The morning times., 1896-11-09
PASSION FOR. SOUL SAVING
Thai Is What the Church.s S
Need T0.ay.
so SAYS, REV. DIR. TALMAGE
sunday Duties OF a Christian Are
Too Cold and FOrmal-A Lesson
Found in the Lives OF Missionaries.
He Wants Church Members to
wnken up-The Reward.

Rev L. Dewitt TalmaSe, ID. D., preached
yesterday mOrnins ut the First Presby-
tcrian Church on the subject of "A Passion
for Souls" Dr. TalmaEe found his text
in Romans, iX;3, Il could wish that my
self were accursed from Christ for my
brethren, my kinsmen according to the
flesh" He said in part:
"A tough passage indeed for those who
take Pau literally. When some OF the old
theologians declaiel that they were will
ing to he damned for the glory Of God, they
said that which no one believed. Paul dld
not in the text mean he was willing to die
forever to save his relatives. He used
hyperboie, and when he declared, i could
wish that myself were accursed from Christ
for my brethren, M y kinsmen according to
the flesh. he N cant In the most vehemento OF
all possible ways to declare his anxiety
for the, SALVATION of his relatives and
friends. 1t was passion for souls. Not
more than one Christian out OF thousands
of Christians feels IL.
..All-allsurbing desire FOR the betterment
of the physical and mental condition is
very common. II would take more OF
mathematician than j ever can be to cal
culate how many are, up to an anxiety
that sometimes will not let them sleep
nights, planning for the efficiency of hes.
pitfalls where the sick and wounded OF body
are treated and for eye and ear infirma-
rieS, and for dispensaries and retreats
where the poorest may have most skilifnl
surgery and helpful treatment. Oh! 1t is
beautiful and glorious, this widespread and
ever increasing movement to alleviate and
cure physical misfortune May God en-
courage and help the thousands of splen-
did men and Women engaged in that work.
EXAMPLES RARE.
But all that is outside oil my subject
In, Eah hail = b.a itt,u ri al nf .,
..s..H, The inner eye. the inner ear, the
inner capacity for gladness or distress, how
.ew Ieci anything Ike the overwhelming
concentration expressed in my text. Rarer
Vhan Iour-leaycd clovers, Tarcr than cen
tury plants, rarer than prima donnas,
aave lcen those OF whom il may be said,
They had a passion for souls You could
count on the fingers and thumb Of your
ieft hand all the names of those you can
recall, who in the last, the eighteenth cen
tury. Were SO characterized. All the
names of those you could recall in OUR
iIue as having tEis passion for Souls you.
can coInt on the fingers and thumbs of
yohr right and left hands There arr
many more such cOnsecrated souls, but
they are scattered SO widely you do not
know them.
SOaie one whispers up from the right
hdnd side of the pulpit and says: VIII
you please name some of the persons IN
our times who have this passion for Souls
Dh. no, That would be invidiuus and i'm
prudent, and the mere mentioning of the
nlmeS of such persons might c1Cse 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; VIII you not then mention
among The people OF the past some who
had this passion for souls?' On, yes!
Samuel Rutherford. the Scu,chman OF three
r... u ~.
Aberdeen for his religiOUs zeal. and the
public burning of his book. Lex Rex in
Edluhoro, and his unjust arraignment for
high treason, and other prosecutions purify
ing and Slnctifying him, so that his works,
en'it'ch Trial and Trinu,pl of Faith and
Christ Dying and Drawing Sinners to Him
-, "l''. 10y" al, iiIs 80 dol nLtcd aha
fifteen unparalleled letters, showed that
he had the passion for souls.
Richard Baxter. whose 'ParaplITasc of
the New Testament caused him To be
dragged before Lord Jeffies. WHO howled
at him as rascal and 'sniveling Presby-
terian,' and imprisoned him for two years.
Baxter writing 16S religious books, his
Call TO the unconverted' bringing uncounted
'ituIlSand~ ini,. thr paulan ui TN" Gospel
and his Saints Everlasting Rest opening
.l'aven u Il host innumerabIe; Richard Ce
cii; Thomas -kemniS. writing his 'Imi-
tatlon OF Christ for all ages; Harlan Page:
Robert McCheyne, Ncttleton. Finney and
Ivur" whom ] might mention. The rharac-
teristic of whose lives was an overtower-
.uS passion for souls. a B. Earl, the
Baptist evangelist had it: /. s. Inskip
The Methodist evangelist, had il. Jacob
Knapp had 1T. DR.. Baclus, president of
hamilton College, had it, and when told
he had only half an hour 10 live said:
is that so? Then take me out of NV
bed and place me upon my knees. and let
ne spend that time in calling on God for
the salvation OF the world And so lie
died upon his knees.
THE MAIN QUESTION.
But breaking right in upon Ine is the
question, How can we get something of
this Pauline and Christly longing for
saved imnort aIties? l answer: BY better
appreciating the prolongation OF the souls
existence compared with everything ply
sical and material. How l hope that
surgeon wills ssfuilyremove thecataract
from that mans eye, 1t is such sad
thing to he blind Let us pray while the
doctor is busy with the delicate opera
ton. But for how long time will he be
able to give his patient eyesight? Well, IL
the patient be forty years of age, he
VIII add to his happiness perhaps fifty
years OF eyeSiSht, and that VIII bring the
man to ninety years, and it is not probable
that he VIII live longer than that, or
that he viii live SO long. But what is
good eyesight for fifty years more as
compared with clear vision for the soul
a billion of centuries? l hope the effort
to drive back the typhoid fever from yonder
home will be successful God help the
doctors! We will wait in great anxiety
until the fires of that fever are eX-
tinguished,- and when the man rises from
his pillow and walks out, with what
heartiness we will welcome him into the
fresh air nd the church, nd business circles.
He is thirty years of age, and IL he shall
live sixty years more that will make him
ninety. But what are sixty years more
of earthey vigor compared with the souls
health for a quadrillion mllenniums-a
as You Know, a thousand years?
This World. since fitted up for mans
Tesidenpe, has existed about six thousand
years. How much. longer will 1t exist?
We will suppose il Will last as much longer,
which is very doubtful This viii make its
existence twelve thousand years. Butwhat
are or Will be twelve thousand years COM
pared with tb eeternity preceding those
years and the eternity following them?
Time, as compared to eternity, like the
drop of the night dew shaken from the top
OF a grass blade by the cow s boof on its
way afield this morning, as compared with