The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-09-26
FRIVOLOUS EXCUSES.
DR. ralmage Speaks of the Men Who Re-
ject Religion.


Talmage who is still absent gshis round
the world tour, has selected as the sub
iect of his sermon through the press fol
today ssHoly Compulsion." the text bs'
ing Luke xiv, %, 'sAnd compel them to
come In"
The plainest people IN our day have
luxuries which the kings and queens ol
olden times never imagined. walked
ND and down the stairs of HoiYrood pal
ace-a palace that was considered one
of the wonders of the world-and I said,
ssCan it be possible that this IS all there
was of this reputed wonderful place"'
And this is the case in many other H.
stances. There are fruits in Westches'
ter county and on Long Island farms tar
better than the pomegranates and april
cots of Bible times. Through all ages
there have been scenes OF festivitY, and
the wealthy man Of my text plans a
great entertainment and invites bis
friends. If one builds beautiful home,
he wants his acquaintance to come and
enjoy il. IF one buys an exquisite pic.
ture, he wants his friends to come and
appreciate it, and it was laudable
thing when the wealthy man ofmy texts
happy himself, wanted to make other
people happy. And so the Invitation,
went out, but something went very
much wrong. You can imagine the
embarrassment of any one who has pro-
Vided grand feast when he finds out
that the guests invited do not intend to
come. There is nothing that so pro-
Yokes the master Of the feast as that.
Well, these people invited to this
grand banquet of the text made most
frivolous excuses. The fact was, I sup.
pose, that some Of them were offended
that shis man had succeeded so much
better in the world than they had. There
are people in all occupations and pro.
LESSONS who consider it a wrong to them
that anybody else is advanced. sup
pose these. peopie invited to the feast
said among themselves: "We are not
going to administer to that mans vanity.
He is proud enough now. We won't go.
Besides that we could all give parties il
We made our money the way that man
makes his"
So, when the messengers went out
with the invitatiens, there was q unani-
NOUS refusal. One man said. "Oh, |
have bought farm and I must go and
look at ltv' 81. vas 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.n The probability is ne
was speculator in live stock. He
ought to have known about the oxen be-
fore he bought them. Besides 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. Anoth-
or frivolous excuse. Another man said,
sob, I have married wife, and can't
come.n when II he had said to his wife:
ST have an invitation to splendid din
ner. It is highly complimentary to me.
should very much ike to go. VIII
you 90 along with me?" she would have
said, ''To be sure, will CO." Another
frivolous excuse. The fact was that they
did not want to go.
"NoW,o said the great man sof the
feast, ST Will not be defeated in this
matter. I have, with an honest pur-
pose, provided 8 banquet, and there are
scores of people who would like to come
if they were only invited. Here, my
man, here; you 60 out, and when you
find blind man give him your arm and
fetch him in, and When You find a lame
man give him a erutch and fetch him IN,
and when you find a poor man tell him
there is plata for him in my mansion,
and when youHnd some one who Is 30
ragged and wretched that he has neVer
been invited anywhere then, by the
kindest tenderness and the most loving
Invitation any one ever had, compel
him to come In"
Oh, my friends, it requires no acute
ness on my part or on your part to see
In all this affair that religion is ban
quet. The table was set in Palestine g
good many years ago, and the disclpl es
gathered around it, and they thought
they would have a 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 heaven
ly vineyard were piled upoa the board,
and the trumpets and harps Of eternity
made up the orchestra, aud this wine OF
God is pressed to the lips Of shining,
bleeding, suffering, Edylng, groaning
world, voice breaks trom the heavens,
saving: s'Drink, o friends! Yea, drink,
o, beloved" o blessed Lord Jesus,
the best friend I ever had, the best
friend any man ever had, was there ever
such a table? Was there ever such 8
banquet?
From the cross uplifted high,
Where the Saviour deignS to die,
What melodious sounds hear
Bursting on the raVisned ear!
Heavens -edeeming work is done.
Come, 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 anybody to whine in the prayer
meeting about the kingdom of God. I do
not want any man to roll up his eyes,
giving in that way evidence of his sane
titY. The men and women of God whom
I happsn to know for the most part find
religion great joy. It is exhilaratlon
to the body. It is invigoration to the
mind. It is rapture to the soul. It Is
balm for all wounds. It is light for all
darkness. It is harbor from all storms,
and though God knows that some Of
!heln have trouble enough now they
rejoice because they are on the way to
the congratulations eternal.
Oh, the Lord God has mauy fair and
beautiful daughters, but the fairest Of
them all is she whose ways are pleas
antest and whose paths are peace! Now
my brothers and sisters-for I have q
right to call you all so know some
people look back on ther ancestral line,
and they see they are descended from
the Puritans or Huguenots, and they
rejoice in that, but look back on my
ancestral line, and I see therein such 8
mingliag and mixture of the blood Of all
nstionalities that I feel akin to su the
world, and bV the blood Of the Son OF