The Bossier banner., 1894-07-26
TALMAGES SERMON.
Dangers Of Delay in Accepting the
Gospel Of Christ.
Felix's Preference for a Tempting sir
Caused His Loss of Glorious Inn
mortality Now Is the
Time to Be Saved.

| ing the Pacific, on his rOud-the-wOrld
journey, selected as the subject for SER
monic discourse through the press this
week, The Excited Governor" the text
being:
| Felix trembled and answered. Go thy way
for this time; when have convenient sea-
| Son, will call for thee-Acts xiv. 25.
A city of marble was Cesarea-
wharves of marble, temples of marble
This being the ordinary architecture of
the place, you may imagine something
OF the splendor of Gov. Felix's resi-
dence. In room of that palace, floor
tesselated, windows curtained, ceiling
fretted, the whole scene affiuent with
| Iyrlan purple, and statues, and pic
lures, and carvings, sat a very dark
complexioned man by the name of
Felix, and beside him woman of ex-
traordinary beauty, whom he had
stolen by breaking up another domestic
circle. She was only eighteen years of
age, princess by birth and unwilling
ly waiting for her doom-that of being
buried alive in the ashes and scoriae of
Mount Vesuvius, which in sudden
eruption, one day, put an end to her
denominations. Well, one afternoon
Drusilla, seated in the palace, weary
with the magnificent stupidities of the
place, says to Felix: ''You have a very
distinguished prisoner l believe, by the
name of Paul. Do you know he is one
of my countrymen? l should very much
like to see him, and l should very much
like to hear him speak, for have heard
so much about his eloquence. Besides
that, the other day, when he was being
tried in another room of this palace, and
the windows were open, heard the ap-
plause that greeted the speech of Law
yer Tertuilus, as he denounced Paul.
Now, | very much wish I could hear
Paul speak. Won't you let me hear
him speak?" Yes" said Felix, II will.
l will order order him up now from
the guard room" Clank, clank,
comes chain up the marble stairway,
and there is shuttle at the
door, and in comes Paul, a lit
tie, old man, prematur.ly old
through exposure-only sixty years
of age, but looking as though he
were eighty. He bows very courteously
before the governor and the beautiful
woman by his side. They say: Paul,
we have heard a great deal about your
speaking; give us now a specimen of
your eloquence. Oh! if there ever
was chance for a man to show off,
Paul had a chance there. He might
have harangued them about Grecian
art, about the wonderful water works
he had seen at Corinth, about the
Acropolis by moonlight, about prison
life in Philippi, about what | saw in
Ihessalonica," about the mythologies:
but MOI Paul said to himself: Il
am now on the way to martyrdom, and
this man and woman will soon be dead.
and this is my only opportunity to talk to
them about the things of eternity" And
just there and then there broke in
upon the scene peal of thunder. 1t
was the voice of a judgment day,
speaking through the words of the de-
crepit apostle. As that grand old mis-
sionary proceeded with his remarks the
stoop begins to go our of his shoulders,
and he rises up, and his countenance is
illumined with the glories of future
life, and his shackles rattle and grind
as he lifts his fettered arm, and with it
hurls upon his abashed auditors the
bolts of Gods indignation. Felix grew
very white about the lips. His heart
beat unevenly. He put his hand to his
brow, as though to stop the quicl1ness
and violence of his thoughts. He
drew his robe tighter about him,
as under a sudden chill. His
eyes glare and his knees shake, and, as
he clutches the side of his chail. in a
very paroxysm of terror, he orde rs the
sheriff to take Paul back to the guard
room. Felix trembled, and said: go
thy way for this time; when 1 lave a
convenient season | will call for thee"
A young man came one night to our
services, with pencil in hand, to carl
cature the whole scene, and make mirth
of those who should express any anx-
iety about their souls; but | met him
at the door, his face very white, tears
running down his cheeks, as he said
''Do you think there is any chance for
me?" Felix trembled, and so may God
grant it may be so with others.
propose to give you two or three
reasons why I think Felix sent Paul
back to the guard-room and adjourned
this whole subject of religion. The
first reason was, he did not want to
give up his sins. He looked around;
there was Drusilla. He knew that
when he became Christian he must
send her back to Azizus, her lawful
hus band, and he said to himself; Il
will risk the destruction of my immor-
tai soul sooner than | will do that. :"
How many there are now who can not
get to be Christians because they will
not abandon their sins! In vain all
their prayers and all their church
going. You can not keep these darling
sipG and win Heaven; and now
sore of you will have to
decide between the wine cup and
unlawful amusements, and lascivious
qualifications on the one hand and
eternal salvation on the other, Delilah
sheared the locks of Sampson; Salome
danced Heroa ii.ie the pit; prusills