Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1893-04-22
AT THE TABERNACLE.
Or. TALMAGE DRAWS LESSONS FROM
THE WEDDING FEAST.

How Many and What BaseIess Excuses Men
Make For Not Becoming Christians.
Christianity Is IA Very Great Help In Ev-
cry Proper Relation In Life.
BROOKLYN, April i6-Rev Dr. Talmage
In his sermon in the Brooklyn Tabernacle
this forenoon spread before the great audi
ence in eloquent words the beauty and at
tractivcness of the gospel feast, the text
chosen being from Luke xiv, Is. And they
all with one consent began 10 make excuse. "
After the invitations to n levee are sent
out the regrets come in One man apollo
gizes for nonattendance on one ground, an
other on another ground. The most of the
regrets are founded on prior engagements.
So in my text great banquet was spread.
the invitations were circulated, and now
the regrets come in.
The one gives an agricultural reason. the
other stock dealers reason. the other n
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 mex; day, The stock deal
er's reason being that he had bought five
yoke Of oxen and he wanted to go and
them until he knew what they were Be
sides that n man who can own five yoke OF
oxen can command his own time. Besides
that he might have yoked two of them to-
gether and driven them on the way to the
banquet, for locomotion was not as rapid
then as now. The man who gave the do
mestc reason said he had got married. He
ought to have taken his wife with him.
r Al
And they all with one consent began TO
make excuse" So now God spreads a
great banquet 1t is the gospel feast. and
the table reaches across the hemispheres,
and the invitations 20 out, and multitudes
come and sit down and drink out of the chal
ices of Gods love. while other multitudes
decline coming-the one giving this apollo
gy and the other giving that apology. And
they all with one consent began To make
excuse" propose this morning. so far rs
God may help me. to examine the apollo
gies which men make for not entering the
Christian life
RELIGION HAS MADE 4 RECORD.
Apology the First am not sure there is
anything valuable in the Christian reli-
gion. II is pleaded that there are SO many
impositions in this day-so many things
that seem to he real are sham. A gided
outside may have hollow inside. There
is so much quackery in physics, in ethics,
in politics, that men come 10 the habit of
incredulity. and after awhile they allow
that incredulity to collide with our holy
religion.
But, my friends. think religion has
made n pretty good record in the world.
How many wounds il has salved; how
many pillars of fire il has lifted in the mid
night wilderness: how many simoom struck
Saharas it hath turned into the gardens of
the Lord: how il hath stilled the chopped
sea: what rosy light it hath sent streaming
through the rift of the storm cloud wrack;
what pools of cool water il hath gathered
for thirsty Hagar and lshmael: what man
ma whittier than coriandcr seed it hath
dropped all around the camp Of hardly be.
stead pilgrims: what promises il hath sent
out like holy watchers To keep the lamps
burning around deathbeGs: through the
darkness that lowers into the sepulcher
what flashes Of resurrection morn.
Besides that this religion has made 50
many heroes II brought Summerfield, the
Methodist across the Atlantic ocean with
his silver trumpet to blow the acceptable
wear of the Lord until il seemed as il all
our American cities would take the king.
dom of heaven by violence. II sent Jehudi
Ashman into Africa alone. in continent
of naked barbarians. To | II the standard OF
civilization and Christianity. II made John
Milton among poets. Raphael among paint
ers, Christopher Wren among architects,
Thorwaidsen among sculptors, Handel
among musicians Dupont among military
commanders: and To give new wings Ia the
imagination, and better balance TO the judg
ment, and more determination To the will
and greater usefulness to the life, and
grander nobility to the soul. there is moth
ing in all the earth like our Christian reli-
gion.
WE'RE THEY ALL DECEIVED,
Nothing i'm religion, Why then. all
those Christians were deceived when in
their dying moment the: thought they
saw the castles OF the blessed. and your
child, that with unutterablc 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 moth
ing in religion! Sickness will come upon
you. Roll and turn ON your pillow. Nc
relief The medicine may he 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 it and die There is nothing
i'm religion.
After awhile death will come. You will
hear the paving of the pale horse ON the
threshold. The spirit will he breaking
away from the body. and it will take flight
whittier. whittier. There is no God, NJ
ministering angels to conduct, no Christ
no heaven, no home. Nothing in religion
Oh, you are not willing to adopt such a
dismal theory And yet the world is full
of skeptics And let me say there is no
class Of people for whom have II warmer
sympathy than for skeptics. We do not
know how to treat them. Wederde them,
we caricaturc them. We instead of taking
them by the soft hand of Christian love,
clutch them with the iron pinchers of eccle
siasticism.
Oh, if you knew how those men had fall
en- away from Christianity and become
skeptics you would not he so rough on
them, Some were brought up in homes
where religion was overione. The most
wretched day in the week was Sunday. Re.
ligion was driven into them with trip
hammer They had surfcit of prayer
meetings They We're stuffed and choked
with catechisms. They were told by their
parents that they were the worst children
that ever lived because they liked TO ride
down hill better than To read Pilgrim
Progress" They never heard their parents
talk Of religion but with the corners oi
their mouths drawn down and the eyes
rolled up.
Others went into skepticism through
maltreatment on the part Of some whc
professed religion There is man who
says, My partner in business was volublt
I'm prayer meeting. and he was oficious in
all religious circles. but he cheated me out
of 5000, and don't want any of that re
ligion."
| THE PRIDE OF INTELLECT.
There are others who got into skepticisnl
by a natural persistence in asking qnc'
tions-why or how, How can God bc on,
being in three persons' They cannot un
dcrstand it, Neither can !. How can God
be "A complete sovereign. and yet man q
free agent, They cannot understand 1t
The Beauty Standard.
The standard of female lovclincss varie