Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-02-04
REV. DR.. 9ALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun
day Sermon.


que was porn IN heaven. She cana down
over the bills OF our world. She had queenly
step. On her brow was celestial radiance
Her voice was music. Her name is Religion.
Ny text introduces her. 'Her ways are
ways OF pieasantness, and all her paths are
peace.n
But what is religion? The fact is that
theological study has had a different effect
upon me from the effect sometimes pro-
duced. Every year tear out another leaf
from my theology until have only three or
four leaves left-in other words, very brief
and plain statement of Christian belief
An aged Christian minister said: when
| was young man, | knew everything:
when got to be thirty-five years OF age, in
my ministry had only a hundred doctrines
OF religion; when got to be forty years of
age, l had only fifty doctrines of religion:
when got to be sixty years of age. had
only ten doctrines of religion and now am
dying at seventy-ive years of age, and there
is only one thing know, and that is that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save
| sinners" And so l have noticed in the study
of Gods word and in my contemplation q
the character of God and Of the eternal
world that it is necessary for me to drop this
| part of my belief and that part OF my belief
as being nonessential, while | cling to the
one great doctrine that man is a sinner, and
Christ is his Almighty and Divine Saviour.
Now take these three or four leaves oil
my theology, and 1 find that, in the first
| place, and dominant above all others, is the
sunshine of religion. When I go into room
| have passion for throwing open all the
shutters. That is what | want to do this
morning. We are apt to throw so much OF
the sepulchral into our religion and to close
the shutters an to pull down the blinds
! that it is only through here and there a ere.
vice that the light streams. The religion OF
the Lord Jesus Christ is a religion of joy in
describable and unutterable. Wherever
can find bell l mean to ring it.
Ii there are any in this house this morn.
ing who are disposed TO hold on to their
melancholy and gloom, let them now depart
this service before the fairest and the bright
est and the most ia liant being of all the
universe comes in. Gods Son has left our
world, but Gods daugher is here. Give her
1 room. Hail, princess OF heaveni Hail,
daughter of the lord Co Aim ;gatyl Come
in and make this house thy throneroom.
In ting forth this idea the dominant
theory of religion is one of sunshine, |
hardly know where to begin, for there are
so many thoughts that rush upon my soul =.
A mother saw her little child seated on the
floor in the sunshine ana with spoon in her
hand She said My darling, what are
/ you doing there%' ''Oh replied the child
"i'm getting spoonful OF this sunshine. n
Would Go that to- lay | might present you
with cleaning chalice of this glorious,
everlasting Gospel sunshinei
! First of all, find great zeal of sunshine
! In Christian society.
/ l do not know OF ANYTHING more do,efu
than the companionship of the mere fun
makers of the workable Thomas Hoods
/ the Charles Lambs the Charles Matthew.
! OF the worlC--tne men whose entire bushes.
/ 1t is to make sport. They make other,
laugh but it you will examine their autobi-
! ography or biography you will find that
| Gown III their soul there was terrific dis
! quletude- Laughter is no sign of happiness
| The manaic laughs. The hyena laughs. Tn,
loon among the Adiron1acks lauga TIL,
4 drunkard, dashing his decanter against the
/ wall, lau shs
{ There is terrible reaction from all sipful
amusement and sinful merrment. Such
men are cross the next day. They snap a,
+ you on exchange, or they pass, you, no
recognizing you. Long ago | quit mere
worldly society tor tue reason it was so dull
so inane and so stupid. My nature i,
Yoracous OF Joy. must have it.
L always walk on the sunny side of the
4 street, ami for that reasonI have crossed
over into Christian society. like their mode
4 OF repartee better; | ike their STYLE OF
amusement better. They live longer.
CHRISTIAN people, sometimes notice, live or
when by all natural law they ought to have
! NiSNs L hafS hiOhu oUfIS " no nave CON
tlnued IN their existence when the doctor
said they ought to have been dead ten years.
Every day of their existence was defianct
Oh the laws of anatomy aui physiology, but
they had this supernatural vivaclty OF the
Gospei in their soul. and that kept them
alive.
