The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1896-11-27
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
rHE NOTED DIvINRs SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.


a.. "a
A tough passage, indeed. Tor those who
take Paul literally. Whoa some OF the old
theologiana declared that they were willing
90 b. damned Tor tbs gl0-y OF God, they said
what no one believed. Haul did not In tho
text mean be was willing 20 do forever 90
save his relatives. Ho used hyperbo'o. and
when he declared, II could wish that myself
were accused from Christ Tor my brethren,
my kin9mon according % tho noah," hH
meant in tho most vehement 81 an possible
ways 20 declare bis anxiety for the salvation
OF bis relatives and frIonds Il was a passion
for soulA Not more than one Christian out
OF thousands Of Christians feels it. AN abb
sorbing desire for the boltermont % the
physical and mental condition Is very COM
mon. IL would take more OF maihema-
ticlan than i ever can be- TO calculate how
many are, up 10 an anxiety that sometimes
| viii not let them sleep nights. planning for
the efficiency Oh hospitals whore the sick
aud wounded OF body are treated, and for
eye and ear innrmares. and Tor dispensarIes
and retreats where the poorest may have
most skilliul surgery and helpful treatment.
| Oh. Il Is beautiful and glorious this wide
| spread and ever intensIiying movement 10
/ alleviate and cure physical mIsioHunes.
| May God encourage and help the thousands
| oisplendid men aud women engaged In that
/ work. But all that Is outside OF mysubiect to-
/ day In behalf Of theimmortality Of u man,
| the inner eye, tho inner ear, the inner ca
| paeity for gladness or distress. how few feel
/ anything like the overwhelming eoncontra-
| ton expressed In my text. Rarer than four
| leayed cl0ver5, rarer than century plants,
/ rarer than prima donna, have been those OF
/ when u may be said, "lhey have a passion
| FOR SOULS You could count on the fingers
| and thumb of your left hand all the names
/ OF those YOU can recall who In the last-the
| elghteenth-century were 50 characterized.
All the names OF those you could recall in
! ourtime as having this passion for souls yos
can count on the fingers and thumbs OF your
| right aud left hands. There are many more
such consecrated souls, but they are scattered
| 30 widely you do not know them. Thoroughly
| Christian people by the hundreds of millions
there are to-day, but how few people do you
know who are utterly oblivlous to every
thing in this world except the redemption Of
.souls2 Paul had II when he wrote my text,
and the time will come when the majority OF
| Christians will have Il, II this world Is ever
to be lifted out OF the slough In which II has
been sinking and laundering for near nine
teen centuries, and the betterment had bet
| ter beglu with myself and yourself When a
| Committee Of the Society OF Friends called
| upon a member to reprimand him for break
ing some small rule OF the society, the mem
Der replied; 81 had dream, Ia which all
the friends had assembled to plan some way
to have our meeting house cleaned, for It
was very filthy. Many propositions were
made, but no conclusion was reached until
one Of the members rose and said. Friends
l think II each one would take a broom and
sweep Immediately around his own seat, the
meeting house would be clean" SO let
the work Of spiritual improvement begin
around our own soul. Some one whispers
up from the right hand side OF the pulpit
and says, "Will you please name some of
the persons in our times who have this pas
sion for souls?' Oh. no! That would be in
vidious and imprudent, and the mere men
tioning OF the names OF such persons might
cause in them spiritual pride, and then the
Lord would have no more use for them.
Some one whispers up from the left hand
side OF the pulpit, "Will you not then, mem
ton among the people OF the past some who
had this passion for souls2' oh. yes! Samuel
Rutherford, the ScOtchman OF 800 years ago
his Imprisonment at Aberdeen for his re-
: ligious zeal, and the public burning of his
book, LEX Rex, " in Edinburgh, and his un-
just arraignment for high treason and other
prosecutions, purifying and sanctifying him
so that his works, entitled "rrial and
Triumph OF Faith" and "Christ Dying and
| Drawing Sinners to Himself" and, above
all, his 2l5 unparalleled letters showed that
!,
whose 'ParGphrase OF the New Testament
caused him to be dragged before Lord JEFF
freys, who howled ut him as "a rascal" and
"sniveling Presbyterian and imprisoned
, him for two years-Baxter, writing 169 re.
ligious books, his 'Call to the Unconverted'
bringing uncounted thousands into the par
don of the gospel, and his "Saints' Everlast
ing Rest" opeLing heaven to a host innum.
cradle; Richard Cecil; Thomas a Kempis
biq init n If Dbru for oil nf
Harlan Page, Robert McCheyne, Nettleton
Finney and more whom might mention
the characteristic of whose lives was an over
towering passion for souls. A. B. Earl, the
, Baptist evangelist. had it. ]. S. Inskip, the
Methodist evangelist had 1t. Jacob KnapE
had it, Dr. Bachus, President of Hamilton
College, had 1t. And when told he had only
half an hour TO live said: ais that so? Their
take me out of my bed and place me upoI
my knees and let me spend that time In call
ing on God for the salvation of the world.
And so he died upon his knees. Then thert
! have been others whose names have beer
: known OILY in their own family or neighbor
' hood, and here and there you think OF one
What JUNCTION they had in prayer. VIVA
power they had in exhoration If the,
( walked into home, every member of it fel
, a holy thrill, and ii they walked into d
l prayer meeting the dullness and stolidity
1 instantly vanished. One OF them wouk
wake up awhoe church. One of them woulC
! sometimes electrify whole city.
q Put the most wonderful one of that char
aeterzation the world ever saw or heard o
+ felt was peasant in the Far East. wearing
u plain blouse like an inverted wheat sack
with three openings-one for the mock an
q the other two for the arms. His iather
wheelwrlght and house builder aud given t
> various carpentry. His mother Mt first unde
n suspicion because Of the circumstances OF Hi
nativity. and He chased by Herodic mani
Z out Of His native land to live awhile unde
q the shadows Of the sphinx and pyramid q
Gizeh, afterward confounding the LII. D.
= Of Jerusalem, then stopping the paroxysm
= OF tempest aud of mailman. His path strew
y with slain dropsies and catalepses and OPT
g thalmias, TRANSPORTED on one mountain
preaching on another mountain, dying o
> another mountain and ascending from az
r other mountain-the greatest, tho lovelies
the mightiest, the kindest, the most self-saC
I rihcing, most beautiful being whose feet eve
!. touched the earth. Tell us, ye deserts VIII
heard our Sayiour's prayer; tell US, ye sea
All