The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-03
ARROGANCE AND HUMILITY.
TalmagG breaches On The PhariSOG
And the Publican.

lief Expected by thesSupplioant Ex-
oept Through Gods Meroy-A Story
From Augusta Told by the Preach.
er's Uncle.
Brooklyn, July Rev DIR. Talmage
selected as his subject for to-day picture
of contrast: Arrogance and Humility"
the text being Luke 1S: 13; God be mer-
ciful to me n sinner"
No mountain ever had o more brilliant
Coronet than Mount Moriah. The glories
Of the ancient temple blazed there, The
| mountain-top was not originally
| large enough to hold the
| temple, and so a wall six hun
dred feet high was erected, and
the mountain was built out into that
| wall. it was at that point that Satan
met Christ, and tried to persuade him to
cast himself down the six hundred feet.
The nine gates of the temple flashed the
light of silver and gold and Corinthian
brass, which Corinthian brass was mere
precious stones melted and mixed and
| crystalized. The temple itself was not
so very large q structure, but the courts
and the adjuncts of the architecture
| made 1t half a mile in circumference.
We stand and look off upon that won
drous structure. What's the matterl
What strange appearance in the templel
Is il fire2 Why, it seems as If it were a
the matterl Why, it's the hour of morn
| ing sacrifice, and the smoke on the altar
| rises and bursts out of the crevices and
out of the door, and wreathes the moun-
tain-top with folds of smoke, through
which glitter precious stones, gathered
and FURNISHED by royal munifcence.
! see two men mounting the steps Of the
building; they go side by side; they are
very unlike; no sympathy between them
the one, the Pharisee, proud, arrogant,
pOmpous, he goes up the steps Of the build
ing. He seems, by his manner, to say:
"Clear the track! Never before came
up these steps such goodness and conse-
Grafton"
Beside him was the publican, bowed
down, seemingly with q load on his
heart. They reach the enclosure for
worship in the midst of the temple: the
Pharisee goes close up to the gate of the
Holy Of Holes; he feels he is worthy to
stand there; he says, practically, "I am
so holy / want to 90 into the Holy Of
Holes. O, Lord, l am very good man;
I'm n remarkably good man; why, two
days in the week | eat absolutely moth
ing I'm so good; I'm very generous in
my conduct toward the poor; / have no
sympathy with the common rabble, es-
pecially have | none with this poor, mis-
rable, commonplace, wretched publican,
who happened to come up the stairs beside
me-"
The publican went clear to the other
side of the enclosure, as far away from
the gate of the Holy of Holes as he could
get for he felt unworthy to stand near
the sacred place. And the Bible says he
stood afar of. Standing on the opposite
side of this enclosure, he bows his head,
and as OrienUals when they have any
trouble beat their breasts, so he begins to
pound his breast, as he cries: "God be
merciful to mo sinneru
| "a ft.og
The incense that waited that morning
from the priests censer was not so sweet
as the publicans prayer floating into the
opening heavens; while the prayer of the
Pharisee died on his contemptuous lips
and rolled down into his arrogant heart,
Worshiping there, they join each other,
and go side by side down the steps, the
| Pharisee. cross, wretched, acrid, satur-
nine; the publican, with his face shining
with the very joys of heaven for Il tell
you that this man went down to his
house justified rather than the other"
/ Now, put this publicans prayer under
analysis, and discover in the first place
that he was pursuaded of his sinfulness.
He was an honest man, he was a tax
gatherer. he was an officer of the govern
ment; the publicans were taX-gatherers,
and Cicero says they were the adornment
of the state. OF course they were some
what unpopular because people then did
not like to pay their taxes any better than
people now like to pay their taxes, and
there were many who disliked them.
Still, l suppose this publican, this tax
gatherer, was an honorable man; he had
an Office of trust; there were many hard
things said about him; and yet, standing
there in that enclosure of the temple,
amid the demonstrations of Gods holi-
ness and power, he cries out from the
very depths of his stricken soul, "God be
merciful to me sinner!" BY what pro-
cess shall l prove that l am a sinnerl
BY what process shall ! prove that you
are a sinner? Shall 1 ask you to weigh
your motives, to scan your actions, to es-
innate your behaYiOrR | will do nothing
of the kind; ] will draw my argument
rather from the plan of the work that
God has achieved for your salvation.
You go down in storm to the beach,
and you see wreckers put on their rough
Jackets, and launch the life-boat, and then
shoot the rockets to show that help is
coming out into the breakers and you
Immediately cry "a shipwreck!" And
when see the Lord Jesus Christ putting
aside robe and crown, and launch out on
the tossing sea Of human suffering and
satanic hate, going out into the thunder
ing surge of death, / cry, ga shipwrecki"
know that our souls are drcadfully
lost, by the work that God has done TO
save them. Are you a sinnerR Suppose
YOU had a commercial agent in Charles
were paying him promptly his salary,
and you found out. after awhile, that
notwithstanding he had drawn the salary,
he had given nine-tenths of all the time
to some other commercial establishment.
Why, your indignation would know no
bounds. And yet that is Just the way we
have treated the Lord,
He sent us into this world to serve him.
He has taken good care of us; he has
clothed u.s. he has sheltered us, and he has
surrounded us with ten thousand bene-
factions and yet many of US have given
nine-tenths of Ouclivcs to the service of the
world, the flesh, and the devil. Why, my
friend, the Bible is full of confession, and
do not find anybody is pardoned until he
has confessed
What did David say2 II will confess
my transgressions unto the Lord" What
did Isaiah say} "WOe is me, because
am man of unclean lips" What did
Ezra say2 "Our iniquities are increased
over our head, and our trespass is grown
up into heaven" And among the mil
lions before the throne of Cod tonight,
not one got there until he confessed. The
coast of eternal sorrow is strewn with
the wreck of those who, not taking the
warning, drove with the cargo of immor-
tai hope into the white-tangled foam of