Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1894-10-03
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE'S SUN.
DAY SEEiION.
Subject: "Holy Compulsion.s -
TEXT: "And compel them to come in

TEXT: "And compel them to come in
Lux xvi. 23
Tn" plninest people in our dav have luxu.
ri"e which the kings and queens OF older
times never imagined. l walked up ani
down the stairs of Holyrool pllace-a pa.
lace that was considered one OF the wonders
o. the world-and said 'Can it be posi-.
fI- that this is all there was of this reunited
wonder III placer And this is the case In
many other instances. There are fruits in
Westchester County and on Long Island
farms lar better than the pomegranates and
Bpricots of Bible times Through all the
ages there have been scenes OF festivities,
an the wealthy man OF my text plans a
great entertainment and invites his friends.
II one builds beautiful home. he wants his
scquaintances TO come and enjoy it. II one
buys an exquisite picture, hs wants his
friends TO come and appreciate if. and it was
laudahle thing when the wealt ~ man o. nv
text, happy himself. wanted TO make other
people happy. And so the invitations went
OUT OUT something went very much wrong.
You can imagine the embarrassment OF any
one who has provided grand feas. when he
hnfs out that the guests invited do not
intend to come. There is nothing that 50
provokes the master OF the feast as that.
Well, these people invited TO this great
banquet OF the text made most frivolous ex-
cuses. The fact was. 1 suppose, that some
OF them were offended that this man had
succeeded so much better in the world than
they had. There are people in all occupa-
lions and professions who consider 1t
wrong 10 them that anybody else is ad-
yanced. 1 suppose these people invited to
the .eas. said among themselves: 1--WE are
not going to administer 10 that mans van
fy. He is proud enough now. We won't
go. Besides that we could all give parties
II We made our money the way that man
makes his"
30 When the messengers went out with
the invitations there unanimous
fusll. One man said, so 1 have bought =
farm, and must go and LOOK at it." He
was land speculator and had no business
10 iuy land until he knew about it. A
frivolous excuse. Another man said, "I
have bought five yoke of oxen" The
probability Is that he WIS a speculator in
live stock He ought to hav. known about
the oxen before he bought them. Besides
that, II he had been very an1 Gus 20 get to
the feast. he could have hooked them up
and driven them on the road there An
other frivolous excuse. Another man said,
"Oh. | have married a wife, and I can't
come, when IL he had said to his wife, 81
have an invitation to a splendid dinner. II
Il highly complimentary to me. I should
v'ry much like to go. VIII you go alons
with mei' she would have said, "To be sure,
will CO." Another frivolous excuse. the
fact was that they did not want to go.
Now" said the great man OF the feast,
VI will not be defeated in this matter. I
have with an honest purpose provided a
banquet, and there are scores OF people who
would like TO come il they were only in
vited. Here. my man, here; you go out,
and when you find blind man give him
your arm and fetch him in. and when you
find lame man give him n crutch and fetch
him in, and when you find poor man tell
him that there is plate for him in my man
sion, and when you fiud some one who Is so
rugged and wretched that he has never been
invitel anywhere then by the kindest ten
derness and the most loving invitation any
one ever had compel him to cone in"
oh, my friends. 1t requires no acuteness
on my part or on your part to see in all this
affair that religion is a banquet. The table
WIS set In Palestine a goo many years ago,
and the disciples gathered around IT, and
thoy thought they would, have good time
all by themselves but while they sat by this
table the leaves began to grow and spread,
and one leaf went to the east and another
leaf went to the west until the whole earth
was covered up with them, and the clusters
from the heavenly vineyard were piled up
on the board, and the trumpets and harps OF
eternity made up the orchestra, and as this
wine of God is pressed to the lips of a sim
ming, bleeding, suffering. dying, groaning
world voice breaks from the heavens, say.
Ing: Drink. o friends. Yea, drink, o be-
lovedr ~ blessed Lord Jesus, the best
friend ever had. the best friend anv man
ever hal, was there ever such table? Was
there ever such a banquet?
From the cross uplifted high,
Where tn Saviour detyns TO die,
What melo Il Us unts hear
Bursting on tn ravished -ari
hyel's Teieemng work IS done,
Com, and welcome, sinner come.
Religion is Joyous thing. do not want
TO hear anybody talk about religion as
though it were a funeral. do not want any
body TO whine in the prayer meeting about
the kingdom of God. 1 do not want any
man TO roll up his eyes. giving in that WY
{lav, y,f B.
women Of God whom L happen to know for
the most part find religion great Joy. 1t is
eIhilaratlon to the boly. 1t is invigoration
TO the mind. 1t is rapture to the soul. 1t
Is balm for all wounds. 1t is light for all
darkness. 1t is harbor from all storms. and
though God knows that some of them have
trouble enough now, they rejoice because
they are on their way to the congratulations
sternal.
Oh. the Lord Col has many fair and beau-
tful daughters, but the faire5t of them all Is
she whose ways are pleasantness and whose
paths are peace. Now, my brothers and
sisters-'or have a right to call you all SO
Il know some people look back on their an
cestral line, and they see they are descended
from the Puritans or Huguenots, and they
rejoice In that, but look back on my an
cestral line and see therein such a ming.
ling and mixture ofthe blood OF all nationals.
ties that feel akin to all the world, and by
the blood OF the Son OF Goi, who diei for
L
yo--al brotherhoo'.
come out rs only servant bringing an
invitation to party, and put It into your
hand saying. "Come. for all things are now
ready" and urge it upon you and continue
to urge 1t, and before get through l hope,
by the blessing of God, 10 compel you to
come in.
emust take care how we give the invita-
tion. My Christian frien =, think some
times we have just gone opposite to Chrisis
command, and we have compelled people TO
stay out. Sometimes our elaborated instruc-
tions have been the hinirance. We gradu-
ate from our theological seminaries on stllts,
and II takes five or six years before We can
come down and stand right beside the great
masses of the people. learning their JOYS
sorrows, victories. defeats.
We get our heads so brimful o. theological
wisdom that we have to stand very straight
lest they spill over. Now. what do the great
masses of the people care about the tech
nicalities OF reIigion2 What do they care
about the hypostatic union or the dinerence
between sublapsarian and supraapsarianf
What do they care for your profound ex-
plantations, clear as London fog? Wnen
man is drowning, he does not want you 10
stand BY the dock and describe the nature o!
the water into which he has fallen and tel!
him there are two parts hydrogen gas and
one OF oxygen gas, with common density
OF SO F., turr ing to steam under common
atmospheric pressure Of 212. he does noe
want a chemical lecture on water. He wants
rope.
oh, nv friendf, the curse OF God on the
church, 1t seems TO me, in this day, Is meta
physics. We speak in an unknown tonHus
In our Sabbath-schools, and in our reiig,oua
assemblases, and in our pulpits, and how
can people be saved unless they can under
stand us7 We put on our official gowns. and