The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-04-17
APOLOGIES OF SINNERS.
TALMAGB ON THE FAILURE TO
ENTaR CHRISTIAN LIFE.


trsctiveness Of the Gospel Feast
Painted in Glowing Colors.
BROOKLYN, April 16-Rev. Dr. TaImage,
in his sermon in the Brooklyn tabernacle
this forenoon, spread before the great audi
ence in eloquent words the beauty and at
traotiveness OF the gospel feast, the text
chosen being from Luke xiv, IS: "And
they all with one consent began to make
excuse"
After the invitations to levee are sent
out, the regrets come In. Ono man apollo
gizes for non-ettendsnoe on one ground.
another on another ground. I've most OK
the regrets are founded on prior engage
ments. 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 a stock
Dealers reason, the other a domestic rea-
son. All poor reasons. The agricultural
reason being that the man had bought 9
farm and wanted to see it. Could he not
see it the next days The stock
dealers reason being that he had bought
five yoke Of oxen and he wanted
TO go and prove them. He had no business
TO buy them until he knew wha. they were.
Besides that, a man who can own five yoke
Of oxen can command his own time. Be
sides that. he might have yoked two OF them
LDRbhubT huu uElNbu kubllA Uu kub way 70 but
banquet, for lOcomotion was not as rapid
then as now. The man who gave the do
Inestic reason said be 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 to
make excuse" 80 now God spreads a great
banquet it is the gospel feast, and the
table reaches across the hemispheres; and
the invitations 60 out and multitudes come
and sit down and drink out OF the chalices
of Gods love, while other multitudes de-
cline comng-the one giving this apology
aud the other giving that apology; "and
they all with one consent begin to make ex-
cuse." propose this morning so far as God
may help me, to examine the apologies
which men make for not entering the Chriss
tian life.
Apology the first: am not sure there In
anything valuable in the Christian religion.
IL is pleaded that there are 30 many imposi-
tions in this day, so many things that seem
TO be real are sham. A gilded outside may
have hollow inside; there is so much
quackery in physics, In ethics, in politics.
that men come 10 the habit OF increduliEy,
and after a while they allow that tncredul-
ity to collide with our holy religion.
But, my friends, ! think religion has
made a pretty good record in the world
How many wounds IL hes salved, how
many pillars of fire il has lifted in the mid
night wilderness. how many aimoonstruck
Saharas 1t hath turned into tho gardens of
the Lord how it hath stilled the chopped
sea; what rosy light 1t hath sent streaming
through the rift Of the BtOrm-cloud wrack; /;
what pools OF cool water 10 hath gathered
for thirsty HaRRr and lshmael; what
mama whittier than coriander seed iG hath
dropped oil around the camp OF hardly
bestead pilRrims what promises it hath
sent out like holy watchers 20 keep the
the d0rkness that lowers into the sepuloher,
what flashes of resurrection morn.
Besides that, this religion has made so
many heTosf. IL brought Sunmerfield, the
Methodist, across the Atlantic ocean with
his silver trumpet 10 blow the acceptable
year OF the Lord, until 1t seemed as IL all
our American cities would take the kings
dom of heaven by violence. 1t sent Je ehuiI
Ashman into Africa alone, Ia continent
OF naked bsrbarians, 20 lift the standard
of civilization and Christianity. It made
John Milton among poets, Raphael among
painters, Christopher Wren among archi-
teots. Ihorwaldsden among scnlptors,
Handel among musicians. Dupont among
military commanders; and to give new
wings to the Imagination, and better ball
auce to the Judgment, and more determina-
ticn 10 the will, and greater usefulness to
the life, and grauder nobility TO the soul,
there is nothing in all the earth like Chris
tien religion.
Nothing Ia religion Why. then, oil those
Christians were deceived, when in their dy-
ing moment they thought they saw the
castles of the blessed; aud your child, that
with unutterable agony you put away into
the grave, you will never sea him again,
nor hear his sweet voice. nor feel the throb
Of his young heart9 There is nothing in re-
ligion Sickness will como upon you. Roll
and turn on your pillow. No relief. The
medicine may be 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
1t and die. There is nothing Ia religioni
After awhile. death will come. You Will
hear Che paving OF the pale horse on the
threshold. The spirit will be breaking away
from the body, aud 10 will take hight
whitberi whitheri There Is no God. no
ministering angels 10 conduct, no Christ !,
no heaven, no home Nothing in
religionl o! you are not willing
to adopt such dismal theory.
And yet the world Is full OF sksptics. And
let me Say there is no class of people for
whom have a warmer sympathy than for
skeptics. We do nos know how TO treat
them. We deride them, we oaricature
them. We, instead of taking them by the
soft hand Of Christian love, clutch them
with the iron pincers of ecclesiasticisul. OF
IL you knew how those men had fallen
from Christianity and become skeptics, you
would not be 80 rough on them. Some
wero brought up in homes where religion
was overdoDe. The moss wretched day in
the week was Sunday. Religion was
driven into them with a trip hammer
They had a surfeit OF prayer meetings.
They were stuffed and choked with cate
chisms. They were told by their parents
that they we're the wors5 children that ever
lived, because they liked TO ride down hill
better than to read "Pilgrimis Progress. y
They never heard their parents talk OF
religion but with the corners of their
mouths drawn down and the eyes rolled up.
Others went into skepticism through mails
treatment on tho part OF some VINO pro-
fessed religion. There is a man who says:
MY partner 10 business was voluble in
prayer meeting. and be was otiicious in Rll
religious circles; Tut he cheated me cut OF
three thousand dollars, and | don't want
any OF that religion"
There are Others who got into slgepticism
by natural persistence In asking questions,
whyl or howl How can God be one being
in three personsl They cannot understand
II. Neither can [. How can God be com
plete sovereign, and yet man free egeatf
They cannot understand ir. Neither can /.
They cannot understand why holy God
lets sin come into the world. Neither can l.
They say, "Here 10 great mystery; here
is a disciple of fashion, frivolous and god
less all her days-she lives on to be an octc-
genHrian. Here is a Christian mother train