The Penn's Grove record., 1896-11-13
REV. DR. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Divine's Sunday
Discourse.


TO be damned for the glory OF God, they SAT
what no one believed. Paul did not In the
text mean he was willing to die forever TO
ssVs his relatives. He used hyperbole, aud
when he declared, al could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ for my brethren,
my insmen according to the eesh," he
meant in the most vehement of all possible
ways TO declare his anxiety for the salvation
OF his relatives ami friends. II was a passion
Tor souls. Not more than one Christian out
OIL thousands Of Christians feels 1t. ALI abb
sorbinR desire for thu bettermsnt of the
physical and mantal condition Is very com
mon. 1t would take more OF q mathema-
Uclan h l ever can be to calculate how
many are, up 10 an anxiety that sometimes
VIII not let them sleep nights, planning for
The efficiency OF hospitals whers the sick
and wounded OF body are treated, and for
eve and sar intrmariss, and for dispensaries
and retreats where the poorest may have
most SKI Hui surgery and helpful treatment.
Oh, 1t Is beautiful and glorious this wide.
spread and ever tntsnsifying movement to
alleviate and cure physical misfortunes.
hay God encourage and help the thousands
OF splendid men aud women engaged in that
work! Bur all that Is outside Of my subject to-
day. In behalf Of heimmortaiity Of a MN,
the inner eye, the inner ear, the inner en-.
paclty for gladness or Distress, how few feel
anything like the overwhelming e~onoentra-
lion expressed in my text. Rarer than four
NuFSd CiOftEsl EhEer IMAM century DlROtH,
rarer than prima donna, have been those OF
when It may be said, "rhey lave a passion
for souls" You could count on the ingsrs
and thumb OF your left hand all the pames
OF those you can recall who In the last--the
MISUNDERSTANDING were so chRra3erized.
All the lame OF those you could recall in
our time as having this passion for souls you
can count on the fingers and thumbs Of your
right and left hands. There are many more
such conseerated souls. but they are scattered
so widely you do not kno " them. Thoroughly
Christian people by the hundreds OF millions
there are to-day, but how few people do you
know who are utterly oblivious to every
thing in this world except the redemption Of
soulsp al hal it when he wrote my text,
and the tims will come when the majority of
Christians will have it, il this world is ever
to be lifted out Of the slough In which 1t has
been sinking and hounderlng for near nine
teen centuries, and the betterment had bet.
ter begin with myself and yourself. When Q
Committee of the Society OF Friends called
upon u bsr to reprimand him for break
ing some small rule of the society, this MEM
Der replied: 81 had a dream, In 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 conc usion WIS geRehed until
ons OF the members ross and said, Friends,
think ii each one would take a broom and
sweep Immediately around his own sest, the
meeting house would be oleau.'" So let
the work Of spiritual Improvement begin
around our own soul. Soms ons whispers
up from the right hand side OF ths pulpit
and says, "Will you please name sons Of
the persons ia our times who have this pas.
sion for souis?" oh, mol That would be in.
VIdious and imprudent, and the mere mem
tioning OF the names Of such persons might
cause in them spiritual pride, and then the
Lord would have no more use for them.
GnFna ana trhtunar. 60 Srnn, klA I.Fk Ir-a
side Of the pulpit, "WiIl you not, then, mem
ton among the p opls OF th- past some who
bad this passion for souls9" Oh, yes! Samuel
Rutherford, the S~cotchman Of 800 years ago
Ibis Imprisonment at Aberdeen for his re-
ligious zeal, and the public burning OF his
book, Lex Rex, in Edinburgh, and his up-
Just arrangement for high treason and other
prosecutions. purifying and sanctlfying him
10 that his works, entitled "Trial and
Triumph OF Faith" and "Christ Dying aud
Drawing Sinners to HIMSELF" and, above
all, his 2i5 unparalleled letters showed that
be had the passion forsouls; Richard Baxter,
whose para phrass OF the New Testament"
caused him to be dragged before Lord Jet.
