Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1892-02-26
REV. Or. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S Sun.
DAY SERMON.
SUBJECT: "STANDING on TIE PLAIN
WITH CHRIST"

study, We have seen Him on the Mount of
Olives, Mount of Beatitudes Mount Moriah,
Mount Calvary, Mount OF Ascension, and il
is glorious to study Him on these great nat
ural elevations. But how is it that never be-
fore have wo noticed Him on the plaini
Amid the rocks, high up on the mountain,
Christ had passed the night but now, at ear
ly dawn, He is coming down with some es-
pecial friends, stepping from shelving to
shelving, here and there a loosened stone
rolling down the steep sides ahead OF Him,
until He gets in a level place, so that He can
be approached without climbing from all
sides Heis on the level. Ny text saws
HE came down with them and stood in the
plain
Now that is WI at the world wants to-day
more than anything elsa Christ on the
level, easy to get at, no ascending, no de-
scending, approachnble from ali sides
Christ ON the plain. The question among all
consecrated people to-day is What Is the
matter with the ministers! Many of them
are engaged IN picking holes In the Bible and
apologizing for this and apologizing for
that In an age when the whole tendency is
TO pay too little reverence to the Bible, they
are fighting against Bibliolatry, or too much
reverence for the Bible. They are building
a fence on the wrong side OF the road; not
on the side where the precipice is and Off
which multitudes are falling. but on the
upper side OF the road, so that people will
not fall up HILL of which there Is no danger
There is no more danger OF Bibliolatry, or
too much reverence for the Scriptures than
there is that astrology will take the placs Of
astronomy, or alchemy the place of chemis.
try, or the canal boat the place OF the linn,
tied express rail train. What a theological
farce 1t is; ministers fighting against too
much reverence for the Scriptures; ministers
making apology for the Scriptures: ministers
aNn.,I I.,N.r Ny,k Nw.a.
doing the Book more damage than all the
blatant infdels on all the earth. The trouble
Is our theologlans are up in the mountain
in a fight above the clouds about things
which they do not understand. Come down
on tue plain and stand beside Christ, who
never preached a technicllity or q didacti-
cism. What do you, o wise headed ecclesi-
aSuc, know about the decrees OF Goii Who
cares hg about your sublapsarlanism or
your supraiaparianism?
What a spectacle we have in our denomi.
naticn to-day-committees trying to patch
up an old creed made two or three hundred
years ago, so that 1t will fit ou the Nine
teenth century. Why do not our millinery
establishments take out of the Earrets the
coal scuttle hats which your great grand
mothers wore and try to fit them on the head
OF the modern maiden? You cannot fix uo
q three-hundred-year creed 50 as to fit
u
piece, and Union seminary will sew on ht-
tie piece, and Allegbany seminary and Dam
vile seminary will sew on other pieces, and
the time the creed is done it will be as yaris-
gated as Joseph's coat Of many colors.
Think OF having to change an old creed TO
make it clear that all infants dying go to
heavenI am so glad that the committees
are going to let the babies in. Thank you.
SO many OF them are already in that all the
hills OF heaven look like Sunday school an
uiversary. Now what is the use of fixing up
n creed which left any doubt on that sub
)ecf No man ever doubted that all infants
dying go TO heaven, unless he be q Herod or
q Charles Guiteau. was oppose to over
hauling the old creed at all, but now that it
has been lifted up and its imperfections set
up in the sight Of the world l say, Over
board with IL and make new creed.
There are to-day in our denomination five
hundred men who could make a better one.
could make a better one myself. As We
nre now in process OF changing the creed,
and no one knows what we are expected to
believe, CT will two or three years hence be
expected to believe, / could not wait and so
have made creed Of my own which in.
tend to observe the rest OF my life, l wroto
1t down in my memorandum book some siI
months ago, and it reads as follows: my
creed: The glorious Lord. To trust Him,
love Him and obey Him is all that Is re-
quired. To that creed invite all mankind.
4. De Wit Talnage."
The reason Christianity has not made
more rapid advance is because the people
are asked to b. lieve too many things. There
are, believe, to-day millions of good Chris
tians who have never Joined the church and
are not counted among the Lords friends
beciuse they cannot believe all the things
that they are required to believe. One-hnlt
the things a man Is expected to believe in
order to enter the church and reach heaven
have no more to do with his salvation than
the question. How many volcanoes are there
in the moons or, How lar apart from each
other are tho rings OF Saturn? or, HoN
many teeth there were IN the jawbone with
which Sampson smote the Philistines? be-
lieve ten thousand things iut none OF them
have anything TO do with my salvation ex.
cept these two-I am sinner and Christ
came to save me.
| Musicians tell us that the octavs consists
| only Of five tones md two semitones and all
the Handels and Haydns and Mozarts and
Wagners and Schumanns Of all ages must do
their work within the range Of those five
| tones and two semitones. So have to tell
you that all tho theology that will be of
! practical use in our world is made out Of
the two facts OF human sinfulness and
| divine atonement. Within that octave
swing "The Song of Moses and the
Lamb" the Christmas chant above
Bethlehem and the Halelujah of all the
choirs standing on seas OF glass.
Is there not some mode OF getting out of
tho way Of these nOnessentials, these super
| futics these divergencies from the main
issueS Is there not some way of bringing the
church down out OF the mountain OF con-
troversy and conventionallsm and to put 1t
on the plain where Christ standsf The pres
ent attitude of things is like this: In famine
struck district table has been provided aud
is loaded with food enough for all. This
odors of the meats fill the air. Everything
Is ready. The platters are full. The chalicel
are full. The baskets OF fruit are full. Why
not let the people in? The door Is open. Yes
but there is a cluster of wise men blocking
up the door, discussing the contents OF th'
caster standing midtable. They are shaking
their fists at each other.
One says there is too much vinegar in tina
caster, and one says there is too much swee
oil, and another says there is not the proper
proportion Of red pepper. | say, "Get on
Of the way and let the hungry people com
in" Now our blessed Lord has provided
great supper. and the oxen and the failing
have been killed, and fruits from all the vine
wards and orchards of heaven crown th
table The world has been invited to come
and they look in, and they are hungry, an
the people would pour in by the millions
this world wide table, but the door is blocke
up by controversies, and men with whol
libraries on their backs are disputIng as
what proportion of sweet oil and cayenn
pepper should make up the creed. CRY
''Get out of the way and let the hungr
world come in."
The Christian church will have TO chang
its tack or 1t will run on the rocks OF dem'
lition. The worlds population annua uy II
creases fifteen millions NO one pretend
that half that number of people are CO
verted to God. There are more than twi'
as many Buddhsts as Protestants; mol
than twice as many Buddhists as Roma
Catholics. Protestants 1856, 0oO, 900; Catht
hes, 1875, COO 900; Buddhists 400, V0W
There are l75, ob0, 600 Mohammeduns al
e2Q, ,0O0, 900 Brahmans,
Meanwhile, many OF the churches are on
RELIGIOUS clubhQuseS where q few people