The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1893-09-09
SUNDAYS SERMON,
oSR o. DIR. r. DEWITT TALMAGH0
sTKRLING DIsCOURsRa.
Subject: "week Day Religion"

'-ProyerbS ILL.,. 9.
= There has been tendency in all lands and
ages 10 set apart certain days, places and oc-
casions for especial religious service and TO
think that they formed the realm in which re-
liglon was chiefly 10 act. Now. while holy
days and holy places have their use, they can
never be q substitute for continuous exercise
OF faith and prayer.
In other words, a man cannot be so good a
Christian on Sabbath that he can afford 10 be
wording aIithe week. II a steamer start
for Southampton and sail one day In that di-
rection and the other six days sail In other
directions, how long before the steamer will
get 10 Southampton? Just as soon as the
man will get TO heaven who sails on the Sab
bath day towardthat which Is good, and the
other six days of the week sails toward the
world, the flesh and the devil. You cannot
eat SO much at the Sabbath banquet that you
can afford religious abstinence all the rest of
the week.
Genuine religion Is not spasmodic, does
not go by fits and starts, is not an attack of
chills and fever-now cold until your teeth
chatter, now hot until your bones ache.
Genuine religion marches on steadily up
steep hills and along dangerous declivities,
its eye ever on the everlasting hills crowned
with the castles OF the blessed.
Ipropose, so far as God may help me, 10
show you how we may bring our religion in
TO ordinary life and practice II In common
things-yesterday, to-day, tomorrow.
And in the first place, remark, we ought
to bring religion into our ordinary CONVERSE
tion. A dam breaks, and two or three viii
lages are submerged a South American
earthquake swallows city, and people be-
gin TO talk about the uncertainty of human
life, and in that conversation think they are
engaging in religious service when there
may be no religion at all. l have noticed
that in proportion as Christian experience is
shallow men talk about funerals and death
hads and baarspS and tOmhSfOnpg and aDi-
taphs.
II a man have the religion OF the gospel in
its full power in his soul, he will talk chiefly
about this world and the eternal world and
very little comparatively about the insignfi-
cant pass between this and that. Yet how
seldom it is that the religion OF Chris. is a
welcome theme! II a man full OF the gospel
of Christ goes into a religious circle and be-
gins TO talk about sacred things, all the con-
yersation is hushed, and things become ex-
ceedingly awkward. As on a summer day,
the forest full OF song and chirp and carol,
mighty chorus OF bird harmonies, every
branch an orchestra, IL hawk appears in
the sky, all the voices are hushed, so 1 have
sometimes seen a social circle that professed
TO De Christian silenced by the appearance Of
the great theme of God and religion.
Now, my friends, II we have the religion OF
Christ in our soul, we will talk about 1t in
an exhilarant mood. IL Is more refreshing
than the waters, it is brighter than the sun
shine. it gives a man JOY here and prepares
him for everlasting happiness before the
throne of God. And yet, IL the theme OF
religion be introduced into circle, every
thing ssilenced-silenced unless perhaps an
aged Christian man In the corner OF the
room, feeling that something ought to be
said. puts one foot over the other and sighs
heavily and says, "Oh, yes that's so! r.
). My friends. the religion OF Jesus Christ is
not something to be groaned about, but
something TO talk about and sing about, your
face irradiated. The trouble is that men pro-
Tossing the faith OF the gospel are often SO
inconsistent that they are afraid their con-
versation will not harmonic with their life
We cannot talk the gospel unless we live the
gospel. You will often find a man whose en-
tire life Is full of inconsistent os filling his
conversation with such expressions as, I'VE
are miserable sinners, "The Lord help US, "
''The Lord bless YOU" interlarding their
conversation with such phrases, which are
mere canting, and canting is the worst kind
Of hypocrisy.
II a man have the grace of God in his heart
dominant, he can talk religion, and 1t will
seem natural, and men. instead of being re-
pulsed by il, will be attracted by 1t. Do you
not know that when two Christian people
talk as they ought about the things OF Christ
and heaven God gives special attention, and
He writes it all down. Malachi ILL, 16,
"Then they that feared the Lord talked one
10 the OLner, anu lue Lp8l HtdThtucu uui
heard, and a book OF remembrance was writ
ten."
But remark again, we ought to bring the
religion of Jesus Christ into our ordinary
employments. "Oh," you say, "that's very
good theory for a man who manages large
business, who has great traffic. who holds q
great estate-it Is a grand thing for bankers
and for shippers-but in my thread and nee
die store, in my trimming establishment, in
my insignificant work of life. you cannot
apply those grand gosple principles. Who
told YOU that? Do you not know that q
faded leaf on brooks surface attracts Cod
attention as certainly as the path Of n blaz-
ing sun, and that the moss that creeps up the
side of the rock attracts Gods attention as
certainly as the waving tops OF Oregon pine
and Lebanon cedar, and that the cracking
of an alder under cows hoof sounds as
loudly in Gods ear as the snap of world 8
coniagration, and that the most insignif-
cant thing in your life is Of enough impor-
tance 10 attract the attention Of the Lord
God Almighty?
NV brother. you cannot be called TO do any
thing so insignificant but God will help you
in it, Ifyou are fisherman, Christ will
stand by you as He did by Simon when he
dragged Gennesaret. Are you drawer OF
water? Hewill be with you as at the well
curb when talking with the Samaritan
woman Are you a custom house officer!
Christ will call you as He did Matthew at the
receipt Of custom. The man who has only a
days wages in his pocket as certainly needs
religion as he who rattles the keys OF a bank
and could abscond with a hundred thousand
hard dollars And yet there are men who
profess the religion OF Jesus Christ who do
not bring the religion of the gospel into
their ordinary occupations and employ
ments.
There are in the churches OF this day men
who seem very devout on the Sabbath who
are far from that during the week. A coun-
try perchant arrives in this city, and he goes
into the store to buy goods OF a man who
processes religion, but has no grace in his
heart. The country merchant Is swindled.
He is too exhausted TO 90 home that week
he tarries in town. On Sabbath he goes 10
some church for consolation, and what Is his
amazement to find that the man who carries
around the poor box is the very one who
svindled him. Bucnever mind. The deacon
has his black coat on now and looks solemn
and goes home talking about that blessed
sermon Christians on Sunday. Worldings
during the week.
That man does not realize that God knows
ovsrv dishonest dollar he has in his pocket,