Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1892-04-16
F. DIR. TALMAGE
The Brooklyn Oivine's Sun.
day ecrmon.

yndF, dhu stc6ttOf q cana. -MatL0e"
1iA, "a.
A prcverb in compact wisdom. knowledge
in chunks { librai&ln a sentence, the cleo
tTic.ty " many clouds discharged Ia o.e bolt,
river put through a naillrsca. When Christ
quotes the proverb Of tie text He means to
set forth the irdlcrous behavior Of those
who makes great hluster about small sins
AMI herc no appropriations Of great ones.
III my text a small insect and a large
uuadruped are brought into ccnapar1son-a
guat and a camel. You have III museum or
Oh the desert seer tie latter, a great awk-
war;, eur- wing creature, with back two
STORE" '.Ign and stomach having a collection
~ reservoirs for desert travel, an animal
forbidden To the Jews as food, and in mauy
Iteratures entitled the ship Of the desert
The guat spoken Of IN the text is ia the
gIuo form. II j born IN pool or pond, after
aiew weeks becomes a ebrysalis. and tner
after a few day. becomes tie gcat IS xe
rero5n'Ke II Bat the insect spoken Of in the
texts IN ltS very smallest tape, and yeti
'.;hsn'ts tie wetc: for my text Is q misprint
aud oaght e. read strain out a gnat."
NJ text shows you the prince Q. inconsis-
ttnc.eS. A man after long observation mas
iormet the suspicion that in a cue O! water
he l. about - drink there is q grub or the
grandlarent OF Il gnat. He goc~ and gets a
sieve OF a strainef, tie takes TIE water and
polr-,lt IN the sieve III the broad light.
I1He1NA ] VDUt1 }EbIcF 40 awning al
most than drink tails water until this iarva
hr estir pcto'.' This water Is brought I'M
'isr .aquisltiOn. The experiment Is success
M: Ihe water PUSHES through tue sieve and
iefvts against the ~iIe Of the sieve the grub
Or gnat.
1uen the man carefully removes the insect
ana drinks the water in piacidity. But 60.
ing OFT cre day and hungry. he devours a
Ship Of the desert" the camel, which the
Jews were forbidden 10 eat. The g%astrOnO-
mer has no cotnp,tnctions OF conscience. He
suffers from no Indigestion. He puts the
lower jaw under tho cauiel'a ~forefoot and his
upper jaw over the hump OF the camels
back, and gives one swallow and the drome-
Diary disappears forever. He strained out a
gnat, he swalloweI a camel.
hile Christ, audience were yet smiling
atfhe oppCAltene>s and wit OF His Illustration
-toT smile they did In church, unless they
We're too stupid to understand the hyperbole
Christ practically said to them. That is
YOU Punctillou, about small things: recX-
less about affairs Of great magnitude. No
subject over withered under u surgeons
kniie more bitterly than did the Pharisees
under Christ's scaIpel of truth.
As an anatomi,t will taae n human body
to pieces and put them under u microscope
tol examination, 50 Christ fin Is His way to
the heart OF tue dead Ph1risee aud cat, it
out anl puts it under til. glass OF inspec.
ton for all generations to mih Tho,.
iharIseeS thought that Christ would Hat
ter them ana compliment them. aud how
they must have writhe1 under TIC rel hot
words as He said, "Ye too,s, We whited
sepul:nerS, We blind guides which strain
out a gnat and swallow "a camel
There are III our day q great many gnats
strali;e,i on. aid a great many camelS
SWalloWed, and 1t Is the object OF this ser
mon to sketch a few persons who are ex-
tensively engaged in that business.
Lt,-t .-. %te L
OF the Gospel are photographed in the text
VINO are very scrupulOuS about the conven-
tionaiitleso OF religion. but put no particular
stress upon matters OF vast Importance.
Churcn services ought to be grave and
solemn. There Is no room for frivolity in
religious convention. But there are illus
%tratlonS, ana there are hyperboles like that
Of Christ in the text that will irradiate with
smiles any intelligent auditory. There are
men Hike those blinl guides of the text who
advocate only thosA things in religious ser.
wee which draw the corners OF the mouth
down, and d~enounce all those things which
have u tendency to draw the corners Of the
mouth up, and these men will go to installa-
tons and TO pre,Uyterle> and to cont erence:
and TO associations, their pockets full Of fine
SieSes 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, AMI their
Spitll1lici OliS - ulOuS III d cTdOle, ulO lue
drawlet out hymns a .Illaby. while some
wakeful soul in a pc with her fan keeps thu
flies oil unconscious persons approximate
Now. | saw 1t l. worse to sleep in church tilaI
to smile III church., or the latter implies a
least attention.. While the for ner implieS the
IN tlfl arence Of the hearers and the stupidity
OF the SPEAKER.
In old aye, or from physical intirnity, o.
from long watches with the >ich, drow>iues,
Will sometimes ~Overpuwer one, but when
minister OF the Gasp-i looks Off upon al
audience an tinIs he ,ltlv aul lntelligen'
people struggling with druw>iness it is tim
ior INN 10 give out the doxology or pro
nouEce the beneIiction. The great fault 0
CHURCH services today is not too much viva
city. but too mu:h soinnoleuce. The one
an irritating gnat that may bs eaSil
STRAINED ont the ether Is a great, sprawlln
and ,!eeny- eyed camel Of the dry desert. l
all ouv Sabbath schools. III all our bibl
CLASSES, IN all our putpi,s We needto b,ighte
up orr religious message with such Christ
like slvaeIty a. W. fiHl in the text.
| take doWn from my library the be-,
rarhloS c, ministers an1 writers or the pa
J age, inspired aui uuiu~pire1, who have doi
the most u bring souls TO Jesus Christ, an
/ Ind that without n Slngie exception the
sconsacrated their Wit AMI their humor
\ Christ Elijah usel It when he advised Il
Beauties, a they could not make their Gt
\ respond. telling them IL call louder as the
god might be sJuni asleep or gone a hun
iug. job used II when h. said TO his sci
couccltti COAlforter.. Wisdom will d
with you Christ noe only used 1t in Il
text, iut when He ironically compliments
the putretieI fharISees, saying. The who
! need not Ii physician. and when 10y OIL
j word tie described the cunning of Hero
. saying, 90 VI. aud tell that fox
: Matthew tienry Commentaries from {
!: first page II the last coruScate1 with hum
: as summer clouds with heat lightning. Jol
I Bunyan. writings are as full of humur
: they are q saving trute. AMI there Is not
: aged man here WHO has ever read "Pilgriu
! Progress Who does not remember that VIII
: reading II he smiled as often as he WEI
Chrv>o>tom. George Herbert. Robert Soul
John Wesley, Gror-e Whitetield. Jerer
: TayIor. RJwisn1 Hill. Nettleton, George
:. Flnue. anj-nil the ma : he past W
. greatly advances the Kingdom OF Col CT
;. s~ecratei their VT aai their humor to {
cause OF Christ.
5 i: has been in AL tha ages. AMI | say
these younC II eolo,ical stu tents, who eli
fer IL these services Sa1tath by Saba
>harpei. vou- wis as seen as sciniters q
sni t1el Axe -.c II Il. = The holy war. II
+, avery >lor; t..i-- between a smile All
; tear. :, >u>.<.> % ui.ie. ;.oIi eve 70