Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-03-28
TIE GNAT AND CAMEL
pa. TALMAoE PoRTRAYs SOME or
THE HYPocRTTEs OF TODAY

xhe Man who scorns Petty Thief b'
Robs the Pebble I'm Trade-viiiainy I
fhe Grain Afarket-Pcrjury in Evadin
TAxes- smusgilng and Bribery.
BnooKLYr, March q. The tendenc
30 Journalism in religion and to hyp,
critical pretense in society received
severe castigation from the pulpit of tn
Brooklyn Tabernacle this morning d.
Ialmage made a vigorous onslaugh
upon it, basing his remarks on the tex
Matthew xiii "a, "Ye blind guides
who strain at gnat and swallow
camel
A proverb Is compact wisdom knowl
odge in chunks, library in sentence
the electricity Of many clouds discharges
inone bolt, river put through a mill
race. When Christ quotes the proverl
Of the text, he means to set forth the Ia
dicrous behavior of those who make 8
great bluster about small sins and have
no appreciation Of great ones.
In my text a small insect and large
quadruped are brought into comparison
"a gnat 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 collection of reservoirs for des-
crt travel, an animal forbidden to tlla
Jews rs food. and in many literature
entitled ''the ship Of the desert" The
guat spoken Of ia the text is in the grub
f;1n. II is born in pool or pond, after
Il few weeks becomes chrysalis, and
then afisr few days becomes the gnat
as we recognize it. But the insect
spoken 0f in the text is il very small
Ell shape and it yet inhabits the water
= for my text is misprint and ought to
read 'strain out gnat.
q Ny text shows you the prince Of incon
siatencies. A man after long observa-
ton has formed the suspicion that in a
cup cf watcr he is about TO drink there
Is grub or the grandparent of gnat
He goes and gets sieve or strainer. He
talscs the water and pours it through tho
sieye IN the broad light. He says, 81
would rather do anything almost than
dsinlS this water until this larva be ex-
tiipatod' This water is brought under
.inquisition. The experiment is success
fnl. The water rushes through the sieve
and leaves against the side of the sieve
the grub or gnat Then the man care
fully removes the insect and drinks the
water in placidity.
But going out one day, and hungry. he
devonrs ''ship of the desert" the camel
which the Jews were forbidden TO eat,
Tie gastronomer has ne compunctiona
.of conscience. He suffers from no indi,
gestion, He puts the lower jaw under
fho camel's forefoot and his upper jaw
over the hump of the cainel's back, and
gives one swallow and the dromedary
disappears forever. He strained out
ynat, he swallowed camel
THE SELF RIGHTEOUS PHARIsEEs.
Wihle Christ's audience were yet smil-
ng ut the appositeness and wit of his
llustration--for smile they did In
church, unless they were too stupid to
understand the hyperbole--Chris prac-
ically said 10 them, THAT is you.
'unctilous about small things; reckless
bout affairs of great magnitude. No
ubiect ever withered under q surgeons
kDife more bitterly than did the Phari-
ees under Christs scalpel of truth.
Az an anatomist will take human
'ody to pieces and put them under a
lScrcscope for examination, 30 Christ |
nda his way to the heart of the dead |
'harisee and cuts it out and puts II un-
er the glass Of inspection for all gem
rations to examine. Those Pharisees
hought that Christ would fiatter them
nd compliment them, and how they
lpat have writhed under the red hot |
lords as he said, "Ye fools, ye whited
'pulchers, ye blind guides, which strain
ut gnat and swallow camel"
There are in our day great many |
mats strained out and great many |
AiBels swallowed, and it is the object |
Z this sermon TO sketch a few persons
ho are extensively engaged in that
nainess.
First. remark that all those minis
rs Of the Gospel arc photographed in
10 text who are very scrupulous about
10 conventionalities of religion, but
II no particular stress upon matters of
lst importance. Church services ought
be grave and solemn. There is no
ON for friyolity in religious convoca-
pa. But there are illustrations, and
ere are hyperboles like that of Christ
the text that will irradiate with smiles
&y intelligent auditory.
There are men like those blind guides
tho text who advocate only those
ings in religious service which draw
q corners Of the mouth down and de-
unce all those things which have
nuency to draw the corners of the
2uth up, and these men win 20 10 in
tllations aud TO presbyteries and 20
nterences and 20 associations, their
cgets fun Of fine sieves to strain out
gnats, while in their own churches
home every Sunday there are fifty
nple sound asleep They make their /
urchos great dormitory, aud their
nnltesous sermons are cradle, and I
dfawlod out hymns lullaby, while I
np wakef0l soul In a pew with her 4
keeps the flies of unconscious per ,
Ae npproKimate. ID
Now J say It is worse 60 sleep in /
Arth than 20 smilo la church. for the I
Itf implies NJ least attention, while /
Former implies the indifference Of
bearers and tho stupidity Of the /
SKIER IL old age on from physical q
tniiiy, or from long watching with Q
sick, drow6iness viii sometimes =
'I0oNer one. but when a minister Of 1
Gospel looks on upon an audience x
birds healthy and intelligent people q
nEt|Ipg with dr0wrineas, Il Is time n
t|ln Is siye out the doxology or pro- o
.." " a |III = u. j