The Opelousas courier., 1892-11-26
DR.. TALMAGE
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE's SUN
DAY SERMON.

~ ort 10 SH0tt DC Jor W0Se.' TIE l~cuyTGTtaQ
fnea, though fools, shall not err therein.
No lion shall be there, NOR am rapsnous
beast shall go Up thereon. 1t shall not be
found there. but the redeemed shall walk
there, and the TanSomled of the Lord shall
return and come to ZION Nth sonqs and
everlasting JOY anon their heads; they shall
obtain Jog and glad1less, and sorrow and
signing shall flee aleay.-Isaiah XIV, S-10.
There are thousands Of people here this
morning who want to. find the right road.
You sometimes see a person hating at cross
roads, and you can tell by his looks that he
wishes to ask a question as to what direction
he had better take, Aud | stand in your
presence this morning conscious Of the fact
there are many of you here who realize that
there are a thousand wrong roads, but only
one right one, and + take it for granted that
you have come in to ask which one it is.
Here is one road that opens widely, but /
have not much faith in it. There are a great
many expensive tollgates scattered all along
that way. Indeed at every rod you must
pay in tears, or pay in fa~gellations. On
that road, if you get through it at all, You
have to pay your own way, and since this
differs so much from what [ lave heard in
regard to the right way, I believe it is the
wrong way.
Here is another road. On either side of
it are houses Of sinful entertainment, and
invitations to come in and dine and rest.
but from the looks of the people who stand
On the piazza / am very certain that it is
the wrong house and the wrong way. Here
macadamized. The horses hoofs clatter
and wiring, and they who ride over it spin
along the highway until suddenly they find
that the road breaks over an embankment,
and they try to halt, and they saw the bit in
the mouth of the fiery steed and cry
whoa! whoa" But 1T is too late, and
crashl-they GO over the embankment. we
shall turn this morning and see II we cannot
find a different kind of a road.
You have heard Of the Appian Way. 1t
was three hundred and fifty miles long. 1t
was twenty-four feet wide. and on either side
the road was a path for foot passengers. But
I have this morning to tell you Of a road
built before the Appian Way,and yet it is as
good as when first construed. Millions OF
souls have gone over it. Millions more will
come.
First, this road of the text is the Kings
highway. Well. my Lord the King decided
to build a highway from earth to heaven. 1t
should span all the chasmS of wretch
edness; it should tunnel all the mountains OF
earthly difficulty; it should be wide enough
and strong enough to hold fifty thousand
millions of the human race, if so many OF
them should ever be born. 1t should be
blasted out Of the ''Rock of Ages" and
cemented with the blood of the Gross, and
be lifted amid the shouting Of angels and the
execration of devils.
He put head aud hand and heart to it, and
after the road was completed, waved His
blistered hand over the way crying, ut Is
finished"
StiIl further-this road spoken Of is a
clean road. Many a fine road has become
miry and foul because it has not been proP-
erly cared for; but my text says the I'M
clean shall not walk on this n Room on
either side 50 thr ow away your sins. In
deed, if you want to carry them along. yon
are not on the right road. That bridge will
break. those o ~verhanging rocks will fall, the
night will come down, leaving you at the
mercy of the mountain bandits, and at the
very next turn of the road you will perish.
Ruf If Won are really on this clean road OF
which I nave been speaking, then you VIII
sion ever and anon to wash In the water
that stands in the basin OF the eternal rock.
Ave. at almost every step OF the Journey
you will be crying OUT, "Create witnln LIE
q clean heart" ;.
ne won have no such aspirations as that 1t
nroyeg thai you nave mistaken your way,
and If YOU will only look up and see the
fingerboard above your head you may read
mon & the words. There is a way tina.
seemeth right unto a man, u the enc
thereof is death" Without holiness no mar
shall see the Lor d, and if you have any ioea
that YOU can carry along your SINS. you
I1sts' YOU wor ldliness and yet TO tne emu OF
tha Christian race you are so aWtnily ms
taken that, in the name OF 900, shis Haoih
ing | shatter the deiusiop. -.
Still further, the road spoken OF IS plan
road. 1.-THE wayfaring men, though Ioois
sban not err therein"-that is, il q man
al1ae. fourth an IDIOT he can find this roac
inst as wen as if he were a philosopher.
MANY a man has been familiar With all Tn
higher branches Of mathematics re
could rot do the simple sum, "WnaC snal. .
nroit q man if he gain the whole world ant
lose his " soulg' Many a man has been
fine reader of tragedies and poems and yee
could NOT tread his title clear to mansions l
the skies" Many a maj has ootahlle
across the continent and yet ana not en ~
fine ttRose of Sharon and the LAZY OIL I.
Va.lev.D But il one shall come in the rigi
spirit, asking the way to Y ne =,
in 1T a plain way Inc ParaGn n u m"
The peace is plain. % haav &c
He VII tries to get on the road TO heaYs
+broueh the New Testament teaching WI
get on beautifully. He who goes tnrous
all. Christ says ''Colne to Me, and I wi
take all your sins away, and I will take a
you troubles away" Now. what is th
use of my discussing it any more? Is nc
that plain? After this Bible has pointed 70
the way to heaven, is it wise for me to dt
tain you with any discussion about th
nature of the human will, or whether th
atonement is limited Or unlimited? There
the road-go Oh it. 1t is a plain way.
Still further, this road to heaven is a SAT
read. Sometimes the traveller in those ar
cient highways wouit think himself perfect
~ secure, not knowing there was a lion b
the way burying his head deep between hi
paws, and then when the right momen
came, under the fearful spring. ths man
life was one and there was a mauled cal
cass by the roadside. But, a y my tex
mo lion shall be there" | wish / couI
make you feel this morning your entire e
eurity. tell you plainly that one minut
after a man has become e child of God he
as safe as though he had been ten thousan,
years in heaven. He may slip, he ma
slide, he may stumble. but he cannot be dc
stroyed. Kept by the power of God throueI
faith unto complete salvation. Everlasting
~ safe.
The severest trial to which you can sut
ject a Christian man is to kill him, and thu
is glory. In other words, the worst thin
that can happen a child of God is HEAVIER
The body is only the old slippers that b
sandals Of light. His soul, you cannot hut
it. No fires can consume it. No foods ca
drown it. No devils can capture it.
His soul is safe. His reputation is safe
Everything is safe. aBut.n you say, :'sur
| pose his store burns up:" Why, then
will only be a change of invesi
ments from earthly to heavenly securi
ties. But you say, suppose b
name goes down under the hoof c
scorn and contern to The name will be 6
much brighter in CORY. suppose his phys
ical health fails@ Col will pour into hin
the foods of everlasting heath. and it wi
not make any difference. Earthly subtrae
tion is heavenly addition. The tears 0
earth are the crystals of heaven. AS the