The morning news., 1892-03-28
STREAMING AT A GNAT.
TALMAoE EITS HYPoCRITIoAL
CaRIS rIANS A RAP.

texS from Whfcn the Sermon 10
Taken.
BROOKLYN, N. Y. March 27--The tsnd-
ency to Journalism IN religion and 70 hypo<
critical pretense in society received q severe
eastigation from the pulpit Of the Brooklyn
Tabernacle this morning. DR.. Talmsgs
made vigorous onslaught upon 10, basing
bis remarks on the text. Matthew xiii, 24si
"Yeiblind guides. who strain at a gnat aud
swallow a camel"
A proverb Is compact wisdom. knowledge
In chunks, library in a sentence, the elec-
tricity Of many clouds discharged in one
bolt, a river put through mill race. When
Christ quotes the proverh Of the text be 7
means to set forth the ludicTous behavior OF,
those who make great bluster about small
sins and have no appreciation of great ones :
In my text small insect aud large
quadruped are brought Into comparison--a
gnat aud q camel. You have in museum
or on the desert seen the latter, great,
awkward, sprawling creature, with back
two stories high aud stomach having a COL
lection OF reservoirs for desert travel, an
animal forbidden to the Jews as food, and
in many ilteratures entitled 'the ship Of the
desert" The gnat spoken of In the text il
In the grub form. It is born in pool or
pond, after few weeks becomes a chry-
sails. and then after few days becomes the
gnat as we recognize II. But the insect 1
spoken OF in the text is In its very smallest
| shape and il yet inhabits the water--for my
text Is misprint and ought 20 read strain
out gnat."
My text shows you the prince of moon.
sistencies. A man after long observationd
has formed the suspicion that in cup Of
water he is about 10 drink, there is a grub
or the grandpsrent of a guat. He goes and
gets sieve or strainer. He takes the water
and pours 1t through the sieve ia the broad
light. He says: ~ would rather do any,
thing almost than drink this water until
this larva be extirpated." This water is
brought under lnquisition. The experi-
ment is SUCCESSFUL. The water rushes
through the sieve and leaves against she
side Of the sieve the grub or gnat. Then
the man carefully removes the insect and
drinks the water In placidity. But going
out one day, and hungry, he devocrs a
ship OF the desert" the camel, which the
jews were forbidden to eat. The gastron-
omer has no compunctions Of conscisnce.
DE suffers fromsno indigestion. He puts
the lower Jaw under tbs oamel'a forefoot,
and bis upper jaw over the hump OF the
camel's back, aud gives one swallow and
the dromedary disappears forever He
strained out gnat. he swallowed camel.
While Christ's audience were yet smiling
at the oppogiteness and wit OF his illustra-
tion--for smilo they did In church, unless
they were too stupid TO understand the
hyperbole-Christ practically said them.
That is you" Punctilious about small
things; reckless about affairs of great mag
altitude. No subject ever withered under q
surgeons knife more bitterly than did the
Pharisees under Christ's scalpei of truth
AS an anatomist will take a human body Co
pieces and put them under a microscopes for
examination, so Christ finds his way to the
heart OF the dead Pharisee and cuts it oun
and puts il under the glass of inspection for .
all generations 10 examine. Those :
Pharisees thought that Christ would fatter
them and compliment them, and how they
must have writhed under the red.hot /
words as he said; "Ye fools. ye whiteds
sepulchree, ye blind guides which strain OUT
gnat and swallow a camel
There are In our day great many gnats
strained out and great many camels swal>i
lowed, and 10 10 the object OF this ser mon to-
sketch few persons who are extenmyely
engaged In that business.
First. remark. that all those ministers
OF the gospel are photographed in the texpI
who are very scrupulous about the conyen-.l
tionalities OF religion, but put no particular
stress upon matters of vast Importance. !
Church services ought to be grave and |
solemn. There is no room for frivolity In
religious oonvocation. But there are illus- I
trations, and there are byperboles like that !,
or Christ In the text that will irrndlate with |
men like those blind guides Of the text who
advocate only those things in religious
service which draw the corners of the mouth
down, and denounce all those things which,
have tendency TO dro W the corners Of theI
mouth up, aud these men will 90 tof
installations and TO presbyteries andd
to conferences and TO associations their |
pockets full OF fine sievss to strain /
out the gnats. while In their own churches
at home every Sunday there are fifty people
sound asleep. They make their churches a
great dormitory and their somniferous ser-i
mons are cradle, and the dra wled- -ouul
hymns lullaby, while some wakeful soulI
Ia pew with her fan keeps the flies off un--
conscious persons approximate. Now, say
IL is worse TO sleep in church than to smiis
IN churoh, for the latter implies at least
attention, while the former implies the In =
difference Of the hearers and the stupidity
OF the speaker. In old age, or from physical
inhrmity. or from long watching with the
sick, drowsiness will sometimes over~
power one; but when q minister OF tha
gospel looks of upon an audience and
hnds healthy and intelligent peopls
struggling with drowsiness, it is time for
him 70 give out the doxology or pro-
nounce the benedictIou. The great fault Of
church services to-day Is not too much
vivRcity. but too mucn somnolence The
one is an irritating gnat that may be
easily strained out; the other is great.
sprawling and sleepy-eyed camel of the dry
desert. In all our Sabbath schools In aII
our Bible GLASSES, in all our pulpits we need
TO brighten up our religious message with
such Christ-like vivacity as we find In the
text
take down from my library the biog-
raphies OF ministers and writer's of past
ages, inspired and uninspired, who have
doae the most to bring souls TO Jesus
Christ. and ] find that without single
exception they consecrated their wit aud
their humor TO Christ Elijah used in
when he advised the Baalites, as they could
not make their god respond, telling them TO
call louder, az their god mighs be sound
asleep or gone hunting. Job used it when iia
said 10 bis self-oonceited comforters: owls
dom will die With You" Christ not only used
It In the text, but when be ironically compli-
msnted the purified Pharisees, saying.
The whole need not q physician, !" and
when by one word he described the cunning
Of Herod, saying; go ye, and tell that
fox Matthew Hsnrys Commentaries from
the first page 70 the last arc coruscated
With humor as summer clouds with heat
lightning. John Bunyan's writings arc as
full OF humor as they are Of saving truth.
and there Is not an aged man here who has
eyer read "Pilgrfns Progress who does
not remember that while reading il be
smiled as often AZ he wept. chrysostom,
George Herbert. Robert South. John Wes-
ley, George Whitnsid. Jeremy Taylor. Row