St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-05-14
BLOOD IS THE PRICE.
The Radical Theory Of Christianity
Broadly Set Forth.

Rev. DR.. Talmage Says There was Nothing
Abnormal In Christ's self-Sacrifice
Incident OF the Principle
OF Substitution.
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, in the fol-
lowing discourse sets forth the radical
theory of Christianity, substitution, or
vicarious sacrifice, basing it upon the
text:
Without shedding OF blood is no remission
Hebrews tx, p
John G.. Whittier, the last of the
great school of American poets that
made the last quarter of this century
brilliant, asked me in the White noun
tains, one morning after prayers, in
which had given out Cowper's famous
hymn about The Fountain Filled
with Blood:" do you really believe
there is literal application of the
| blood of Christ to the soul?" My mega
tive reply then is my negative now.
| The Bible statement agrees with all
physicians, and all psychologists, and
! all scientists, in saying that the blood
is the life, and in the Christian re-
ligion it means simply that Christs
life was given for our life. Hence
all this talk of men who say the Bible
| story of blood is disgusting, and that
they don't want what they call q
..slanghter-house religion" only shows
| their incapacity or unwillingness to
look through the figure of speech to-
| ward the thing signiied. The blood
that. on the darkest Friday the world
ever saw, oozed, or triclSled, or poured
from the brow, and the side, and the
hands, and the feet of the Illustrious
Sufferer, back of Jerusalem, in few
hours coagulated and dried up, and
forever disappeared; and if man had
depended on the application OF the lit
eral blood of Christ, there would not
have been a soul saved for the last Is
centuries.
| In order to understand this red word
Of my text. we only have to exercise as
much common sense in religion as we
do in everything elsc. Pang for pang,
hunger for hunger, fatigue for fatigue,
tear for tear, blood for blool, life for
life, we see every day illustrated. The
act of substitution is no novelty, al
though l hear men talk as though the
idea of Christ's suffering substituted
for our suffering were something abb
normal, something distressinglv odd,
something wildly eccentric, a solitary
episode in the worlds history, when |
could take you out into this city and
before sundown point you to 500 cases
Of substitution and voluntary suffering
Of one in behalf of another.
At two o'clock tomorrow afternoon
60 among the places of business or toll.
1t will be no difficult thing for you to
find men who, by their looks, show you
that they arc overworked. They are
prematurely old. They are Fastening
rapidly toward their deccase. They
have gone through crisises in business
that shattered their nervous system
and pulled on the brain. They have
shortness of breath and pain in the
back of the head. and at night an in
somnia that alarms them. Why are
they drudging at business early and
late? For fun? No; it would be diff
cult to extract any amusement
out of that exhaustion. Because
they are avaricious? 1t many
cases no. Because their own
personal expenses are lavish? No; q
few hundred dollars would meet all
their wants. The simple fact is. the
man is enduring all that fatigue and
evaporation, and wear and tear, to
keep his home prosperous. There is
an invisible line reaching from the
store, from that bank, from that shop,
from that scaffolding, to a quiet scene
O few blocks, few miles away, aud
there is the secret of that business
endurance. He is simply the champion
of homestead, for which he wins
bread, and wardrobe, and education,
and prosperity, and in such battle ten
thousand men fall. OF ten business
men whom bury, nine die o. over
work for others. Some su iden disease
finds them with no power of resistance
and they are gone. Life for life.
Blood for blood. Substitution!
At one o'clock tomorrow morning
the hour when slumber is most unin
terrupted and profound, walk amid the
dwelling-houseso Of the city. Here and
1
it is the household custom to keep .
subdued light burning; but most Of the
houses from base to top are as dark as
though uninhabited. A merciful Goo
has sent forth the archangel of sleep
and he puts his wings over the city
But yonder is a clear light burning
and outside on winlow easement .
glass or pitcher containing food for 9
, sick child; the food is set in the fresf
air. This is the sixth night tina
mother has sat up with that sufferer
She has to the last point obeyed th'
. physicians prescription, not giving Z
drop too much or too little, or mo
ment too soon or too late. She
very anxious. for she has burie,
; three children with the same dis
ease, and she prays and weeps
each prayer and sob ending with
kiss of the pale check. BY dint Q
kindness she gets the little on
! through the ordeal After it is all owe
the mother is taken down. Brain 9
, nervous fever sets in, and one day sh
7 leaves the convalcscent child with
mothers blessing and goes up to joi
the three departed ones in the kingdor
: of Heaven. Life for life. Substitution
, The fact is that there are an uncounte
: number of mothers who, after the
: have navigated large family of chi
dren through the diseases of infancy
l and got them fairly started up tn
( towering slope Of boyhood and CIR
4 hood, have only strength enough lei
| to die. They fade away. Some call
: consumption; some call it nervou
, prostration; some call it intermitten
or malarial indisposition; but call
martyrdom of the domestic circl'
Life for life. Blood for blood Sui
, stitutiOn!
Or perhaps mother fingers lon
!. enough to see son get on the wron
road, and his former kindness become
rough reply when she expresses anxi
ty about him. But she goes right
looking carefully after his apparel. r
membering his every birthday wit
some memento, and, when he is brougl
! home worn out with dissipation. nurs'
him till he gets well, and starts hi
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