The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-03-02
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
iFHE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Standing on the Plain
With Christ"

TEXT: "And He came do,cn toith them
end stood in the Luke vi, IL.
Christ on the mountains is frequent
study. We have seen Him on the Mount of
Olives, Mount of Beatitudes. Mount Moriah,
Mount Calvary. Mount Of Ascension, and II
Is glorious to study Him on these great nat
ural elevations. But how is it that never be-
fore have we noticed Him on the plain!
Amid the rocks, high I'D on the mountain,
Christ had passed the night, but now, at ear
" dawn, he is coming down with some es-
pecial friends, stepping from shelving to
shelving, here and there loosened stone
rolling down the steep sides ahead Of Him,
until He gets in level place, so that he can an
sides. Heis on the level. My text says
"He came down with them and stood in the
plain"
Now that is what the world wants to-day
more than anything elsa Christ On the
level, easy to get at no ascending, no de-
scending, approachable from all sides
Christ on the plain. The question among all
consecrated people to-day is. What is the
matter with the ministers? Many or them
sce engaged in picking holes in the Bible and
apologizing for this and apolo2Izlng Tor
that. In an age when the whole tendency Is
to pay too little reverence to the Elble, they
are fighting against Bibliolatry, 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 on
which multitudes are falling. Tut on the
upper side of the road. so that people will
not fall up hill, of which there is 10 danger.
There is no more danger of Blbholatry, or
too much reverence for the Scriptures. than
there is that astrology will take the place OF
astronomy, or alchemy the place or chemls'
try, or the canal boat the place OF the Inn.
tied express rail train. What theological
farce it is: ministers fighting against too
much reverence for the Scriptures; ministers
making apology for the Scriptures: ministers
pretending to be friends Of the Bible, yet
doing the Book more damage than all the
blatant infidels on ali the earth. The trouble
is our theoioyians are I'D in the mountain
in q fight above the clouds about things
which they do not understand. Come down
on the plain and stand beside Christ who
never preached a technicality or didactl-
cism. What do you, o wise headed ecelesi-
astic, know about the DEGREES OF God? Who
cares fig about your suolapsarlansm or
your upralaparianlsm?
What spectacle we have in our denoml-
naticn to-day-committees trying to patch
up an old creed made two or three hundred
wears ago, so that it will fit on the Nine
teenth century. Why do not our millinery
establishments take out Of the garrets the
coal scuttle hats which your great-grand-
mothers wore and try to fit them on the head
OF the modern maiden? You cannot Tx up
q three-hundred-year-old creed so as to ut
our time. Princeton will sew on little
piece, and Union seminary will sew on lit
tie piece, and Allegheny seminary and Dam
vile seminary will sew on other pieces, and
the time the creed is done it will be as varie-
gated as Joseph's coat Of many colors.
Think of having to change an old creed to
make it clear that all infants dying 60 to
heaveni am so glad that the committees
are going to let the babies in. Thank you.
So many of them are already in that all the
hills Of heaven look like Sunday school an
niversary. Now what is the use Of fixing up
a creed which left any doubt on that sub
ject? No man ever doubted that all infants
dying 60 to heaven, unless he be Herod or
q Charles Guiteau. was opposed to over
hauling the old creed at all. but now that it
bas been lifted up and its imperfections set
u in the sight of the world, say, Over
board with It and make new creed.
There are to-day in our denomination five
hundred men who could make better one.
I could make better one myself. As we
are now in process Of changing the creed,
and no one knows what we are expected to
believe, or will two or three years hence be
expected to believe, could not wait, and so
I have made creed Of my own which in
tend to observe the rest of my life. wrote
it down in my memorandum book some six
creed: The glorious Lord. To trust Him,
love Him and obey Him is all that = re.
quired. To that creed I invite all mankind
4. De Witt Talmage."
The reason Christianity has not made
more rapid advance is because the people
are asked to believe too many things. There
are, believe, to-day millions Of good Chris
tians who have never joined the church and
are not counted among the Lords friends
bee use they cannot believe all the things
that they are required to believe. One-hait
the things man is expected to believe in
order to enter the church and reach heaven
have no more to do with his salvation than
the question. How many volcanoes are there
in the moon? or, How far apart from each
other are the rings Of Saturn? or, How
many teeth there were in the jawbone with
which Sampson smote the Philistines? l be-
lieve ten thousand things, but none Of them
have anything to do with my salvation ex-
cept these two-1 am sinner and Christ
cams to save me.
Musicians tell us that the octavs consists
only of five tones and two semitones, and all
the Handels and Haydns and Mozarts and
their work within the range OF those five
tones and two semitones. SO have to tell
about God, and their opinion about toe
soul and their opinion about eternity. Have
you any idea that your opinion will have
any effect upon the two tremendous facts
that you are q sinner, and that Christ Is
ready at your earnest prayer to save you! 80,
In the final day Of accounts how much will
YOU opinion bs worth? Your opinion Will
not be of much Importance before the blast
of the archangeps trumpet. When the !i1e
OF this planet shall be thrashed out with tho
fail Of thuuderbolts nobody will ask ABOUT
your opinions. Come down out OF the noun
tain OF opinionativeness and meet Christ on
the plain. where you must meet Him, or
never meet Him at all, except as you meet
Him on the Judgment throne.
a Christ easy to get at! No armed sentlneI
to challenge you. No ruthless othcer 70
scrutinizs rhe-papers you present lmmedl-
ate response. Immediate forgiveness. lmme-
diats solace. Through what struggle people
must 60 to get a pardon from worldly
authority! By what petition, by what nun
drance by what nervous strain OF anxiety,
by what adroitness. A count OF Italy YVES YVES
condemned to be put to death at Milan. The
Countess. hearing of the sentence, fastened
to Vienns to seek his pardon. The death
warrant was already on It's way.
The countess, arriving in Visnna in the
night hastened to the palace gates. The at
tsndants forbade her entrance at all and es'
pecially at night, but she overcsme them
with her entreaties, and the empress was
wakened and the countess pleaded bsfore
her for the life OF her husband, and then the
emperor was wakened to hear the same plea
Communication Of sentence was granted, ou,
how could she oyertake the officer VINO nae
up by controversies, and men with whole
libraries on their backs are disputing as to
what proportion Of sweet oil and cayenne
pepper should make up the creed. ITy,
s'Get out of the way and let the hungry
world come in"