The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1895-03-29
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE NOTED DlVGNE's SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
Subject "New Ground"

After with the help 81 others. I had built
three churches IN the same city. and not
feeling called upon 90 undertake the supar-
human toll Of building n fourth church.
Providence seemed o. point % this place as
The Geld In which i could enlarge my work,
and i feel a sense of rolioi amounting 60 exc
ultallOn. Whoreunt0 this work will grow 1
cannot prophecy 10 Is inviting and pr0mis-
ing beyond anything / have ever touched
Tho churches arc the grandeEt institutions
THIS world ever saw, and their pastors have
no superiOr this side Of heaven. but there q
a work which must bs done outside OF the
churches, and 10 that work 1 Join myself for
awhile, Lest l build on another mans
foundation"
Tho church Is a fortress divnely built
Now, q fortress Is for defense and for drill,
and for storing ammunition. but an army
must sometimes be Ola the march far outside
the fortress. In the campaign OF conquerng
this world for Christ the time has come for
an advance movement, for a general en-
gagement," for massing the troops for an
Invasion OF the enemies country Confident
that the forts are we'll manned by the ablest
ministry that ever blessed the church. i pro-
pose, with others, for awhile, 90 join the
cavalry and move out and on for service in
the open field.
In laying out the plan for his missionary
tour Paul, with more brain than any OF hls
contemporaries or predecessors or success
sors, sought out towns and cities which had
not yet been preached to. He goes 10 Cor
NTH, a city mentioned for splendor aud Vice.
and Jerusalem, where the priesthood and
sanhednn were ready to leap with both feet
upon the Christian religion. He feels hehas
q special work 10 do, aud ne means to do IT,
What was the RESULT Tho grnndest lie OF
usefulness that man ever lived. We modern
Christian workers are not apt to initiate
Paul. We build on other peoples founda-
lions. II we erect q church, we prefer to
have il Allied with families all of whom have
been pious. Do we gather a sunday-school
class, we want good boys and girls, hair
eombed, faces washed, manners attractive.
So q church In this city Is apt 20 be- built out
Of other churches. Some ministers spend an
their time in fishing In other peoples ponds,
and they throw the line into that church
pond and jerk out a Methodist, and throw
tho line into another church pond and bring
out a Presbyterian. or there is q religious
row in some neighboring church, and the
whole school Of FISH swim of from that pond,
and we take them all in with one sweep OF
the net. What is gained2 Absolutely moth
ing for the general cause Of Christ. 1t Is only
as in an army, when a regiment is trans
ferred from one division 10 another or from
the Fourteenth Regiment to the sixty-ninth
Regiment What Strengthens the army is
new recruits.
The fact Is, this Is a big world. When in
our schoolbOy days we learned the diameter
and circumference Of this planet, we did not
learn half 1t Is the latitude and longitude
and diameter and circumference Of want and
woe and sin that no figures can calculate.
This one spiritual continent of wretohedness
reaches across all zones, and If 1 were called
to give its geographical boundary I would
say It Is bounded on the north and south and
east and west by the great heart of Gods
sympathy and love. Oh, IL is a great world
Since 8 o'clock this morning at least 1000
have been born, and all these multiplied
populations are to be reached Of the gospel.
In England or in Eastern American cities
we are being much crowded, and an
acre Of ground is OF great value, but out
West 500 acres is a small farm, and 90
600 acres is no unusual possession. There is
a vast field here and everywhere unoc-
cupied, plenty Of room more, not building
on another mans foundation. We need
as churches to stop bombarding the
old iron clad sinners that have been proof
against thirty years Of Christian assault, and
aim for the salvation Of those who have
never yet had one warm hearted and point
blank invitation. There are churches whose
buildings might be worth 5000 900, who are
not averaging five new converts q wear and
doing less good than many log cabin meet
ing house with tallow candle stuck in wooden
socket and a minister who has never seen a
college or known the difference between
Greek and Choctaw We need churches to
get into sympathy with the great outside
world, and let them know that none are so
broken hearted or hardly bestead that they
will not be welcomed. "No!" says some fas-
tidious Christian: ~ don't like to be crowd
cd in church. Don't put any one in my
pew" My brother, what will you do in
heaven? When great multitude that no
man can number assemblies, they will put
| fifty In your pew. What are the select few
to-day assembled in the Christian churches
compared with the mightier millions outside
! of them?
At least 5000, 900 people in this cluster of
seaboard cities, and not more than 200, 900 in
the churches. Many Of the churches are
! like a hospital that should advertise that its
patients must have nothing worse than tooth
ache or "run arounds," but no broken heads.
no crushed ankles, no fractured thighs.
! Give us for treatment moderate sinners, vel
| vet coated sinners and sinners with O gloss
on. 1t is as though man had farm oil
5000 acres and put all his work on one acre
He may raise never so large ears of corn.
never so big heads of wheat, he would re-
| main poor. The church of God has bestowed
It's chief care on one acre and has raised
splendid men and women in that small in
closure, but the field is the world. Thai
means North and South America, Europe
Asia and Africa and all the islands of tht
sea.
1t is as though after a great battle there
were left 10000 wounded and dying on the
field and three surgeons gave all their tim,
to three patients under their charge. TIL,
major-general comes in and says to the doc
tors, "Come out here and look at the nearl,
$4,000 dying for lack Of surgical attendance.
"No," say the three doctors, standing Their
and tanning their patients; 1--WE have thre
important cases here, and we are attending
them, and when we are not positively bus
with their wounds it takes all our time t.
keep the flies off," In this awful battle o
sin and sorrow, where millions have falle
on millions, do not let us spend all our tim
ia taking care of few people, and when tn
command comes, $50 into the world, - sa
practically: "No; cannot 60 l have her