Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1895-03-07

rev. Dr. Talmage Tells What 4
Grand Thing 1t Is.
"a invitation from Most Radiant
beng TO All Mankind to Come and
e nappy--No Apologies Required
Tor the Bible--The Light
of the Gosnal.


was The Glorious Gospel. the tey,
CHOSEN being: According to the glori
GUS gospel of the blessed God, which
was committed to my trust" /. limo.
thy |, II. He said:
The greatest novelty of our time is
the gospel. 1t is so old that it is new
AS potters and artists are now at.
tempting to fashion pitchers and cups.
ana curious ware like those of nine.
teen hundred years ago recently
brought up from buried Pompeii, and
such cups, and pitchers and curious
ware are universally admired, so any
one who can unshovel the real gospel
from the mountains Of stuff under
which II has been buried, will be able
70 present something that will attract
the gaze, and admiration and adoption
OF all the people.
| IL Is amazing what substitutes have
been presented for what my text calls
"Ihe glorious gospel" There has been
an hemisphere apostasy. There are
many people in this and all other larp g
assemblages who have no more idea
OF what the gospel really is than they
have OF what is contained in the four
teenth chapter of Zend-Avesta, the
Bible OF the Hindoo, the first copy of
which | ever saw purchased in Cal
cutta, India, last September. The old
gospel is fifty feet under, and the
work has been done by the shovels of
those who have been trying to contrive
the philosophy of religion There is
no philosophy about it. 1t is a plain
matter of Bible statement, and of
childlilse faith. Some of the theological
seininaries have been hotbeds of inf
deity. because they have tried to
teach the Philosophy of Religion. +"
by the time that many young theo-
logical student gets half through his
preparatory course, he is so filled with
doubts about plenary inspiration, and
the divinity OF Christ, and the ques-
tions 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 profess
sor is a Christian mother who out OF
her own experience can tell the four
year-old how beautiful 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, conse.
crates him for time and eternity tc
Him who said "Suffer them to come
unto Me-" What an awful work Paul
made with the d. D. S and the Ill. d. q
and the +. R. SIS, 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
There sits the dear old theologian
with his table piled up with all the
great books of inspiration, and exege.
sis, and apologetics for the Almighty,
and writing out his own elaborate
work on the philosophy of religion,
and his little grandchild coming up tc
him for a goodnight kiss, he accident
ally knocked off the biggest book from
the table and and it falls on 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 nc
The throne Of the last
Judgment wants no apologetics. Eter-
nifty wants no apologetics. Scientists
may tell us that natural light is the
propagation of undulations in the
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 inn
preston made on the organs of hear.
ing by an impulse of the air, caused by
q collision of bodies, or by other
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
a learned discourse showing that the
garden of Eden was an allegory, and
Solomon's song rather indelicate love
aitty. and the book of Job drama in
which Satan was the star actor, and
that Renan was three-quarters right |
about the miracles of Jesus, and that |
The Bible was gradually evoluted, and
The best thought Of the different ages,
Moses, and David, and Paul, doing the
best they could under the circum-
stances, and therefore to be encouraged.
Lord of heaven and earth, get us out OF
The London fog Of higher criticism!
The night is dark and the way is
rouph. and we have lantern which
God has put in our hands, but instead
ii employing that lantern toshow our
selves and others the right way, we are
discussing lanterns, their shape, their
lie. their material, and which is the
better lipht-kerosene, lamp oil, or can
1la. and while we discuss it, we stand
N around the lantern, SO that we shut
,ut the light from the multitudes VINO
are stumbling on the dark mountains
# sin and death. Twelve hundred