The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-02-10
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
His Subject Was: "A Religion OF
To-day"
II Ye Drink or Eat or Labor In Night Of
Day, Do 1t to the Full Glory of God.


do, do it to the glory OF God
When the apostle in this text sets
forth the idea that so common an action
as the taking OF food and drink is to be
conducted to the glory Of God, he pro-
claims the importance of religion in the
ordinary affairs of our life. In all ages
of the world there has been tendency
to set apart certain days, places and oc-
casions for worship, and to think those
were the chief realms in which religion
was to act.
Now, holy days and holy places have
their Importance. They give opportunity
for especial performance of Christian
duty, and for RECALLING of the religious
appetite; but they can not take the place
of continuous exercise of faith and
prayer. In other words, man can not
be so much of a Christian on Sunday
that he can afford to be wording
all the rest of the week. If steamer
put out for Southampton, and go one
day in that direction and the other six
days in other directions, how long be-
fore the steamer will get to Sonthamp-
ton? 1t will never get there. And
though man may seem to be voyaging
Heavenward during the holy Sabbath
day, if during the following six
DAYS of the week he is going to-
ward the world. and toward
the flesh, and toward the devil he
will never ride up into the peacefe
harbors of Heaven. You can not eat so
much at the Sabbath banquet that you
can afford religious abstinence the
other six days. Heroism and princely
behavior on great occasions are no
apology for lack of right demeanor in
circumstances Insignificant and incon-
spicuous. The genuine Christian life
is not spasmodic; does not go by fits
and starts. 1t tolls on through heat
and cold up steep mountains and along
dangerous declivities, its eye on the
everlasting hills crowned with the
castles of the blessed.
propose this morning to plead for
religion for to-day.
In the first place we want to bring
the religion of Christ into our converse
ton. When dam breaks and two or
three villages are overwhelmed, or a.
earthquake in South America swallows
whole city, then people begin to talk
about the uncertainty of life, and they
imagine that they are engaged in posi-
lively religious conversation. No. You
may talk about these things and have
no grace of God at all in your heart.
We ought every day to be talking re-
ligion. If there is anything glad about
it. anything beautiful about it, any
thing important about it, we ought to
be continuously discussing it. have
noticed that men, just in proportion as
their Christian experience is shall
low, talk about funerals, and grave
yards and tombstones, and death beds
The real, genuine Christian man talks
chiefly about this life and the great
eternity beyond, and not SO much
about the insignificant pass between
these two residences. And yet how
few circles there are where the religion
of Jesus Christ is welcome. Go into a
circle, even of Christian people, where
they are full of joy and hilarity, and
talk about Christ or Heaven, and
every thing is Immediately silenced.
And on a summer day. when the for.
ests are full of life, chatter, and CHR
rup, and Garcia mighty chorus of
bird harmony, every tree an or
chestra-if hawk appear in the sky
every voice stops, and the forests are
still Just so have seen lively re-
ligious circle silenced on the appear
ance of nything like religious CONVEX
sation No one had anything to say
save, perhaps, some old patriarch in the
corner of the room, who really thinks
that something ought to be said under
the circumstances, SO he puts one foot
over the other, and heaves long sigh,
and says: "Oh, yes; that's so, that's
sou
My friends, the religion of Jesus
Christ is something to talk about with
a cheerful heart 1t is brighter than
the waters; it is more cheerful than the
sunshine. Do not go around grooming
about your religion, when you ought to
be singing ito or talking it in cheerful
tones of voice. How often is it that we
find men whose lives are utterly incon'
sistent, who attempt to talk religion,
and always make failure of it. My
friends, we must live religion, or we
can not talk it! If man is cranky,
and cross, and uncongenial, and hard
n his dealings, and then begins to talk
about Christ and Heaven, everybody is
repealed by it. Yes l have "heart
such men say in whining
tones: 1--WE are miserable Sinners
1.-THE Lord bless you;" 1.-THE Lore
have mercy on you;" their conversation
interlarded with such expressions
which mean nothing but canting, AM
canting is the worst form of hypocrisy
If we have really felt the religion o
Christ in our hearts let us talk il, and tall
1t with an illuminated countenance
remembering that when two Chris
tian people talk God gives especial at
tention and writes down what they say
Malachi iii. 16: "Then they that feared
the Lord spake often one to another
and the Lord hearkened and a book o
remembrance was written"
Again, remark, we must bring thu
religion of Christ into our employments
"Ob," you say, that is very well if {
man handle large sums of money, or i
he aave an extensive traffic; but in m,
thread and needle store, in my trim
ming establishment in the humbl,
work in life that 1 am called to- tn,
sphere is too small for the action o
such grand heavenly principles" VIII
told you so? Doyou not know that Go,
xx-afnhas The fadad laaf On fhI