the former implies tn
indifference OF the hearers and tn
stupidity Of the speaker. In old age, o
from physical infrmity, or from lon
watching with the sick, drowsiness vii
sometimes overpower one; but when
minister Of the gospel looks off upon a
audience and finds healthy and intell
gent people struggling with drowsines
It is time for him to give out the do1
ology or pronounce the benediction
The great fault Of church services to-da
is not too much vivacity, but too muc