Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1893-04-22
THE GOSPEL FEAST.
DR.. Talmage on Mems Excuses For
Not Becoming Christians.
What There Ii In Religion Inconsistcn
cies OF PROGRESSED Christians Those
Who Lack Timc-The Pro-
crastinat0rs.

feast. the text chosen being from Luke
xiv. Is: And they all with one con-
sent hogan To make excuse" The
preacher said:
After the invitations to levcc are
sent out. the regrets come in. One man
apologies for non-attendance on ono
ground. another on another ground
The most of the regrets are founded on
prior engagements. So in my text a
great banquet was spread. the invita-
tions were circulated, and now the re-
grets come in. The one gives an agri-
cultural reason. the other u stock deal
ers reason, the othcra domestic reason.
All poor reasons. The agricultural
reason being that the man had bought
farm and wanted to see it. Could he
not see it the next day? The stock
dealers reason being that he had
bought five yoke of oxen. and he wanted
togoand prove them. lie had no business
To buy them until he knew what they
were. Besides that. u man who can
own five yoke of oxen can command his
own time. Besides that. he might have
yolied two of them together and driven
them on the way to the banquet. for
locomotion was not as rapid then as
now. The man who gave the domestic
reason said he had got married. He
ought to have taken his wife with him.
The fact was they did not want to go.
"And they all with one consent began
tv mako excuse" So now God spreads
a banquet: it is the gospel feast, and
the table reaches across the hemi-
spheres: and the invitations go out and
Inultitudes come and sit down and
drink out of the chalices of Gods love,
while other multitudes decline coming
the one giving this apology and the
other giving that apology; and they
all with one consent begin to make en-
cuse." propose this morning. so far
as God will help me, to examine the
apologies which men make for not en-
tering the Christian life.
Apology the first: am not sure there
is anything valuable in the Christian
religion. 1t is pleaded that there are
so many impositions in this day-so
many things that seem to be real are
sham. A gilded outside may have II
hollow inside: there is SO much quacli-
cry in physics, in ethics. in politics. that
men come to the habit of incredulity.
and after awhile they allow that in
crcdulity 10 collide with our holy re-
ligion.
But. my friends. think religion has
made a pretty good record in the world.
How many wounds it has salved: how
many pillars of fire it has lifted in the
midnight wilderness: how many simeon
struck Saharas il hath turned in
To the gardens of the Lord how
it hath stilled the chopped sea: what
rosy light it hath sent streaming
Though the rift of the storm-cloud
wrack: what pools of cool water II hath
gathered for thirsty Hagar and lsh-
mael: what mamma whittier than corian-
der seed it hath dropped all around the
camp of hardly-bcStcad pilgrims; what
promises it hath sent out like holy
watchers to keep the lamps burning
around dcath-beds; through the dark
ness that lowers into the sepulcher.
what flashes of resurrection morn.
Nothing in religion. Why. then. all
those Christians were deceived when in
their dying moments they thought they
saw the castles of the blessed; and your
child. with unutterable agony You put
away in the grave, you will never see
him again, nor hear his sweet voice, nor
feel the throb of his young heart?
There is nothing in religion. Sickness
will come upon you. Roll and turn on
your pillow. No relief. The medicine
may lie bitter, the night may be dark,
the pain may be sharp. No relief.
Christ never comes to the sick room.
Let the pain stab. Let the fever burn.
Curse il and die. There is nothing in
religion! After awhile death will come.
You will hear the paving of the pale
horse on the threshold. The spirit will
be- breaking away from the body, and
it will take fiight-whithcr? whittier?
There is no God, no ministering angels
TO conduct, no Christ, no Heaven,
no home. Nothing in religion! Oh,
You are not willing to adopt such dis
NAL theory. And yet the world is full
of skeptics. And let Inc say there is no
class of people for whom / have n
warmer sympathy than for skeptics.
We do not know how to treat them.
We deride them. We caricature them.
We. instead of taking them by the soft
hand of Christian love, clutch them
with the iron pincers of ecclesiasticism.
Oh! If you knew how those men had
fallen away from Christianity and be-
come skeptics, you would not be so
rough on them. Some were brought up
in homes where religion was overdone.
The most wretched day in the week
was Sunday. Religion was driven into
them with a trip-hammer. They had
surfeit of prayer meetings. They were
stuffed and cholSed with catechisms.
They were told by their parents that