The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-04-18
THE GOSPEL FEAST
WAS THE SUBJECT OF TALMAGE'S
SERMON LAST SUNDAY.
The Text Was from Luke II, IS: "And They
All with One Consent Began to Make
Excuse'-An Able Sermon.


Brooklyn tabernacle this forenoon, spread
before the great audience IN eioqueht
words the beauty and attractiveness OF the
gospel feast, the text chosen being from
Luke 14:1S: And they all with one con-
sent began TO make excuse.
After the invitations to IL leyee are sent
but the regrets come in. One man apollo
GiZes for nOn-attendance on one ground,
another on another ground. The most OF
the regrets are founded on prior engage
ments. So in my text Il great banquet was
spread, the invitations were circulated. and
now the regrets come in. The one gives an
agricultural reason the other u stock deal
er's reason, the other Il domestic reason.
All poor reasons. The agricultural reason
being that the man had bought farm and
wanted to see it. Could he not see 1t the
next day? The stock dealers reason being
that he had bought five yoke of oxen and he
wanted to go and prove them. lie had no
business to buy them untu ne knew what
they were. Besides that, Il man who can
own i've yoke of oxen can command his own
time. Besides that, he might have yoke0
Two of them together and driven them on
she way to the banquet, for iocomouon was
not rapid then now. Inc 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
90 go. And they all with one consent
began to make excuse. 30 now God
spreads a great banquet; 1t Is the gospel
feast, and the table reaches across the
hemIspheres, and the invitations 90 out and
multltUdeS come and sit down ana drink
out OF the chalices OF Gods love, while
other multitudes decline cominG-tbe one
giving this apology and the other giving
that apology; and they all With one CON
sent begin tn make excuse. / propose tins
morninS far as COD may help me, TO ex-
anime the apologies which men make for
not entering the Christian life.
Apology the first: | am not sure there
is anything valuable i'll the Christian re-
liglon. Ii is pleaded that there are so many
impoSitiOnS III this day, 50 many things
that seem to be real are sham. y sided
outside may have d hollow inside; there Is
much quaclsery in physics, i'll ethics, in
politics. that men come to the habit of in
crcdulity, and after Il while Lhcy allow that
lncredulty to collidC with our holy religion.
But, my friends, | think religion has made
pretty good record III the world. low
many wounds it has ealyed how many pill
lars of fire it has lifted III the midnight
wilderness. how many Simoun-struck Sa-
haraS II hath turned into the gardens of
the Lord; how ii hath etillcd the chopped
sea; what rosy light it hath sent streaming
through the rift OF the Stormcloud wreck
what pools Of cool water it haLh gathered
for thirsty Hagar and Ishmael; what
mamma winter than cUrlander seed ii ath
stead pilgrims; what promises 1t hath sent
out like holy watchers to keep the lamps
burning around deathbcdS; through the
darkness that lowers into the sepulchre,
what flashes OF resurrection morn.
Besides that. this religion has made SO
many heroes Ii brought Symmetrical the
NethodiSt, across the Atlantic ocean with
his silver trumpet 10 blow the acceptable
year of the Lord, until it seemed as if all
orr American cities would take the king
Asbrnyn INTO Atrirl ainnn i'm , rontinn,,t
of naked harharians to Gft thn standard
of niyiJiI,tinD and t,br;stia1ity II Inada
John Milton among poets. Ra6haeI anon,
tects. TborwaIdsen among scuiptors. Han
doI or,n ,,i III
irsrv commentaries and to give new WINS
TO The IMAGINATION. an, bctter yhaIon"e 10
the Judgment. and more denomination TO
1he will and greater usefulness 10 the life
and grauder nobility 10 the soul there is
nothing in all the earth like our Christian
religion
Nothing In religion, Why. then. all
those Christians were deceived. when in
their dying moment they thought they saw
fhe castles of the blessed: and your child,
that with uuutterable agony YOU put away
into 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 or your pillow.
No relief The medicine may be bitter
the night may be dark, the pain may he
sharp No relief. Christ never comes 10 the
sickroom. Let the pain stab. Let the feyes
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 shirt will he
hreaking away from the BODY. and II will
take fight-whither? whittier? There is no
Col no ministering angels to conduct no
Chris no baavpu no home Nothing in
religion, Oh, YOU are not willing to adopt
such IL dismal theory. And vet the world
IS full of skeptics And let me say there
Is no class of people for whom / have Il
warmer sympathy than for sl.ep-
sics. We do not know how 10
treat them W. deridp them: we car
feature them. We, instead of taking them
Sv the soft hand of Christian love. clutch
them with the iron pinchers of eccleSi-
asticism. Oh! if you knew how those men
had fallen away from Christianity and he
GONE sceptics. Won would not be so rough
on them. Some we've brought up in homes
where religion was over,Ione. The most
~vre!chpd iav in the week was Sunday.
Religion was driven INFO them with trip
lrtuuu-r Th.g l-g.. ~r~f.it II r,...
meetings They were stuffed and choked
with catechisnis. They were told by their
parents that they were the worst children
that ever lived. because they liked to ride