The Red Cloud chief., 1892-11-25
THE GOLDEN CALF.
Or Taimagc Preaohes Against the
Idolatry Of Money.
People Must Have u bod Of Some Kind
and Many Of Them worship the
Golden God The Love Of
Money Denounced.

The subject Of discourse chosen by
Rev. DIR. Talmage for his first sermon
after the national election, was n pc
culiarly appropriate 70 the money maxi
ing spirit OF the times II was 1.-THE
Golden Calf" the text selected being
Exodus xxi. 20: "And nc took the
calf which they had made and burnt 1,
Tn the fire, and ground IL TO powder and
etrewed IL upon the water and made
the children Of Israel drink Of IT,"
People will have q God Of some kind,
and they prefer one Of their own MAX
Ing. Here come the lsraelitcs, break
ing of their golden earrings, the men
as well rs the women, for In those
times there were masculine ~ well as
feminine decorations. Where did they
get these beautiful gold earrings, com
Ing up as they did from the desert? O,
they borrowed" them Of the Egyptions
when they left Egypt. These earrings
are piled up into q pyramid Of glitter
Ing beauty. ANY more earrings TO
bringg' says Aaron. None. Fire
is kindlcd; the earrings are melted and
poured into n mold, not an
eagle or q war charger, but Of a
calf; the gold cools Off; the
mold Is taken away, and the idol il set
upon Its four legs. An altar Is built In
front OF the shining calf Then the
people throw up their arms, and gyrate,
and shrek, and dance nightly, and
worship. Moses has been six weeks on
Mount Sinai, and he comes back and
hears the bowling and sees the dancing
OF these golden calf fanatics, and he
loses his patience, and he takes the two
plates of stone on which were written
h Ten Commandments and filings
them 80 hard against q rock that they
split all to pieces. When n man gets
mad no Is very apt to break all the Ten
Commandments! Moses rushcs In and he
takes this calf god and throws II into a
hot fire, until IL Is melted all out of
shape, ind then pulverizes it-not by
h modern appliance Of nitro.muriatic
'acid. but by the ancient appliance of
inter. or by the old fashioned file. lie
makes for the people n most n%ausenting
draught. lie takes this pulverized gol-
den calf and throws IL In the only brook
which Is accessible, and the people are
compelled to drink of that brook or not
drink Mt all. But they did not drink
all the giittering stnff thrown on the
surface. Some Of 1t flows on down the
OF tho brook to the river, and
then flows on down the river to tho sea.
and the sea takes IL up and bears II to the
mouth OF oil the rivers, and when the
tides set back, the remains Of this gold
en- calf arc carried up into the Hudson
n h Thames and the Clyde and the
Tfber, and men go out and they skim
the glittcring surface and they bring It
ashore and they make another golden
calf, and California and Australia break
on their golden earrings TO augment
the pile, and In the fires Of financial cx-
element and struggle all these things
are melted together, and while we
stand looking and wondering what will
come of II, 10! we find that tho golden
calf OF lsrnelitish workship has become
the golden calf Of European and Ameri.
can worship.
I shall describe to you the god spoken
OF In the text, his temple, his altar Of
sacrifice, the music that Is made In his
temple. and then the final breaking up
OF the whole congregation of idolators. |
Put aside this curtain and you ace the
golden calf Of modern idolatry. IL Is
not like other idols, made out of sticks
or stone, but It has an ear 30 sensitive
that 1t can hear the whispers on Wall
street, and Third street and State street
md the footballs in the bank Of En-.
Ttland, and the fiutter of q Frenchman's
heart on the bourse. 1t has IN eye 30
keen that 1t AN see the rust on the
farm OF Michigan wheat and the insect
tn'the Maryland peach orchard, and the
trampled grain under the hoof Of the
Russian war charger. II Is so mighty
that It swings any way II will the
worlds shipping. 1t has its foot on all
b merchantmen and the steamers. IL
started the American civil war, and un- |
der God stopped 1t, and II decided the
Turko- Russian contest One broker in
september, 1883. In New York shouted:
hundred and sixty for a millionw
and the whole continent shivered. This
golden calf Of the text has its right
front foot In New York, It's left front
loot In Chicago, its right back foot ia
Charleston, its left back foot In New
Orleans and when II shakes itself II
shakes the world. o. this Is q mighty
god-the golden calf Of the worlds
worship
But every God must have its temple,
and this golden calf of the text is no ex.
ception. Its temple Is vaster than st.
Paul's Of the English, and St Peters
OF the Italian, and the Alhambra Of the
Spaniards, and the Parthenon of the
Greeks. and the Taj Mahal of the Hin
doos and all tho other cathedrals nut
together. Its pillars are grooved and
duted with gold, and Its floors are ties.
selated gold. and it's vaults ara crowded
heaps of gold, and its spires md domes
soaring gold, and It's organ pipes
are resembling gold, and its pedals are
tramping gold, and its stops pulled out
flashing gold, while standing at the
head OF the temple, as the presiding
are the hoofs and shoulders and
eyes and ears and nostrils Of the calf OF
gold.
Further, every god must have not
only its temple, but its altar Of sacri-
dce, aud this golden cal Of the taxt ;s