Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1892-04-01
Ar THE l7ABERNACAE.
DR.. TALMAeE SCORES HYPocRlTEs
AND DISHONEST TRADERS.

nretense in society received q severe cslSli-
cation from the pulpit Of the Brooklyn
Tabernacle this morning. DR.. Talmage
made a vigorous onslaught upon it, bas1ng
his remarks on the text, Matthew xiii, a,
aye blind guides, who strain at a gnat
and swallow a camel "
A proverb is compact wisdom, knoWi-
edge in chunks, library in a sentence, the
electricity of many clouds discharged in
one holt. river put through a millrace.
when Christ quotes the proverb Of the
taxt he means TO set forth the ludicrOus
behavior of those who make great blus-
ter about small sins and have no apprecia-
ton OF great ones.
In nv text a small insect and large
ouadruped are brought into comparison
a pnat and camel You have in museum
or on the desert seen the latter, 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
nool or pond, after few weeks becomes a
cbrvsalis and then after a few days be
comes the gnat as we recognize it. But
the insect spoken of ia the text is in its
very smallest shape and it yet inhahits the
water-for my text is u misprint and ought
to read "strain out gnat.
sTRAINING OUT THE GNAT.
Nv text shows you the prince Of incon-
sistencies. A man after long observation
has formed the suspicion that in cup OF
water he is about to drink there is grub
or the grandparent of a gnat. He goes
and oets a sieve or a straineT. He takes
the water and pours it through the sieve
in the broad light He says, Il would
rather do anything almost than drink this
water until this larva be extirpated.
Tbis 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 in
sect and drinks the water in placidity. But
going out one day and hungry, he devOurs
4 "ship of the DESERT" the camel, which
the Jews were forbidden to eat. The gas
tronomer has no computations of con
science. He suffers from 10 indigestion.
He puts the lower jaw under the canlels
forefoot and his upper jaw over the humI
of the camel's back, and gives one swallow
and the dromedary disappears forever. He
strained out a gnat, he swallowed camel
While Christ's audience were yet smil'
ING Mt the appositeness and wit of his illus
tration-fo- smile they did in church
un,ess they were too stupid to understand
fine bvperbole-Christ practically said tC
them, "That is you" Punctilious about
email things; reckless about affairs Of
great magnitude No subject ever vita
cred under a surgeons knife more bitterly
than did the Pharisees under Christ
scalpel of truth.
AS an anatomist will take human BODY
to pieces and put them under microscop,
for examination, so Christ finds his way t
the heart of the dead pharisec and cuts II
ont and puts it under the glass of inspec
tion for all generations to examine. Thost
Pbarisees thought that Christ would fiat
fer them and compliment them, and how
tbey must have writhed under the red hoi
words as he said, aye fools, ye whiteC
sepulchers, We blind guides which strain
ont a gnat and swallow a camel"
There are in our day a great many gnat'
strained out and a great many camcl'
swallowed, and it is the object Of this ser
mon to sketch few persons who are ex
tensively engaged in that business.
EXTREMELY FORMAL PREACHERS.
First. 1 remark, that all those ministers
If the Gospel are photographed in the tex
uJbo are yerv scrupulous about the conven
tioDalties of religion, but put no particular
etress uDon matters of vast importance
Church services ought to be grave AMI
solemn. There is no room for frivoiity il
RELIGIOUS convocation. But there are illus
trations. and there are hyperboles like that
of Christ in the text that will irradiat'
with smiles any intelligent auditory There
are men like those bland guides of the text
who advocate only those things IN religious
sarvice which draw the corners Of th'
mouth down, and denounce all those things
which have a tendency to draw thu
corners of the mouth up, and these mel
,,;lI 90 to installations and to presbyterie'
and to conferences and to associations
\ their pockets full of fine sleeves to strait
ont the onats. while in their own churches
Of home every Sunday there are fifty peo
nle sound asleep. They make theil
| churches a great dormitory, and theii
eomniferous sermons are a cradle, and The
drawled out hymns a lullaby, while some
| vakeful soul in pew with her fan keeps
the flies off unconscious persons approx
mate Now, / say it is worse to sleep II
church than to smile in church, for th'
latter implies at least attention, while thu
former implies the indifference of the hear
ers and the stupidity Of the speaker.
In old age, or from physical iniirmity, o.
/ from long watching with the sick, drowsl
ness will sometimes Overpower one, but
when n minister of the Gospel looks of
mon an audience and finds healthy and IN
te1Iioent people struggling with drowsi
| naas IL is time for him to give out the coN
| oIoov or pronounce the benediction. TIT
e,reaf fault of church services today is moi
foo much vivacity, but too much som
nolence. The one is an irritating gnat thai
NAV be easily strained out; the other is
treat. sprawling and sleepy eyed camel O
the dry desert. In all our Sabbath schools
IN ali our Bible classes, in all our pulpit'
we need to brighten up our religious mes
saae with such Christlike vivacity as We
end in the text.
NEARLY ALL GREAT PREACHERS WITTY.
Ttake down from my library the biog
ranbies of ministers and writers Of the pas
aces inspired and uninspired, who have
lone the most to bring souls to jesus
| Christ and find that without single eX
eeption they consecrated their wit ans
| their bumor to Christ Elijah used it wher
he advised the Baalites, as they could moi
make their god respond, telling them e
call louder as their god might be soun1
asieep or gone a-huntiRg. job used it whel
he said to his self conceited comforters
''Wisdom will die with You" Christ
not only used it in the text, but when h'
ironically complimented the putrefef
Pbarisees, saying, 1.-THE whole need not
physician" and when by one word he de
scribed the cunning Of Herod, saying, "G'
ye, and tell that fox !"
Matthew Henry's Commentaries from
The first page to the last coruseated will
bumor as summer clouds with heat light
ming. John Bunyan's writings are as full
Of humor as they are Of saving trutl, ano
there is not an aged man here who I'D eyel
read Pilgrims Progress who does nol
remember that while reading it he smiled
rs often as he wept. Chrysostom, George
Herbert, Robert South, john Wesley
! George Whitefield. Jeremy Taylor, Row
land Hill, Nettleton, George G. Finnel
and ali the men of the past who greatly
advanced the kingdom Of God conseerate'
! - their h11r1lofs n the cause %