The Monitor-register., 1896-03-06
ALL MEN ARE ASTRAY
AN IMPRESSIVE SERMON BY REV.
DR., TALMAGE.


Seeking That which They Never Find
The Liberty of the Gospel.
WASHINGTON, March 1.-The gospel
sends out its gladdest sound In this
sermon from the nations capital. I'm
mense throngs pack and overflow the
church to which DIR. Talmage breaches
twice each Sabbath. His text this morn
ing was Isaiah lii. s.: "All we, like
sheen. have gone astray. We have
armed every one to his own way, and
the LORD hath laid on him the iniqulty
of us all. % -,
Once more ring the old gospel bell
The first half of my next text is an IN
dictment. All we, like sheep, nave
gone astray. Some one says: can I
Won drop that first word? That is 100
general that sweeps too great circle:
Some man rises in the audience, and ne
looks over on the opposite side OF the
heuse and says: "There is blasphemer'
and I understand how he has gone
astrav And there in another part OF tne
bouse is a defaulter, and he has gone
astray. And there is an impure person.
and he has gone astray. - Sit down, my
brother, and look at home. MY teAI
takes MS all in. 1t starts behind the pull
MI sweens the circuit Of the room, ana
co,nas hack to the point where 1t start
ad when it says, All we, like sheep,
have gone astray.
can very easily understand why
Martin Luther threw up his hands after
be had found the Bible and cried out,
"oh, my sins, my sins" and why the
publican, according to the custom to this
dav in the east, when they have any
great grief, began to beat himself and
crv as he smote upon his breast, 'God
be mereiful to me, sinner. !" was,
like many of you, brought up in the
oopntrv, and know some OF the habits
of sheep, and how they get astray and
what nv text means when 1t says. AL
we. like Sheep have gone astray."
Sheep get astray in two ways-elther
nv irving to get into other pasture. or
from being scared by the dogs. In the
former way some of us got astray. We
Thought the religion Of Jesus Christ put
ms on short commons. We thought there
was better pasturage somewhere else.
We thought if we could only lie down
on the banks of distant stream, or I'M
err great oaks on the other side of some
hill. we might be better fed. We want
ed other pasturage than that which God,
through Jesus Christ, gave our soul, and
we wandered Oh and we wandered on
and we were lost. We wanted bread,
and we found garbage. The farther we
wandered, instead of finding rich pas
turage, we found blasted heath and
sharper rocks and more singing nettles.
No pasture. How was it in the club
house when you lost your child? Did
they come around and help you very
much? Did your worldly associates con-
sole you very much? Did not the plain
Christian man who came into your house
and sat up with your darling child give
you more comfort than all worldly asso-
ciates? Did all the convivial songs you
ever heard comfort you in that day of
bereavement SO much as the song they
sang to you-perhaps the very song that
was sung by your little child the last
Sabbath afternoon of her life.
There is a happy land
Far, far away,
Where saints immortal reign
Bright, bright as day.
Gods Masterpiece.
Did your business associates in that
day Of darkness and trouble give you
any especial coincidence? Business exas-
perated you, business wore you out,
business left you limp as rag, business
made you mad. You got dollars, but
you got no peace. God have mercy on
the man who has nothing but business
to comfort himi The world afforded
you no luxuriant pasturage. A famous
English actor stood on the stage imper-
sonasing, and thunders of applause
came down from the galleries, and
many thought it was the proudest mo-
1nent of all his life, but there was a
man asleep just in front of him, and
the fact that that man was Indifferent
and somnolent spoiled all the occasion
for him, and he cried. "Wake up, wake
upf' So one little annoyance in life
has been more pervading to your mind
than all the brilliant congratulations
and success. Poor pasturage for your
soul you find in this world. The world
has cheated you, the world has belied
you, the world has misinterpreted you,
the world has prosecuted you. 1t never
comforted you. Oh, this world is a good
rack from which horse may pick his
food. 1t is good trough from which
the swine may crunch their mess, but
it gives but little food to soul blood
bought and immortal. What is a soul?
1t is hope high as the throne of God.
What is man? You say, 1T is only a
man. 1t is only man gone overheard
in sin. 1t is only man gone overheard
in business life. What is man? The
battle-ground of three worlds, with his
hands taking hold of destinies of light
or darkness. A mani No line can meas
ure him. No limit can bound him. The
archangel before the throne cannot out
live him. The stars shall die, but he
will watch their extinguishment The
world will burn, but he will gaze at
the confagration. Endless ages will
march on, He will watch the process
sion. A mani The masterpiece of God
Almighty. Yet you say, 1T is only a
man. Can nature like that be fed on
husks of the wilderness?
Substantial comforts will not grow
On natures barren soil;
All we can boast till Christ we know
Is vanity and toll.
The Soul That Sinneth.
Some of you got astray by looking for
better pasturage; others by being scared
nv tho rnUc Tho ro&r 70
the pasture field. The poor things fly in
every direction. In few moments they
are torn of the hedges and they are
splashed Of the ditch, and the lost sheep
never gets home unless the farmer goes
after it, There is nothing SO thoroughly
lost as lost sheep. It may have been
in 1857, during the financial panic, or
during the financial stress in the fall of
1873 when you got astray. You almost
became an atheist. You said, "Where is
God that honest men go down and
thieves prospect" You were logged Of
creditors, you were logged of the banks,
you were logged of worldly disaster,
and some Of you went into misantlmopy
and some of you took to strong drink and
others of you fed out of Christian asso-
citation, and you got astray. Oh, man,
that was the last time when you ought
to have forsaken God. Standing amid
the laundering of your early failures,
how could you get along without God
tocomfort you and a God to deliver you
and God to help you and God to save
you? You tell me you have been through
enough business trouble almost to kill
you I know it. cannot understand
how the boat could Two one hour in that