The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1894-09-19
aHoLY coMPuLSION."
Subject of a Discourse by Rev, 7.
Dewitt Talmage, D. D.
Religion Is n BanqNet to Which An Are
Invited = None So Poor He Cannot
Partake OF 1.-THE vilest Are
Welceme to the Feast.


sent on his round-the-world tour,
selected the above as the subject of
his recent sermon through the press,
his text being Luke xiv, %; "And
compel them to come in"
The plainest people of our day have
luxuries which the kings and queens of
olden times never imagined. / walked
up and down the stairs of Holyrood
Palace-a palace that was considered
one of the wonders of the world--and
said: "Can it be possible that this is
all there was of this reputed wonderful
placer" And this is the case in many
other instances. There are fruits in
Westchester county and on Long Island
farms far better than the pomegranates
and apricots of Bible times.
Through all the ages there have been
scenes of festivity, andthe wealthy man
OF my text plans great entertainment
and invites his friends. If one builds2
beautiful home, he wants his friends to
come and appreciate it; and it was
laudable thing when the wealthy man
of my text, happy himself, wanted to
make other people happy. And SO the
invitations went out, but something
went very much wrong You can i'm
agine the embarrassment of any one
who has provided a grand feast when
he find out that the guests invited do
not intend to come. There is nothing
fhat VN1.nun1ync fhn cfay. nf ho
feast as that.
Well, the people invited to this great
banquet of the text made most frivo-
lous excuses The fact was, ! sup
pose, that soma of them were offended
that this man had succeeded SO much
better in the world than they had.
There are people in all occupations and
professions whoOconsider it wrong to
them that anybody else is advanced.
suppose these people invited TO the
feast said among themselves: 1--WE are
not going to administer to this mans
vanity, he is proud enough now; we
won't go; besides that, we could all
gives parties if we made our money the
way GIldU HAL 'IIldkeS his.
So when the messengers went out
with the invitations there was a unani-
nous refusal. One man said: 80, |
have bought Il farm, and must go and
look it." He was land speculator,
and had no business to buy land until
he knew about it. A frivolous excuse:
Another man said: 81 have bought five
yoke of oxen" The probability is he
was speculator in live stock. He
ought to have known about the oxen
before he bought them. Beside that,
if he had been very anxious to get to
the feast he could have hooked them
| up and driven them on the road there.
Another frivolous excuse. Another
man said: 20, have married wife,
and can't Gomez" when If he had said
to his wife, IL have an invitation to q
splendid dinner; it is highly compli
mentary to me; I should very much
like to go; will you go along with me%
she would have said: ITO be sure will
GO" Another frivolous excuse. The
fact was that they did not want to go
"Now," said the great man of the
feast, 81 will not be defeated in this
matter; have with an honest purpose
provided a banquet, and there are scores
of people who would like to come Il
they were only invited. Here, nay man
here, you go out, and when you find q
blind man, give him your arm and
fetch him in; and when you find a lame
man, give him crutch and fetch hin
in; and when you find poor man, tel
him that there is plate for him in my
mansion; and when you find some one
who is 80 ragged and wretched that he
has never been invited anywhere, ther
by the kindest tenderness and the most
loving invitation any one ever had
compel him to come in"
o, my friends, it requires no acute
ness on my part, or on your part, to SET
in all this affair that religion is a ban
quet. The table was set in Palestine 6
good many years ago, and the disciples
gathered around it, and they though:
they would have good time all by
themselves, but while they sat by thi'
table the leaves began to grow ant
spread, and one leaf went to the cas-
and another leaf went to the west, un
til the whole earth was covered up will
them, and the clusters from the heaven
ly 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 SHINING
bleeding, suffering, dying, groanine
world, voice breaks from the heavens
saying: Drink, 0 friends; yea, drinl
O beloved" blessed Lord Jesus, the
best friend ever had, was there evel
suoh table? Was there ever such &
banquet?
| From the cross uplifted high,
Where the Saviour deigns to die,
What melodious sounds hear
Bursting on the ravished earl
Heavens redeeminR work is done,
Come, and welcome; sinner, come.
Religion is joyous thing. do moi
want to hear any body talk about re
| ligion as though it were funeral.
do not want anybody to whine in tht
prayer meeting about the kingdom o
God. do not want any man to rol
up hiseyes, giving in thatway evidenc'
of his sanctity. The men and womer
of God whom happen to know, for thu
most part, find religion great joy. L
is exhilaration to the body. 1t is in
vigoration to the mind. 1t is rapture
to the soul. It is balm for all wounds
1t is light for all darkness. 1t is har
Dor from all storms, and though Coo
knows that some of them have trouble
enough now, they rejoice because they
are on their way to the congratulationl
eternal.