Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1894-04-18
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVNE'S sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject: Sustaining Power Of Re-
ngion."

cOcered lcith SilCer AMI her feathers 1tth yel-
lOJo gold. Psalms xviii, 13.
suppose you know what the Israelites
did down in Egyptian slavery. They made
bricks. Amid the utensils Of the brickkiln
there were also other utensils of cookery
the kettles, the pots, the pans, with which
they prepared their daily food. AMI when
these poor slaves, tired of the days work, law
down TO rest they lay down among the inn
plements OF cookery and the implements OF
hard work. When they arose in the morn
ing, they found their garments covered with
the clay, and the smoke, and the dust, and
besmirched and begrimed with the utensils
of cookery.
But after z while the Lord broke up that
slavery, and lie took these poor slaves into
land where they had better garb, bright and
clean and beautiful apparel. No more bricks
for them to make. Let Pharaoh make his
own bricks. When David, in my text, comes
to describe the transition OF these poor Is
raeliies from their bondage amid the brick
kilns into the glorious emancipation for
which God had prepared them, he says,
"Though ye have lain among the pots, Yet
shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered
with silver and her feathers with yellow
gold"
Miss WhateIy. the author Of a celebrated
book, "Life In Egypt" said she sometimes
saw people in the East cooking their food on
the tops Of houses, and that she had often
seen just before sundOwn pigeons and
doves, which had during the heat of the day
been hiding among the kettles and the pans
with which the food was prepared, picking
up the crumbs that they might find. Just
about the hour of sunset they would spread
their wings and fly heavenward, entirely
unsoiled by the region in which they had
moved, for the pigeon is very cleanly bird
And as the pigeons flew away the setting
sun would throw silver on their wings and
gold on their breasts. So you see it is not a
farfetched simile or an unnatural COM
parison when David, in my text. says to
these emancipated Israelites, and says to all
those who are brought out OF any kind of
trouble into any kind of spiritual Joy,
Though ye have lain among the pots, yet
shall ye be as the wings Of dove covered
with silver and her feathers with yellow
gold"
Sin Is the hardest Of all taskmasters.
Worse than Pharaoh, It keeps US drudging
IN a most degrading service, but after awhile
Christ comes, and He says, "Let My people
CO." and we pass out from among the brick
kilns OF sin into the glorious liberty of the
gospel We put on the clean robes of
Christian profession, and when at last we
soar away to the warm nest which God has
provided for US in heaven we shall go fairer
than dove, its wings covered with silver
and its feathers with yellow gold.
am going to preach something which
some of you do not believe. and that is that
the grandest possible adornment is the re-
many people who suppose that religion is a
very different thing from what it really is.
The reason men condemn the Bible is because
they do not understand the Bible. They
have not properly examinedit. DR.. Johnson
said that Hume told a minister in the bishop-
ric Of Durham that he had never particularly
examined the New Testament, yet all his life
warning against it. Haley, the astronomer,
announced his skepticism to Sir Isaac New
ton. and Sir Isaac Newton said. 'NOW, sir,
n -
not And am ashamed that you, profess
ing 70 be philosopher, consent to condemn
thing you have never examined"
And so men reject the religion OF Jesus
Christ because they really have never in
vestigated il. They think it something un-
desirable, something that will not work.
something Pecksnifflan, something hypocrit-
ical, something repulsive, when 1t Is so
bright and so beautiful you might compare
II to chatiinch, you might compare it to I
robin red breast, you might compare it to a
dove-its wings covered with silver and its
feathers with yellow gold.
But how is It If a young man becomes a
Christian? All through the clubroOms where
he associates, all through the business cir
cles whore he IS known, there is commiscra-
tion. They say, "What pity that a young
man who had such bright prospects should
so have been despoiled by those Christians,
giving up all his worldly prospects for some
thing which IS of no particular present
worth !" Here is young woman who be-
comes Christian-her voice, her face, her
manners the charm Of the drawing room.
Now all through the fashionable circles
the whisper goes, "What pity that such
bright light should have been extinguished,
that such a graceful gait should be crippled,
that such worldly prospects should be
obliterated!' All, my friends, it can be
shown that religions ways arc ways of
pleasantness and that all her paths are
peace; that religion, instead of being dark
and dOleful and lachrymOse and repulsive,
is bright and beautiful, iairer than a dove,
its wings covered with silver and its feathers
with yellow gold.
See, in the first place, what religion will
do for mans heart. care not how cheer
ful n man may naturally he before conversion,
conversion brings him up to a higher
standard OF cheerfulnes1. L do not say he
will laugh any louder. l do not say but he
may stand back from some forms of hilarity
in which he once indulged, but there comes
into his soul an immense satisfaction. A
young man not a Christian depends upon
worldly successes to keep his spirits up
Now he is prospered, now he has a large
salary, now he has beautiful wardrobe,
now he has pleasant friends, now he has
more money than he knows how TO spend.
Everything goes bright and well with him.
But trouble comes. There are many young
men in the house this morning who can tes-
tify out Of their own experience that some
friends are gone, his salary is gone. his health
Is gone. He goes down, down. He becomes
sour, cross, queer misauthrOpic, blames the
world, blames society blames the church,
blames everything, rushes perhaps to tho in
toXicating cup to drown his trouble, but in
stead of drowning his trouble he browns his
body and browns his soul.
But here ia a Christian young man.
Trouble comes to him. Does he give up?
Nol He throws himself back on the re-
sources Of heaven. He says: "God is nv
Father. Out Of all these disasters 1 shall
pluck advantage for my soul. All the prom
ises are mine, Christ is mine, Christian COM
paniOnship is mine, heaven is mine. What
though my apparel be worn out? Christ
gives me n robe Of Righteousness. What
though my money be gone? 1 have a title
deed TO the whole universe I'm the promise
'All are yours What though my worldly
friends fall away2 Ministering angels are
my bOdy-guGrd. What though my fare be
poor and my bread be scant? sit at the
Kings banquet p
Oh, what poor, shallow stream is worldly
enjoyment compared with the deep, broad
Overhowing river of Gods peace, rolling
midway in the Christian heart Sometimes
you have gone OVt on the iron bound beach
ofthe sea when there has been storm on
the ocean, and you have seen the waves dash
into white foam at your feet. They did not
do you any harm. While there you thought |
OF the chapter written by the psalmist, and
perhaps you recited it TO yourself while the |
storm was making commentary upon the pas
sage GOD is our refuge and strength, a |
very present help in time of trouble There |
fore will not fear, though the earth be re- /
moved, and though the mountains be carried
into the midst of the sea, though the waters !
thereof roar and be troubled, though the |
mountains shake with the swelling thereof" |
Oh, how Independent the relig ion of Christ !
m ns a man ot worldly su..o5s AM 7TorI Nv |
Nelson. the might before his I
last battle, said. ''Io-morrow shall win !
either pe'rt-e or a grave in Westminster !
Abbey" And IT does not make much differ :
ence to the Christian whether he rises or falls |
in worldly matters. He has everlasting re- I
nown anyway. Other plumaSe may be torn |
In the blast. hut that soul adorned with |
Christian grace is fairer than the dovc-its |
wings covered with silver and its feathers |
with gold.
You and have found out that people who
pretend TO be happy are not always happy. |