Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-04-17
AT THE TABERNACLE
DIR. TALMAeE DRAWS LESSONS
FROM THE MARRIAGE FEAST
now Many and what Baseis'' Excuses
Men Make for Not Becoming
Christians.

BROOKLYN. April iG--Rov. Or. Talmage
IN his sermon ia the Brooklyn Tabernacle
this forenoon spread before the great audi
cnce IN eloquent words the beauty aud at
tractiyeness Of the gospel feast the text
chosen being from Luke xiv, 49, And they
all with one consent began TO make excuse.
After the invitations to a leYee are sent
out tho regrets come I'm. One man apollo
gizes for nonattcndance on one ground, an
other on another ground. The most OF the
regrets nre founded on prior engagements.
SO IA my text a great banquet was spread,
the invitations were circulated, and now
the regrets come In.
The one gives an agricultural reason tho
other stock dealers reason, the other
domestic reason-all poor reasons. The
agricultural reason being that tho man had
bought farm and wanted to see IL. Could
he not see it the next day' The stock deal
er's 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 be knew what they were. Be
sides that a 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 IA now The mau who gave the do
nestle reason said he had got married. He
ought 10 have taken his wife with him.
The fact was, they did not want 10 go.
And they all with one consent began to
make excuse" So now God spreads a
great banquet II Is the gospel feast, and
the table reaches across the hemispheres,
and the invitations go out, and multitudes
come and sit down and drink out Of the chal-
ices Of Gods love while other multitudes
decline coming-tho one giving this apollo
gy and the other giving that apology. And
they MI with one consent began TO make
excuse" propose this morning, 80 far rs
God may help me, 20 examine the apollo
gies which men make for not entering the
Christian life
RELIGION HAS MADE A RECORD.
Apology the First-I an not sure there IL
anything valuable I'm the Christian reli-
gion. IL Is pleaded that there are so many
impositious In this duy--so many things
that seem 20 be real are sham. A gilded
outside may have hollow inside. There
is no much quackcry In physics, In ethics,
IN politics, that men come 20 the habit OF
incredulity, and after awhile they allow
that incredulity to collide with our holy
religion.
But, my friends, think religion has
made a pretty good record In the world.
! How many wounds It has salved; how
many pillars OF Gro IL has lifted In the mid
night wilderness how many simeon struck
Saharas IL hath turned into the gardens OF
the Lord, howit hath stillod the chopped
sea; whnt rosy light IL hath sent streaming
| through the rift OF the storm cloud wrack;
| what pools OF cool water II hath gathered
10 Iah 1,ot
ma winter than cariander seed 1t hath
dropped all around the camp Of hardly be-
stead pilgrims; what promises il hath sent
/ out like holy watchers 20 keep the lamps
burning around deathbeds; through the
darkness that lowers into the sepulcher,
! what flashes OF resurrection mou
| Besides that this religion has made so
many heroes. II brought Summcricld, the
Methodist, across the Atlantic ocean with
his silver trumpet to blow the acceptable
year OF the Lord until 1t seemed as IL all
our American cities would take the king
/ dom Of heaven by violence. 10 sent Jehudi
AshmJu into Africa alone, In a continent
ofnaked harbarians, Co lift the standard Of
civilization aud Christianity. 10 made John
Milton among poets, Raphael among paint
ers, Christopher Wren among architects
| Ihorwuldsen among sculptors, Handel
among muzicians, Dupont among military
commanders; and Go give new wings 20 the
imagination, and better balance 10 the judy
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 DECEIyEDi
Nothing in religionl Why then, all
~ IL. 4 Il.
their dying moment they thought they
saw the castles OF the blessed, and your
child, that with unutterable 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 hearth There Is moth
ing in rcligionl Sickness will come upon
you. Roll and turn on your pillow. No
relief The medicine may be bitter, N p
night may be dark, the pain may be sharp.
No relief Christ never comes 90 tho sick
room Let the pain stab Let the fever
burn. Curse it and die, There is nothing
In religon
After awhile death will come. You will
hear tho paving Of the pale horse on the
threshold The spirit will be breaking
away from the body, and IL viii take hight
WHITTIER, whithorg There IS no God, no
miuistcring angels TO conduct, no Christ,
no heaven, no home, Nothing in religioul
Oh, you are not willing TO adopt such a
dismal theory. And yet tho world is fun
OF skeptics And let me say there is no
class OF people for whom have % warmer
sympathy than for skeptics, We do not
know how 20 treat them Wedcride them,
we caricature them. We instead OF taking
them by the soft hand Of Christian love,
clutch them with the iron pinchers Of ecole
siasticism
Oh, Il you know how those men had fall
en- away from Christianity and become
Bkeptcs you would not be SO rough on
theml Some wero brought up In homes
where religion was oyordone The most
wretched day In thoweek was Sunday. Re
lgion was driven into them with trir
hammer They had a surfeit OF prayer
meetings They were stuffed and choked
with eateehisms, They were told by their
parents that they were the worst children
that ever lived because they liked to ride
down hin better than 60 read "Pllgrim's
Progress They never heard their parents
talk OF religion bat with the corners Of
their mouths drawn down and the eye,
rolled up
Others went into skepticism through
maltEeatment on the part Of some who
proisssed religion. There is man who