The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1894-09-29
.TALMAGE'S SERMON.
BY Good Deeds Induce Sinners to
Come Into the Church.
Too Much Show and Glittering Nothing
ness in the Religion of the Day-The
Great Object Should be to
Reach the Masses.


publication this week. It's subject i
"Holy Compulsion, being based on Thu
text
And compel them to come in.--Luke xiv. .;
The plainest people in our day hav'
luxuries which the kings and queens
OF olden times never imagined.
walked up and down the stairs O
Holyrood palace-a palace that was
considered one of the wonders of the
woodland l said: "Can it be posi-
BILE that this is all there was of this re
puted wonderful palace?" And this is
the case in many other instances
There are fruits in Westchester coun.
ty and on Long Island farms far bet,
ter than the pomegranates and april
cots of Bible times. Through all the
ages there have been scenes of festivi-
ty, and the wealthy man of my text
plans a great entertainment, and in
vites his friends If one buys an ex-
quisite picture, he wants his friends to
come and appreciate it; and it was a
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 anyone
who has provided grand feast when
he finds out that the guests invited do
not intend to come. There is nothing
that SO provol<es the master of the
feast as that
Well, these people invited to this
great banquet of the text made most
frivolous excuses. The fact was, |
suppose, that some of them We're Of
Tended 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 it
wrong to them that anybody else is adj
vanced. l supposed these people in
yited to the feast said among them
selves: 'We are not going to admin
lister to that mans vanity he is proud
enough now; we won't go; beside that,
we could all give parties if we made
our money the way that man makes
his
So, when the messengers went out
with the invitations there was
refusal. One man said:
ooh, / have bought farm, and must
go and look at It'll" He was land
speculator, and had no business to buy
land until he knew about it. A friv-
olous excuse. Another man said: 81
have bought five yoke of oxen" The
reliability is he was Spectator in |
live stock. He ought to have known
about the oxen before he bought them.
Beside that, if he had been very anx-
ous to get to the feast he could have
hooked them up and driven them on
the road there. Another frivolous ex-
;use. Another man said "Oh, have
married a wife, and 1 can't Gomez"
when, if he had said to his wife: 81
lave an invitation to a splendid din
her; it is highly complimentary to me;
should very much like to go; will
you go along with me?" she would
lave said: ITO be sure l will CO." An
,ther frivolous excuse. The fact was
hat they did not want to go.
Now" said the great man of the
least, 81 will not be defeated in this
natter; l have with an no nest purpose
provided banquet, and there are
cores of people who would like to
ONE if they were only invited. Here,
ny man, here, you go out, and when you
ind a blind man, give him your arm
nd fetch him in; and when you find
lame man, give him crutch and
etch him in; and when you find poor
nan, tell him that there is plate for
i'm in my mansion; and when you find
who is so ragged and wretched I
hat he has never been invited any
there, then by the kindest tender
ess and most loving invitation any !
ne ever had, compel him to come in"
oh, my friends, it requires no acute
ess on my part, or on your part, to
ee in all this affair that religion is a
anquet. The table was set in Pales-
inc a good many years ago, and the
eciples gathered around it, and they &
bought they would have good time j
II by themselves, but while they sat S
y this table the leaves began to grow |
nd spread, and one leaf went to the I
asst and another leaf went to the west, |
ntil the whole earth was covered up c
18th them, and the clusters from the
eavenly vineyard were piled up on {
lie board, and the trumpets and harps 6
eternity made up the orchestra, and
5 the wine of God is pressed to the I
ps of a SHINING, bleeding, suffering,
wing, grooming world voice breaks
'om the heavens, saying: Drink, oh,
lends; yea, drink, oh, beloved!" Oh, !
lessed Lord Jesus, the best friend 1
yer had, the best friend any man ever ,
adj, was there eyer such table? Was
aere ever such banquet?
From the cross uplifted high,
Where the Saviour dcigns to die.
What melodious sound hear