The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1896-03-14
THE GOSPEL BELL.
Rev. DIR. Talmage Rings Out the
Glad Sounds.
The Human Eace Indicted-Ail Have Gone
Astray; But the Door is Open and
The Way Pointed Out for
Everyone'e Return.

cred by Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage be
fore his Washington congregation
The text was: a
All we, like sheep, have gone astray; W
have turned every one to his own way, and tn
Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity Of us all.
Once more ring the old Gospel bell
The first half of my next text is an 10
dictment: All we, like sheep, have gCn
astray. Some one says: "Can't yo1
drop that first word? That is too gen
eral; that sweeps too greats circle.
Some man rises in the audience and HI
looks over on the opposite side of thu
house, and says: 'There is a bias
phemer; and understand how he has
gone astray.s And there in another
part of the house is defaulter, s.n6
ne as'goney astray. And there is ar
impure person, and he has gone
astray.'" Sit. down, my brother, end
look at home. Ny text takes
us. all in. 1t starts behind the
pulpit, sweeps the circuit of the
room, and comes back to the
point where it started when it says:
All we, like sheep, have gone astray.
can very easily understand why Mar
tin Luther threw up his hands after
he had found the Bible and cried out:
"Oh! my sins, my sins!" and why the
publican, according to the custom to
this, day in the east, when they have
any great grief, began to beat himself
and cry, as he smote upon his breast:
1'God be merciful to me, a sinner"
was, like many of you, brought up in
the country, and l know some of the
habits of sheep, and how they get
astray, and what my text means when
it says: 'All we, like sheep, have gone
astray." ..... ...
Sheep get astray in two ways; either
by trying to get into other pasture, or
from being scared by the dogs In che
former way some of us got astray We
thought there was better pasturage
somewhere else We thought if we
could only lie down on the banks of
distant stream or under great oaks on
the other side of some hill, we might
be better fed We wanted other pas
turage than that which God, through
Jesus Christ, gave our soul, and we
wandered on, and we were lost. We
wanted bread, and we found gar
bage. The farther we wandered, IN
stead of finding rich pasturage,
we found blasted health 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 console
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 associates? Did all the con-
vivial 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 happy land
Far, far away.
Where saints immortal reign,
Bright, bright as day.
Oh! this world is 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 a man? You say, sit is only
a man" 1t is only a name 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 measure him. No limit
can bound him. The archangel before
the throne can not outlive him. The
stars shall die, but he will watch their
The world will burn,
but he will gaze at the conhagration.
Endless ages will march on; he will
watch the procession. A mani The
master piece of God Almighty. Yet
you say: 1T is only1a man." Can a ma
ture like that be fed on husks of the
wilderness? 'st!
Substantial comforts will not grow
On Natures barren soil;
All we can boast till Christ we know
Is vanity and toll
Sinai's terrible batteries have been
numbered above your soul, and at
times YOU have heard it thunder: "The
wages of sin is death" "AIl have
s:nned and come short of the glory of
God" by one man sin entered the
world, and death by sin; and so death
passed upon all men, for that all
have sinned.r THE soul that sinneth,
it shall die" When Sebastopol was
being bombarded two Russian frigates
burned all night In the harbor, throw
ing glare upon the trembling fort
ress; and some of you, from what you