Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-02-22
A GLORIOUS GOSPEL.
THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MUSIC
THRONGEO.

An Eloquent and Forceful Sermon by Rev.
DR.. Talmage-The Great Edifce Crowd
ed to the Doors and Several Thousand
Turned Away.
New YORK, Feb. 17-Several thou
sand persons were turned away this
afternoon from the doors Of the Acad-
emy of Music after the huge building
had been filed to oyerfowing, the
crowds having begun to assemble fully
two hours before the time fixed for
opening tho services. Rev. DR.. Talmage
took for his subject 1.-The Glorious
Gospel, the text chosen being, "Ac-
cording to the glorious gospel of the
blessed God, which was committed to
my trust" q Timothy i. lll
The greatest novelty of our time is
the gospel 1t is so old that it is new
AS potters and artists are now attempt
ing to fashion pitchers and cups and
curious ware like those Of /, 800 years
ago recently brought up from buried
Pompeii, and such cups and pitchers
and curious ware are universally admir-
ed, so any one who can unshovel the
real gospel from the mountains Of stuff
under which it has been buried will be
able to present something that will at
tract the gaze and admiration and
adoption Of all the people. 1t is amazing
what substitutes have been presented
for what my text calls "the glorious
gospel. There has been a hemisphere
apostasy.
Able Theological Preachers.
There are many people in this and all
other large assemblages who have no
more idea of what the gospel really is
than they have of what is contained in
the fourteenth chapter Of ZendAvesta,
the Bible of the Hindoo, the first copy Of
which l ever saw purchased in Cal
cutta last September. The old gospel
is so feet under, and the work has been
done by the shoyels Of those who have
been trying to contrive the philosophy
Of religion There is no philosophy
about it. 1t is plain matter Of Bible
statement and of childlike faith. Some
of the theological seminaries have been
hotbeds of infidelity because they have
tried to teach the PHILOSOPHY Of reli-
gion." BY the time that many young
theological student gets half through his
preparatory course he is so filled with
doubts about plenary inspiration, and
the divinity of Christ, and the questions
of eternal destiny, that he is more fit
for the lowest bench in the infant class
Of Sunday school than to become
teacher and leader Of the people. The
ablest theological professor is Chris
tian mother, who out of her own expe.
rience can tell the 4-year.old how beau
| tiful Christ was on EARTH and how
beautiful he now is in heaven, and how
dearly he loves little folks, and then
she kneels down and puts one arm
around the boy, and with her somewhat
faded cheek against the roseate cheek
of the little one consecrates him for
time and eternity to him who said,
Suffer them to come unto me. " What
an awful work Paul made with the d.
d. 3. and the LII. D. s, and the f. R.
S. g. when he cleared the decks Of the
old gospel ship by saying, mot many
wise men, not many noble, are called,
but God hath chosen the weak things Of
the world to confound the mighty"
A Theological Dude.
There sits the dear old theologian
with his table piled up with all the
great books Oh inspiration and exegesis
and apologetics for the Almighty and
writing out his own elaborate work on
the philosophy of religion, and his lit
tie grandchild coming up to him for
good night kiss he accidentally knocks
off the biggest book from the table, and
it falls OH the head Of the child, of
whom Christ himself said, "Out of the
mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast
perfected praise" All, my friends, the
Bible wants no apologetics. The throne
of the last judgment wants no apollo
getics Eternity wants no apologetlcs.
Scientists may tell US that natural light
is the propagation Of undulations in an
elastic medium, and thus set in vibra-
tory motion by the action Of luminous
bodies" but no one knows what gospel
light is until his own blind eyes by the
touch Of the Divine Spirit have opened
to see the MONDAY Of pardon and peace.
Scientists may tell US that natural sound
is "the effect of an impression made on
the organs Of hearing by an impulse OF
the air, caused by a collision Of bodies,
or by other means, but those only know
what the gospel sound is who have heard
the voice of Christ directly, saying;
"Thy sins are forgiven thee. Go in
peace" The theological dude unrolls
! upon the plush of the exquisitely carved
pulpit learned discourse showing that
the garden of Eden was an allegory, and
Solomon's Song rather indelicate love
ditty. and the book of Job drama In
which satan was the star actor, and that
Renan was quarters right about
the miracles of Jesus, and that the BIZ
BILE was gradually evoluted and the best
thought of the different ages, Moses and
David and Paul doing the best they
could under the circumstances, and
therefore to be encouraged Lord OF
heaven and earth, get us out Of the Lon
don fog of higher criticism
The night is dark, and the way is
rough, and we have O lantern which
God has put in our hands, but instead
of employing that lantern to show our
selves and others the right way we are
discussing lanterns, their shape, their
size. their material, and which is the
better light-kerosene, lamp oil or can
dle-and while we discuss it we stand
all around the lantern, so that we shut
out the light from the multitudes who
are stumbling ON the dark mountains OF
sin and death. Twelve hundred dead
birds were found one morning around
Bartholdi's statue in New York harbor.
They had dashed their life ont against
the lighthouse the night before Poor
thingsl And the great lighthouse Of the
gospel-how many high soaring think
ers have beaten all their religious life out
- L.