Put ten or twelve Christian people in a
room for Christian conversation, AMI YOU
will from s to 10 O'Clock hear more resouud-
4 o loo hr, rt,k So -, 4
ind more thought and profound satisfac.
ton than IN any merely worldly party.
Now, when say worldly party'' | mean
that to wh CD you are invited, because I'M.
der all the circumstances of the case it is
the best for you to be invited, and to which
you go because under all circumstances of
the case it Is better that you go. and leaving
the shawls on the second floor you go to the
parlor TO give formal saiutation to the host
ami the hostess, AMI then move around
spending the wa1ie evening in the discus.
sion OF the weather. an lin apology for
! tfeading on long trails, and in effort to keep
the corners of the mouth up to the sign
OF pleasure an. going around with an
idiotic he-he about nothing, until the COLA.
ton Is served, AMI then after the collation.
Is served going back gain into thu parlor
to resume the weather, and then at the close
going at very late hour to the host and
hostess and assuring them that YOU have
had most delightful evening, an then pass
ing down off the front steps, the slam of the
door the only satisfaction OF the evening.
Ob, young man, come from the country
to spend your days in city life, where are
you going to spend your evenings? Let me
tell you, while there are many places of iu-
nocent worldly amusema emf. it Is most visa
for you to throw your DO ty, mini aui soul
into Christian society. Come to ms at ths
close of five years and tell me what has bean
the result of this advice. Bring with YOU
the young man who refused TO take the al.
vice and who went into sinful amusement,
He will come dissipated. shabby in apparel,
ind sposed TO iooS any one in the eyes, moral
character eighty-five per cent OF. You will
come with principle settled, codntenancs
frank habits good, soul saved AMI all tas
inhabitants of heaven from the lowest an gel
up to the archangel AMI clear past him to
the Lord God Almighty, your coadjutors
ms Is not the advice Of a misanthrope.
There Is no man in the house to whom the
world Is brighter than it is to me. 1t is not
the advice OF a dyspeptic-my digestion is
perfect; it IS not the aivics OF man who
cannot ID .erstant joke or who prefers a
funera.. % Il not the advice OF n WORKOUT
man, but the advice Of man who can see
this world IN all its brightness, au consi T.
erlng myself competent IN judging what is
good Cheer, tell the multstu les OF young
men IN this house this mornin- that there Is
nothing in worl lily associations so grand
and so beautiful ami 50 exhilarant as in
Christian pciety
know there is a great deal OF talk about
tne self denlais of the Christian. | have to
tell you that where tue CHRISTIAN has one
self denial the man o the world has thou
sand self denials. fns Christian is not COM
manded TO surrender anything that is worth
eeeping. But what does a man deny him
self VINO denies himself the religion of
Christ. he denies ainsalf pardon OF sin;
he denies himself peacs of conscience; he de-
MES himself the ioJ OF the Holy Gaost; he
denies himself a CO nforta5e death pillow;
hs denies himself the glories OF heaven. Do
not talk to me about the saif dsniais OF the
Christian lifei w lere there is one in the
Christian life there are q thousand in the
hte OF the worli. "Hsr ways are ways of
lleasantness
Agsin, fini great deal of religious sun
shine in Christian ami 1ivine explanation.
To great many people Reis an inexplica-
be tanyle. Things turn out differently from
what was supposed. There is useless wo-
man in perfect health There is an indus
trlous aud conSecrated woman a complete
invalid. Explain that. There is bad man
witt So 600 OF income. Tae-a is gooi man
with $50 OF income. Why Is that, There is
foe of society who lives on. doing all the
the damage ne can. 70 seyentY-1ye years OF
age, an here is a Christian father, faithful
IN every department OF life. at thirsv-fvs
wars taken away by death, his family left
helpless. Explain TINT Ga. there is no
sentence that oftensr dro3s from your lips
thsn this: Il cannot un lerstand il. lean
not understand it."
Well, now, religion comes in Just at that
paint with It's illumination aud its expiana.
tion. There IS a business man who has lost
his ent re fortune. Tue week before hs lost
his fortune there wers twenty carriages that
stopped at the door of his mansion. The
wesS after he lost his fortune all the car