The National tribune., 1897-07-15

for God Will Expose Hypocrisy.
Below we give the sermon of the Rev. DR..
De Witt Talmage. pastor of the First Presy-
byterian Church in Washington, for last
Sunday.
The lesson taught is that fraud and de-
ception will get ont. Hypocrisy cannot
always be concealed.
The text was: I Samuel, Is: ID: "And
Samuel said, What meaneh then this Jleating
Of the sheep IN mine ears, and The io,riag Of the
oren ,chich Ihear2"
The Amalekites thought they had con-
quered God, and that he would not carry
into executions his threats against them.
They had murdered the Israelites in battle
and out Of battle, aud left no outrage I'M
tried. For 400 years this had being going
on, and they say "God either dare not
punish US, or he has forgotten to do So" Let
us see. Samuel, Gods prophet, tells Saul to
90 down and Stay all the Amalekites, not
leaving one Of them alive; also, to destroy
camel, and ass. Hark l hear the tread of
10000 men, with monstrous Saul at
their head, ablaze with armor, his shield
dangling at his SIDE holding in his hand q
spear, at the waving Of which the great host
marched or halted. / see smoke curling
against the sky. Now there is thick clond
of it, and now see the whole city rising in
chariot of smoke behind steeds of fire. It
is Saul that set the city ablaze. The Amale-
kites and Israelites meet; the trumpetS of
battle blow peal ON peal, and there is DEATH
hush. Then there is signal waved swords
cut and hack; javeliEs ri0g on shields;
arms fall from trunks, and heads roll into the
dust. Cash after cash, the frenzied yell, the
gurgling Of throttled throats, the cry of pain,
the laugh of revenge, the curse Kissed be-
tween clenched teeth-an army's DEATH
groaD. Stacks of dead on all sides, with
eyes unshut and mouths yet grinning ven
geance. Huzza for the Israelites! Two
hundred and ten thousand men wave their
plumes and clap their shields, for the Lord
God hath given them the victory. Yet
THAT VICTORIOUS ARMY
of Israel IL conquered by sheep and oxen.
God, through the Prophet Samuel, told Saul
TO slay all the Amalekites, and to slay all
the beasts in their possession; but Saul,
thinking that he knows more than God,
saves Agag, the Amalekitish King, and five
drove of sheep and herd Of oxen that he
cannot bear to kill. Saul drives the sheep
and oxen down toward home. He has no
idea that Samuel, the Prophet, will find out
that he has saved these sheep and oxen for
himself Samuel comes and asks Saul the
news from the battle. Saul puts on .
solemn face, for there Is no one who can
look more solemn than your genuine hypo-
command Of the Lord" Samuel listens,
and he hears the drove of sheep little way
off Saul had no idea that the Prophets
wnn1d ho On foG
If you have done az God told you, and
slain all the Amalekites and all the beasts
in their possession, what meaneth the bleat-
ing of the sheep in mine ears and the low
ing of the oxen that / hear?" All, one
would have thought that bushes would have
consumed the cheek of Saul! No, no! He
says the army-not himself of course, but
the army-had saved the sheep and oxen
for sacrifice; and then they thought it
would be too bad any how to kill Agag, the
Amalekitish King. Samuel takes the sword
and he slashes Agag to pieces; and then he
takes the skirt Of his coat, In true Oriental
style, and rends it in twain, as much as to
say You, Saul, just like that, shall be torn
away from your empire, and torn away
from your THRONE" In other words, let all
the nations Of the earth hear the story that
Saul, by disobeying God, won a flock of
sheep but lost kingdom
learn from this subject that
GOD WILL EXPOSE HYPOCRISY.
Here Saul pretends ne has fulfilled tho d.
vine commission by Staying all the beasts
belonging to the Amalekites, and yet at the
very moment he is telling the story, and
practicing the delusion, the secret comes out, |
and the sheep bleat and the oxen below.
A hypocrite Is one who pretends to be |
what he is not, or to do what he does not. |
Saul was only type Of class. The |
modern hypocrite looks awfully solemn,
whines when he prays, and during his pub |
lie devotion shows a great deal Of the |
whites Of his eyes. He never laughs. or |
Il he does laugh, he seems sorry for it |
sfterward, as though he had committed
,0me great indiscretion. The first time he |
gets chance, he prays 20 minutes In public, |
md when he exhorts, he seems to imply |
hat all the race are sinners, with one ex-
,eption, his modesty forbidding the stating /
who that one is. There are a great many
churches that have two or three ecclesiastical |
Uriah Keeps.
When the fox begins to pray, look out for
your chickens. The more genuine religion
| man has, the more comfortable he will be-; |
put you may know
A RELIGIOUS IMposToR
by the fact that he prides himself on being
neon for table. A man of that kind is of |
immense damage to the Church of Christ.
ship may outride o hundred storms, and
yet a handful Of worms In the planks may
ink it to the bottom. The Church of God |
s not so much in danger of the cyclones of
roube and persecution that come upon it
IS OF the vermin Of hypocrisy that infest it,
Wolves are Of no danger to the fold of God
Unless they look like sheep. Arnold was of
more damage TO the army than CORVALLIS
md his hosts Oh, we cannot deceive God
With church certificate! He sees behind
he curtain as well as before the curtain; he
ees everything inside out. A man may,
through policy, hide his real character; but
Tod will after awhile tear open the whited
epulchre and expose the putrefactiOn.
sunday faces cannot save him; long prayers
annot save him; psalm-singing and church
.oing cannot save him. God will expose
Tim just as thoroughly as though he branded
Ipon his forehead the word "Hypocrite
lie may think he has been successful in the
deception, but at the most unfortunate mo-
nent the sheep will bleat and the oxen will
'elow.
Oh, my dear friends let as cultivate simplic-
ty Of Christian character Jesus Christ said,
Unless you become as this little child, you
annot enter the kingdom of God" We
nay play hypocrite successfully now, but
he Lord God will after while expose our