The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-09-28
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: The Kings Highway.

VI,
of holiness: the unclenn shall not pass over
it.; but it shall be for those; the 1odgfdrtnq
men. though fools. shalt not err therein
No lion shall be there, nor any rauenotS
beast shall 90 up thereon: 1t shall not 6s
found there, but the redeemed shall 1odtk
there, and the rGnson1ed of the Lord shat
return and come to Zion tuith songs ana
everlasting joy anon their heads; they shdH
obtain jon and olddness, and sorro'o ana
si0hing shall flee atcay.-Isaiah XIV, s-lO.
There are thousands Of people here this
morning who want to find the right road.
You sometimes see person halting 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. And I stand in your
presence this morning conscious OF the fact
there are many of you here who realize that
there are 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 great
many expensive tollgates scattered all along
that way. Indeed at every rod you must
pay in tears, or pay in fagellations. On
that road, il you get through it at all, you
have to pay your own way, and ance tins
differs so much from what have heard in
regard to the right way, I believe 1t 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 1t ls
the wrong house and the wrong way: Here
Is another road. It is very beautiful and
macadamized. The horses hoofs clatter
and wiring, and they who ride over 1t 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
crash h!-they go over the emoankment we
shall turn this morning and see II we cannot
6nd different kind of road.
You have heard Of the Appian Way. It
was three hundred and fifty miles long, IL
was twenty-four feet wide. and on either SIDE
the road was path for foot passengers. But
have this morning to tell you OF road
built before the Appian Way. aud yet 1t Is as
souls have gone over it. Millions mora will
come.
First, this road of the text is the King
highway. Well, my Lord the King decided
to build highway from earth to heaven. 1t
should span all the chasms Of human 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 30 many OF
them should ever be born. It 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.
The King sent HisSon to build that road.
He put head and hand and heart to 1t, AMI
after the road was completed, waved His
blistered hand over the way crying, ut IS
finished"
Still further-this road spoken Of is a
clean road. Many fine road has become
miry and foul because it has not been prop
erly cared for; but my text says the un-
clean shall not walk on this one. Room on
either side to throw away your sins. In.
dec. If YOU want to carry them along. you
are not on the right road. That bridge will
break, those overhanging rocks will fall, the
night will come down, leaving you at the
mercy of the mountain bandits, and at the
ya-y next turn of the road you will perish.
But il YOU are really on this clean road of
which + have been speaking, then you will
stoo 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 within ms
q clean heart"
Ifyou have no suca asoiratlons as that it
proves that you have mistaken your way.
and if you will only look up and see the
fngerboard above your head you may read
mon II the words, "There is a way tnat
seemeth right unto a man, but the end
thereof is DEATH" Without holiness no man
shall see the Lord, and if you have any idea
that YOU can carry along your sins. your
lusts, you worldliness and yet to the end Of
the Christian race you are 80 awfully mis-
taken that, in the name Of God, this morn.
ing shatter the delusions
Still further, the road spoken of is q plain
road. ''The wayfaring men, though fools,
shall not err therein is, II q man is
thres-fourth an IDIOT he can find this road
lust as well as if he were philosopher.
Many a man has been familiar with all the
higher branches of mathematics and yet
could not do the simple sum, What shall it
profit man If he gain the whole world and
lose his own soulr' Many man has been q
fine reader of tragedies and poems and yet
could not '.readlhis title clear to mansions in
the skies" Many man has botanized
across the continent and yet did not know
the s'Rose Of Sharon and the Lily Of the
Valley" But If one shall come in the right
spirit, asking the way to heaven, he will
fin1 1t a plain way. The pardon Is plain.
The peace Is plain. Everything is plain.
He who tries to get on the road to heaven
through the New Testament teaching will
get on beautifully. He who goes through
philosophical discussion will not get on at
all. Christ says, ''Co,ne to Ne, and will
take all your sins away, and will take all
your troubles away" Now. what is ths
use Of my discussing it any more? Is not
that plain? After this Bible has pointed you
the way to heaven, is it wise for me to de-
tain you with any discussion about the
nature of the human will, or whether the
atonemenI is limited or unlimited? There Is
the road-go on it. 1t is plain way.
Still further, this road to heaven is safe
road. Sometimes the traveller in those an
cient highways would think himself perfect
" secure, not knowing there was lion by
the way buryiDg his head deep between his
paws and then when the right moment
came, under the fearful spring, the mans
life was gone and there was q mauled car
"No lion shall he there" I wish I could
make you feel this morning your entire Sc
curity. I tell you plainly that one minute
after a man has become a child Of God he is
as safe as though he had been ten thousand
wears in heaven. He may slip, he may
slide, he may stumble. but he cannot be de-
stroyed. Kept by the power Of God through
faith unto complete salvation Everlasting
ly safe.
Ihe SevereSC trlal 10 WHICH you can SuO-
feet Christian man is to kill him, and that
is glory. In other words, the worst thing
that can happen child Of God is heaven.
The body is only the old slippers that he
throws aside just before putting on the
sandals Of light. His soul. you cannot hurt
it. No fires can consume it. No floods can
drown it. No devils can capture it.
His soul is safe. His reputation Is safe.
Everything is safe. "But" you say, ''sup-
pose his store burns up" Why, then it
ments from earthly to heavenly securi-
ties. "But," you say, suppose his
name goes down under the hoof of