The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1893-04-27
a DISCOURSE B Y I A LMAG 3.
APOLOGlESsM MEN MAKE FOR NOT
BECOMING CHRISTIANS.

-4
What There Is in Religion--lncor-3
rigibilityof Temper-lncons III
cies OF Protested Christians
--Those Who Lack Time
THE Procrastinators. Z
Brooklyn, n. T., Special.-Rev. DR..
Talmage in his sermon in the Brooklyn
Tabernacle recently, spread before the
great audience in eloquent words the
beauty and attractiveness Of the gospel
feast; the text chosen being from Luke
xiv, 18: And they all with one con-
sent began to make excuse, + <s.,sr.~* q.
After the invitations to a levee are
sent out, the, regrets come in. One man
apologies for nOn-attendance on one
ground, another on another ground.
The most of the regrets are founded on
prior engagements. So in my text a
great banquet was spread, the invita-
tons We're circulated, and now the re
grets come in. The one gives an agri-
cultural reason, the other a stock deal
er's reason, the other domestic real
son. All poor reasons. The agricult-
ural reason being that the man had
bought a farm and wanted to see it.
Could he not see it the next day? The
stock dealers reason being that he had
bought five yoke of oxen, and he want
ed to go and prove them. He had no
BUSINESS to- buy them until he knew
what they. were, besides that. 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 1n 1>,Y1 f1,s
as rapid then as now. The man who
gave the domestic reason said he had
got married. He ought to have taken
his wife with him. The fact was they
Cid not want to go. And they all with
one consent began to make excuse"
So now God spreads a banquet; it is
the Gospel feast. and the table reaches
Scross the hemispheres: and the invita-
tons go out and multitudes come and
sit down and drink out of the chalices
of Gods love, while other multitudes
decline coming-the one giving this
apology and the other giving that apol-
ogy; ''and they all with one consent be-
gin to make excuse" l propose this
morning, 50 far as God will help me,
to examine the apologies which men
make for not entering the Christian
life.
Apology the first: i am not sure
there is anything valuable in the Chris
tan religion. It is pleaded that there
are so many impositions in this day
so many things that seem to be real
are sham. A gilded outside may have
hollow inside; there is SO much Quack-
| cry in physics, in ethics. in politics,
that men come to the habit of incredul-
ity. and after while they allow that
| incredu]ity to collide with our holy
religion.
But. my friends. l think religion has
made pretty good record in the world.
How many wounds it has Salved, how
many pillars of fire it has lifted in the
midnight wilderness how many SIMEON
struck Saharas it hath turned into the
gardens of the Lord; how it hath stilled
the chopped sea; what rosy light it hath
sent streaming through the rift of the
storm-cloud wrack; what pools Of cool
water it hath gathered for thirsty Ha.
gar and Ishmael: what mamma whittier
than Sscorianda seed it hath dropped
all around the camp of hardly
/. Pilgrims; what promises it. hath sent
out like holy watchers to keep tho
lamps burning around death-beds
through the darkness that lowers into
the sepuleher, what flashes of resus
rec!ion morn!
Besides that, this religion has made 81
many heroes. It brought Summer
field, the Methodist, across the Atlantic
ocean with his silver trumpet to blow
the acceptable year Of the Lord, unit
it seemed as if all our American cite
would take the kingdom of heave1
by violence. 1t sent Jehudi Ashmal
into Africa alone, in continent o
naked barbarians, to lift the STANDARD
Of civilization and Christianity. I
made John Milton among poets, Ra
phael among painters, Christophe
Wren among architects, Thorwaldse]
among sculptors. Handel among mus
clans, Dupont among military com
nlanders, and to give new wings to tn
Imagination, and better balance to tn
judgment, and more determination t
the will, and greater usefulness to tn
life, and grander nobility to the sou
there is nothing in all the earth lik
our Christian religion.
Nothing in religion! Why, then, a
those Christians We're deceived when i
their dying moments they thought the
saw the castles Of the blessed; an
your child, that with unutterable agon
you put away into the grave, you wi
never see him again, nor hear his swee
, voice, nor feel the throb Of his youn
. heart? There is nothing in religion
, Sickness will come upon you. Roll an
turn on your pillow. No relief. Th
medicine may be bitter. the night ma
he dark, the pain may be sharp. n
!, relief. Christ never comes to the sic
i room. Let the pain stab. Let the feve
burn. Curse it and die. There is not
ing in religion! After awhile deaf
will come. You will hear the PAWN
: of the pale horse on the threshold. III
spirit will be breaking away from tt
: body, and it will take flight whittier
!. whittier? There is no God no ministe
, ing angels to conduct, no Christ, /
. heaven, no home. Nothing in religion
Oh. you are not willing to adopt sue
dismal theory. And yet the world
full Of skeptics. And let me say the,
!, is no class Of people for whom ha,
a warmer sympathy than for skeptic
We do not know how to treat the1
: We deride them. We caric,ture the1
We. instead of taking them by the so