Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-07-22
AN ANCIENT EPIGRAM
DR.. TALMAGE POUNDS HIS SERMON
ON AN OLD SAYING.

Behavior OF Those Vino Magnify
spuaII Sims and Ignore Great Ones.
Much In Little.
[Copyrisdt, Louis Klopsch. 1901
WASHINGTON, July 16.-In this dis
course, founded on an ancient epi-
gram repeated by Christ, DR.. Talmage
illustrates the folly of being very par
ticular about insignificant things,
while neglectful of vast concerns. The
text is Matthew xiii, "a: "Ye blind
guides, which strain at gnat and
swallow camel"
A proverb is compact wisdom, knowl
edge in chunks, library in a sentence,
the electricity of many clouds dis
charged in one bolt, river put
through a mill race. When Christ
quotes tine proyerb of the text, he
means to set forth the ludicrous be-
havior of those who make a great
bluster about small sins and have no
appreciation of great ones. In my
text small insect and a large quad
ruped are brought into compariSon-a
gnat and a camel. You have in mu-
scum or ON the desert seen the latter,
a great awkward, sprawling creature,
with back two stories high and stom-
ach having n collection of reservoirs
for desert travel, an animal forbidden
to the Jews as food and in many lit
eratures entitled ''the ship of the des-
ert." The gnat spoken OF in the text
is in the grub form. 1t is born in pool
or pond, after few weeks becomes
a chrysalis and then after few days
becomes the gnat as we recognize it.
BIT the insect spoken of in the text is
in its very smallest shape, and it yet
inhabits the water, for my text is q
lnisprint and ought to read ''strain ont
a gnat."
My text shows NSu the prince of iu-
consistencies. \ man after long Oh
servation has formed the suspicion
that in a cup of water he is about TO
drink there is grub or the grand
parent of Il gnat. He goes and gets Il
sieve or strainer. He takes the water
and pours it through the sieve in the
broad light. He says, 81 would rather
do anything almost than drink this
water until this larva be eXtirpated."
This water is brought under inquisi-
ton. The experiment is successful.
The water rushes through the sieve
and leaves against the side of the sieve
the grub or gnat. Then the man care
fully removes the insect and drinks the
water in placidity. But going out one
day and hungry. lie devours ship of
the desert" the camel, which the Jews |
were forbidden to eat. The gastron-
omer has no compunctions of con-
science. He suffers from no indiges-
tion. He puts the lower jaw under |
the cameFs forefoot and his upper jaw |
over the hump of the camel's back and |
gives one swallow, and the dromedary |
disappears forever. He strained out a
gnat; he swallowed camel.
Christs scaIpeI.
While Christ's audience was yet |
smiling at the appositeness and wit OF |
his illustration-for smile they did, un-
less they were too stupid to under
stand the hyperbole-Christ practical
ly said to them, THAT is you" Pune
tilious about small things; reckless
about affairs of great magnitude. No
subject ever WINGED under a surgeons
knife more bitterly than did the Phari-
sees under Christ's scalpel of truth.
AS an anatomiSt will take a human
body to pieces and put the pieces un-
der microscope for examination, so
Christ finds his way TO the heart of
the dead Pharisee and cuts it out and
puts it under the glass of inspection
for all generations to examine. Those
Pharisees thought that Christ would
Aatter them and compliment them,
and how they must have writhed un-
der the redhot words as he said, "Ye
fools, We whited sepulchers, ye blind
guides. which strain out n gnat and
swallow a camel,''
There are in our day great many
gnats strained out and great many
camels swallowed, and it is the object
of this sermon to sketch a few per-
sons who are extensively engaged in
that business.
First, | remark, that all those minis
tiers of the gospel who are very scru-
pulous about the conventionalities of re-
ligion. but put no particular stress up
on matters of vast Importance, are
in the text. Church serv-
ices ought to be grave and solemn.
There is no room for frivolity in re-
ligious convocation. But there are H.