The Penn's Grove record., 1893-07-07
REV. DR.. lALNAGE'S SERMON
UAe Brooklyn Divfnep Sunday
BermenS
Subject :-'tArrogance and Humility"

No mountain ever had u more brillian
coronet than Mount Moriab. The giories %
the ancient temple bla2ed there. The noun
tain top was not originally large enough &c
hold the temple, and SO "A wall GOO feet high
was erected. and the mountain was built out
into that wall.
1t was at that point that satan met Christ
and tried to persuade Him to cast Himselt
down the 500 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 crystallized. The temple itself
was not SO very large n structure, but tho
courts and the adjuncts OF the architecture
made it half a mile in circumference
We stand and look upon that wondrous
structure. What's the matter? What
strange appearance in the temple2 Is It flre2
Why, ii seems as II it were a mantle all kin
died into fame. What's the matter2 Why.
its the hou Of morning sacrifice. and the
smoke on the altar rises and bursts out of
the c~revices and out Oft III door pnd wreathss
the mountain top with folds of smoke
through which glitter precious stones
gathered and FURNISHED by royal mu-
n~i1cence.
/ 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. POM
Jus IV bVNS UP thp oNtl'N VI LII hAANh =
he seems by his manner to say: ''Clear the
track! Never before came up these steps
such goodness and conservation"
Beside him was the publican, bowed down,
seemingly. with a 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 worthyto stand there. He says practically
II am so holy I want to go into the holy of
holies. oh Lord, l am a very good mani 1
nm n remarkably good man. Why, two days
In the week l eat absolutely nothing. l am
30 good. I'm very generous in my conduct
toward the poor. l have no sympathy with
the common rabble especially have l none
with this poor, miserable, 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 holies as he could get, for he
felt unworthy TO stand near the sacred place.
And the Bible says he stood afar off. Stand
Ing on the opposite side OF this Enclosure,
he BOWS his head, and as orientials when
they nave any trouble beat their breasts, so
he begins to pound his breast as he cries,
"God be merclful to me-, a sinner"
Oh, was there ever a greater contrast? The
Incense that waited that morning from the
priests censor was not so sweet as the pub
leans prayer floating into the opening
heavens, while the prayer Of the pharisee
died on his ~contemptuous lips and rolled
down into his arrogant heart. Worshtping
there, they join each other and go side by
side down the steps, the pharisee cross,
wretched, acrid, saturnine-the publican
| with his face shining with the very joys of
heaven, for ~ tell you that this man went
! down TO his house justified rather than the
other"
Now, I put this publican's prayer under
analysis, and / discovered in the first place
that he was persuaded OF his sinfulness. He
was an honest man he was a taxgatherer
he WIS an officer Of the government. The
publicans were taxgatherers, n Cicero
says they were tine adornment of the State.
OF course they were somewhat 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 dis
liked them.
Still 1 suppose this publican, this tax gath
erer, 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 holine and power,
he cries out from the very depths of his soul,
God be mereiful to me-, a sinner !" By what
| process shall / prove that / am a sinner2 By
what process shall I prove that you are a sin-
ner2 Shall I ask you to weigh your motives,
to sean your actions, to estimate your be-
havior? 1 will do nothing of the kind. l
will draw my argument rather from the plan
of the work that God has achieved for your
salvation.
You go down In a storm to the beach, and
you see wreckers put on their rough jackets
and launch the lifeboat and then shoot the
rockets to show that help is coming out into
the breakers, n you Immediately cry, IA
shipwreck p And when I see the Lord Jesus
Christ putting aside robe and crown and
launch out on the tossing sea of human suf'
fering and satanic hate, going out into the
laundering surge of death, I cry, "a ship
wreck
know that our souls are dreadfully lost
by the work that God has done to save them'
Are you a sinner! Suppose you had a com
mercial agent in Charleston or San Fran
cisco, or Chicago, n you were paying him
promptly his salary, and you found out aftel
awhile that Notwithstanding he had draw
the salary he had given nine-tenths OF all the
time TO some other commercial establish
ment. Why, your Indignation would know
no bounds. And yet that is just the way w
have treated the Lord.
He sent US out into the world to Servt
Him. He has taken good care Of US. IL
nas ciotned us, He has sheltered us, and II
has surrounded us with 10, 900 benefactions
and yet many OF us have given nine-tenths o
our lives to the service of the world, the flesI
and the devil. Why. my friend. the Bible j
tull OF confessions. and do not find anybod,
is pardoned until he has confessed.
What did David say? 81 will confess m,
transgressions unto the Lord" What die
Isaiah say2 ''Woe is me. because l am {
man of unelean lips" What did Ezra say
''Our ~iniquities are increased over our head
and our trespass is grown up into heaven.
| And among the millions before the throne o
| God tonight not one got there until he con
fessed. The coast of eternal sorrow is strew,
with the wreck of those who, not taking tn,
warning, drove with the cargo OF immorta
hope into the white tangled foam OF th'
breakers.
Repent! the voice celestial cries,