Democratic messenger., 1894-09-29
FROM THE SOUTH SEA
CR. TkLE.CE SENDS A LESSON FROM
FAR AUGTRAllA.

>!nner-Too Cften Are O.:icials Tempt
ell Above What They Are Able 10 Bear.
BEooKLYN, Sept. 33.-Rcv DIR. Tai
mage, who Il now preparing to leave
Australia for India OF his round the
world iaur. lia; selected q; tho subject
for today's sermon through the press
"The Tax Collectors Conversion, the
text being taken fro:n Lake Nix, 0,
This day Is salvation come to this
house.
Zacchcus was u politician and tax
gathercr. He had an honest calling, hut
the opportunity for "stcalings" was so
largo tho temptation was too much for
him. The Bible says he was % sinner"
that is. in the public sense. How
many fine men have been ruined by Off
cial position. 1t is an awful thing for
any man to seek Office under govern
n.ent unless his principles of integrity
are deeply fixed Many man upright
i'll M insignificant position has made
shipwreck i'll great one. AS far as
can tell. i'll the city Of Jericho this Fac
cheus belonged to what might be called
the ring. They had things their own
way, successfully avoiding exposure. if
by no other way perhaps by hiring
somebody To break in and steal the
vouchers. Notwithstanding his bad rep
utation there We're streaks of good about
him, as there arc about almost every
Enls in. nal
sometimes i'll - very small percentage
The ThronsinG to See Jesus.
Jesus was coming to town. The pco-
pie turned out en- masse to see him.
Here he comes. the Lord of glory, ON
foot. dust covered and road weary,
limping along the way. carrying the
griefs and woes of the world. He looks
to be 60 years Of age, when he is only
about 30. Zaccheus was n short man
and could not see over the peoples heads
while standing on the ground, so he got
up into u sycamore tree that swung its
arm clear over the road. Jesus advanced
amid the wild excitement of the surging
crowd. The most honorable and popu-
lar men of the city are looking on and
trying to gain his attention. Jesus. in
stead Of regarding them, looks up at the
little man i'll the tree and says: Fac
chcus, come down. ! am going home
with you" Everybody was disgusted to
think that Christ would go home with
SO dishonorable man.
see Christ entering the front door of
the house of Zaccheus. The king of
heaven and earth sits down. and as he
looks around on the place and the fam
lily he pronounccs the bcnediction of the
text, This day is salvation come to this
house..
Zacchcus had mounted the sycamore
tree out of mere inquisitiveness. He
wanted to SEQ how this stranger looked
the color of his eyes, tho length of his
hair, the contour Of his features, the
height of his stature. Come down."
said Christ.
Idle Curiosity.
And so many people i'll this day get
up into the tree of curiosity or specula-
tion to see Christ. They ask q thousand
queer questions about his divinity,
about Gods sovereignty and the eternal
decrees. They speculate and criticise
and hang onto the outside limb of
great sycamore, but they must como
down from that if they want to be-
saved. We cannot be saved rs philoso-
piers, but Us little children. You can
not go to heaven Ly way of Athens, but
by way of Bethlehem.
Why be pcrplexed about the way sin
came into the world when the great
question is how we shall get sin driven
out of our hearts. How many spend
their time in criticism and religious
speculation! They take the rose of
Sharon or the lilly of the valley. pull
out the anther, scatter the corolla and
say, sis that the beautiful flower of re-
ligion that You are talking about?" No
flower is beautiful after you have torn
it all to pieces The path to heaven is SO
plain that fool need not make any
mistake about it. and yet men stop and
cavil. Suppose that. going toward the
Pacific slope. / had resolved that !
would stop until l could kill all the
grizzly bears and the panthers on either
side Of tho way. would never have
got to the Pacific coast. When went
out to hunt tho grizzly bear. the grizzly
bear would have come out to hunt me-
Here is q plain road to heaven. Men
say they will not take step OH it until
they can make game Of all the theories
that bark and growl at them from the
thickets. They forget the fact that. as
they go ont to hunt the theory, the the
Dry comes ont to hunt them, and so they
perish.
Must Become as q Little Child.
We must receive the kingdom of
heaven in simplicity. William Penning-
ton was one of the wisest men of this
country-a governor Of his own state
and afterward speaker of the house of
representativcs-yet when God called
him to be Christian he went in and
sat down among some children who
were applying for church membership,
and he said to his pastor, Talk to me
Just as you do to these children, for l
know nothing about it" There is no
need of bothcring ourselves about mys-
teries when there are so many things
that are plain.
DIR. Ludlow, my professor in the theo-
logical seminary, taught me lesson /
have never forgotten. While putting
variety of questions to him that We're
perplexing he turned upon me, some
what in stcrnncss, but more i'll love, and
said, "Mr. Talmage. you will have to
let God know some things that you
don't" We tear our hands ON the
spincs Of the cactus instead of feasting
our eye ON its tropical bloom. A great
company of people now sit swinging
themselves on the sycamore trec of their
pride. and / cry to you: ''Zaccheus,
come down! Come down ont of your
pride. out of your inquisitiveness. out Of
your speculation. You cannot ride into
the gate of heaven with coach and four,
AEh