The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-02-09
AT THE TABERN
DR.. TALMAGE CONTINUES HIS SER
MONS ON THE LESSONS OF NATURE.

Christ. There Arc wit, humorand En-
during VIvacIty Among Gods People,
BROOKLYN, Jan. 20.--lfCv DR.. Tai
mage this forenoon preached to Il great
audience in the Tabernacle on "Thc
Sunshine Of Religion" the text chosen
being Proverbs iii, II, "lIer ways are
ways of pleasantncss."
You have all heard Of Gods only be.
gotten Son. llave you heard of GoP-
daughter? She was bora IN heaven.
She came down over the hills of our
world. She had Quccnly step. On her
brow was celestial radieucc. Her voice
was music. Her name Is Religion. NV
text introduces her. "Icr ways are
ways Of pleasantness, and all her paths
arc peace"
But what is religion? The fact is that
theological study has different effect
upon me from the effect sometimes pro-
duced. Every year tear out another
leaf from my theology until ] have only
three or four leaves lciL--in other words,
very brief and PLAN statement Of
Christian belief.
An aged Christian minister said:
erything;whcD got to be thrtyivcycars
Of age in my ministry had only hum
drcd doctrines Of religion; when got to
be forty years OF age | had only fifty
doctrines of religion; when | got to be
sixty years OF age ! had only ten doc.
trncs ofreligiOn, and now | am dying
at scventy-live years OF age, and there
is only one thing | know, ana that is
that Christ Jesus came INTO the world
to save sluncrs." And so have noticed
in the study Of G od's word, and in my
contemplation of the character of God
and of the eternal world, that is ncccs-
sary for me to drop this part OF my be-
lief and that part CT my belief as being
nOncsscntial, while cling to the one
great doctrine that man is a sinner and
Christ is his Almighty and Divine Say
iOur.
Now | take these three or i0llr leaves
OF my theology. and find that, in the
first place, and dominant above all 9TH
ers, is the sunshine OF religion. When
! 20 into room have Il passion OF
throwing open all the shutters. That is
what want to do this morning. We are
apt to throw SO much Of the sepulchral
into our religion, and to close the shut.
ters, and TO pull down the binds, that it
Is only through here and there crevica
that the light streams. The religion Of
the Lord Jesus Christ is Il religion Of
joy iudscribablc and unuttrrablc. Whcr-
ever | can find Il bell mean - rny it..
If there are any in this house this
morning who arc disposed to hold on to
their melancholy and gloom, let them
now depart this service before the fair
est and the brightest and the most radi-
ant being OF all the universe comes in.
Gods son has left our world, but Gods
daughter is here. Give her room! Hail,
Princess OF Heaven. Hail. daughter OF
the Lord God Almighty. Come in and
make this house thy throne room.
In setting forth this idea the dominant
theory Of religion is One, OF sunshine.
hardly know where to bc.in, for there
are ~ many thoughts that rush upon
My soul. A mother saw her little chile
Seated on the floor in the sunshine anc
with Il spoon in her hand. She said
"My darling what are You doing thcrc?'
son." rcphcd the child "I'm getting Il
spoonful of sunshinc." Would Goo
that to-day mi tht present you with Il
cleaning chalicc Of this glorious ever
lasting Gospel sunshine! First OF ali, |
find great deal Of sunshine in Christ
ian society.
do not know OF anything more dole.
lul than the cOmpaniOnship OF the mere
tnnmakcrs OF the world-lhc Thomas
Hoods, the Charles Lambs, the Charles
Matthews Of the wOrld-- the men whose
entire business it Is To make sport
They make others laugh, but il YOU will
examine their autobiography, or biogra.
ply, you will find that down in their
soul there was terrific disuuictudc.
Laughter is no sign OF happiness. The
maniac laughs, The hvcna laughs. The
loon among the AdirondackS laughs.
The druukard dashing his dccantcr
against the wall laughs.
There is Il terrible reaction nOm all
sinful amusement and sinful mcrrimcut.
Such men are cross the next day. They
snap NJ you on exchange, or they pass
you, not recognizing you. Long AGO |
quit all worldly society for the reason it
was so dull, 50 inauc and SO stupid. MY
nature is vOraclOuS OF joy. must have
ii.
] always walk on the sunny side OF
the street, and for that reason have
crossed over INTO Christian society. |
like their mo ic OF rcpartcc better. |
like their style of amusement better,
They live longer. Christian people, |
sometimes notice, live on when by all
>uatural law they ought to have died
hlave known persons who have contin-
ued iN} Their existence when the doclcr
said they on ut to have been dead ten
years. iEverY day OF their existence
was defiance OF the laws OF anatomy
and ply slologW, but they had tins super
natural NlVlcitY CT the Gospel in their
soul, and that kcprthcm alive.
Put ten or twelve\, Christian people
In a room for Christian conversation
and you will from y to 10 o t;lock hear
more reSounding glee, see MOVE bright
strokes of wit and find more NhOught
and profound satisfaction than Nu any
merely worldly party. Now whGfV l
say IA "worldly party" | mean that 10
which you are invited because undcr>
all the circumstances Of the case 1t is
the best for you to be invited, and to
which you go because under all the cir
cumstanCes Of the case it is better that
you go, and leaving the shawlS on the