The Penn's Grove record., 1892-01-29
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE's SUN.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Reiigion in Our Daily Life

subject: "Reifgion in Our Daily Life.'
TEXT: "Whether, therefore. Ne eat o.
drink, or whatsoever ne do, do all to tht
glory of God."-I Corinthians T., 81.
When the apostle in his text sets forth the
idea that so common an action as the taking
of food and drink is to be conducted to the
cory of God, he proclains the Importance OF
religion in the ordinary affairs Of our life.
In all ages of the world there has been q
tendency to set apart certain days. places
aud occasions 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 oppor.
tunity for especial performance of Christian
duty, and for RECALLING of the religious appe-
title, but they canno take the place of con-
tinuous exercise of faith and PRAYER. In
other words, a man cannot be 50 much OF q
Christian on Sunhsy that he can afford to
he a wording all the rest of the week. II a
steamer puts out for Southampton and goes
one day in that direction and the other six
days in other directions, how long before the
steamer will get to Southampton It will
never get there.
And though a man may seem to be voy-
aging h~eavenward during the holy Sabbath
day, il during the following six days Of the
week he is going toward the world, and to-
ward the flesh, and toward the devil, he will
never ride vi into the peaceful harbor of
heaven. You cannot eat so much at the
Sabbath banquet that you can afford re-
ligious abstinence the other six days. Hero
| ism and princely behavior on great occasions
are no apology for lack of right demeanor in
circumstance insignificant and inconspicu-
Gus. The genuine Christian life Is not spas
/ modic; does not GO by fits and starts. 1t tolls
on through neat and cold up steep mountains
| and along danoap1tIs Ha0liyifias ifs eva IN
the everlasting hills crowned with the castles
of the blessed.
1 propose this morning to plead for a re-
hgion FOR to-day.
In the first place, we var to bring the re-
ligion of Christ into our conversation. When
a dam breaks, and two or three villages are
overwhelmed, or an earthquake in south
America swallows a whole city, then people
begin to talk about the uncertainty OF life.
and they imagine that they are engaged in
positively religious conversation. No. You
may talk about these things and have no
q ace OF God at all in your heart. We ought
syery day to be talking religion. II there is
anything glad about it, anything beautiful
about it, we ought to be continuously dis
cussing it. | ave noticed that men, just in
proportion as their Christian experience Is
shallow, talk about funerals and g~raveyards
and tombstones and deathbeds. The real,
genuine Christian man talks chiefly about
this life and the great eternity beyond, and
not SO much about the insignificant pass be-
tween 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 everything
is Immediately silenced. As on a summer
day, when the forests are full of life. chat
ter and chirrup and Garcia mighty chorus
of bird harmony, every tree branch an Or
| Al, aet ~ - IL - h axxrly Ana in tho uLu auarxr
voice stops and the forests are still; just SO,
| have seen a lively religious circle silenced
On the appearance Of anything like religious
conversation. No one has 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 cir
c~umstances, SO he puts n foot over the
other and heaves a long, sigh, and says. oh,
yes; that's so, that's SOP
My friends, the religion of Jesus Christ
is something to talk about with q glad
heart. 1t is brighter han the waters; it
go around groanlng about your religion
when you ought to be singing it or talking
it in cheerful tones Of voice. How often It
is that We find men whose lives are utterly
inconsistent, who attempt to talk religion,
and always make a failur Of It'll My
friends, we must live religion, or we cannot
talk it. II a man is cranky and cross and
uncongenial and hard in his dealings. and
then begins to talk about Christ and heaveu,
everybody is repealed by it.
Yet 1 have heard such men say, In whining
tones, W are miserable sinners" 1.-THE
Lord bless you" 1.-THE Lord have mercy on
YOU" their conversation interlarded with
! such expressions. which mean nothing but
cantiDg, and canting is the worst form Of
hypocrisy. If we have really felt the religion
of Christ in our hearts let US talk it, and talk
it with illuminated countenance, remember
ing that when two Christian people talk God
gives especial attention and writes down
what they say. Malachi ill, IL, ''Then they
that feared the Lord spake often u to An
other, and the Lord hardened and heard II,
and a book Of remembrance was written"
Again, l remark, we must bring the re-
ligion of Christ into our employments.
"Ob," you say, that is very well II a man
handle large sums of money, or il he have
an extensive traffic, but in my thread and
needle store, in my trimming establish
ment, in the humble work in life that l am
called to, the sphere is too small for the
action of such grand. heavenly principles"
Who told you sof Do you not NOW that
surface as certainly as He does the path Of
a blazing sun And the moss that cresps up
the side of the rock makes as much impress
sion upon Gods mind as the waving tops Of
Oregon pine and Lebanon cedar; and the
alder. cracking under the cow' hoof, sounds
l "a " u III ood ? q 40 tuo ohdp VI q WI .
confiagration.
When you have anything to do in life,
however humble it may seem to be, Co is
always there to help you to do it. If your
work is hat of a fisherman, then God will
help you, as He helped Simon when he
dragged Gennesaret. If your work is draw
ing water, then He will help you, as when
He talked at the well curb to the samaritan
woman. II you are engaged In the custom
house, He will lead you, as He led Matthew
sitting at the receipt of customs. A religion
that is not good in one place is not worth
anything in another place. The man who
has only a days wages in his pocket as GER
tainly needs the guidance of religion as he
who rattles the keys of a bank and could
Rbscond with a hundred thousand hard dol
lars.
there are those prominent in the churches
who seem to be on public occasions very de-
vout, who do not put the principles Of
Christ's religion into practice. They are the
most inexorable of creditors. They are the
most grasping of dealers. They are known
as sharpers on the street. They fleece every
sheep they can catch. A couutry merchant
comes in TO buy spring or fall goods and he
gets into the store of one of these professed
Christian men who have really no grace in
their hearts, and he is completely swindled-
He is 50 overcome that he cannot get out Of
town during the week. He stays in town
over Sunday, goes into some church to get
| CuFlsbidu COuSOldllOu. Wueu "udL Is LIE
amazement to find the very man who hands
him the poor box in the church is the one
who relieved him Of his money! But never
mind, the deacon has his black coat on now.
He looks solemn and goes home talking
about 1.-THE blessed sermon"
If the wheat in the churches should be put
into a hopper, the first turn of the crank
would make the chaff fly, l tell you. Some
OF these men are great sticklsrs for Gospel
preaching. They say. "You stand there in
bands and surplice IN gown and preach
preach like an angel, and we stand out
here and attend to business. Don't mix
things. Don't get business and religion in
the same bucket. You attend to your mat
tiers and we will attend to ours."' They do
not know that God sees every cheat they
have practiced in the last six years; that He
can look through the iron wall of their fire
proof safe; that He has counted every dis
AOlest ao,.ar they have in their pocket. and
that a day of judgment will come, These
inconsistent Christian men will sit on the
sabbath night in the house of Col singing
at the close of the service, Crock Of Ages
Cleft for Me-" and then when tao beneiic-
ton is pronounced shut the pew door and
say as they go out, 'Goodby. religion. pl be
oack next sunday"
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