frsys, who howled ct him as "a rascal" and
''sniveling Presbyterian" INC imprisoned
him for two y~ears-Baxter, writing 1893 r..
ltgious books, h 5 "Cali to the Unconvsrted"
bringing uncounted thousands into tbs par
don of the gospel, and bis saints Everlast.
lay bPOhAhA w ~ aSSt
cradle; Richard Csetl; Thomas q Ksnpis,
writing his Limitation Of CHRIST" for all ages;
Harlan P{ys, Robert McCheyne, Nettlston,
Einney ami more whom ! might mention,
the characteristic Of whose lives was an over
towering passion for souls. A. B. Earl, the
Baptist evangelist, had II. 1. !. Inskip, the
Methodist evangelist, had II. Jacob knapp
had II. DR.. Bachus, President OF Hamilton
College, had 1t. And when told he had only
half an hOur TO live saidi "ls that soi Then
take me out Of my bed and place me upon
my knees and let me spend that time In CALI
ing. on God for the salvation OF the world"
And SO he died upon his knees. Then there
have been others whose names have been
known only in their own family or neighbor-
hood, and here and there you think OF one.
What junction. they had In prayeri What
power they had In exhortationl If they
walked into a home, every member Of It felt
a holy thrill, and II they walked into q
instantly vanished. One OF them would
wake up q whole ehurch. One OF them would
sometimes ~slectrtfy a whole city.
But the most wonderful n OF that char
Rcterization the world ever saw or heard or
felt was Il peasant In the Far East, wearing
9 plain blouse liks an inverted wheat sack,
with three o~penings-ons for the nsck and
the other two for the arms. His father Q
wheelWright and house builder and given to
yario Is carpentry. Bis mother at first under
suspicion because of the circumstances OF His
nativity, and He chased by Il Herofic mania
out Of His native and to live awhile under
the shadows Of the sphinx and pyramid OF
Gizeh, afterwsrd co~nfoundtng the LII. DIS
/ OF Jerusalem, then stopping the paroxysms
Of tempest and of mailman. His path strewn
with slain dropstes and catalepsies and oph-
thalmias, TRANSPORTED on one mountain,
preaching on another mountain, dying on
another mountain and ascending from an
ntlar r1n1ufatn-fha GREATEST Inc lOV9if0af.
the mightiest, the kindest, the most ~sslf-sac.
rihcing, most beautiful being whose feet ever
touched the earth, Tell US, ys deserts who
heard our Saviour's prayer tell US, ye seas
that drenched Him with your surf; tell Us,
ye multitudes who heard Hin preach on
deck, on beach, on hillside; tell US. Col.
gotlR, who heard the stroke OF the hammer
on The spikeheads and the dying groan In
that midnight that dropped on midnoon,
did anyone like Jesus have this passion for
soals?
But breaking right ia upon me is the
question, How can ws get something of this
Pauline and Chrlstly longing for saved I'M
mortalities2 l answer, by better appreciate
ing the -prolongation OF the souls existence
compared with everything physical n ma
teriai. How / hope that surgeon will sue.
cessfully remove the cataract from that
mans eyel 1t is such q sad thing to be
blind. Let US pray while the doctor is busy
with the delicate operation. But for how
long a time will he be able to give his patient
eyesight? Well, II the patient be forty years
OF age, he will add to his happiness perhaps
fifty years Of eyesight, and that will bring
the man to ninety years, and It is not prob
able that he will i've longer than that, or
that he will live so long. But what 10 good
eyesight for atty years mere as compared
with clear vision for the soul 4 billion OF
eenturies2 l hope the effort to drse back
the typhoid fever from yondar home Will b
successful God hep the doctorsi We VIII
wait in great anxiety until the firts Of that
fever are extinguished, and when the mac
rises from his pillow and walks out, With
what heartiness we will welcome him into
the fresh air and the church and business
ciIcles! He is thirty year, Of age, and IL be
shall live sixty years mora that will make
him ninety. Bat what are sixty yesrs mora
OF earthly viger eonRssad With the seula