The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1899-12-21
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE EMINENT DIvINE's SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.


The Suffering of the Church of God
Powerfully Set Forth.
copyright Louis Klopsch 1891
WASHINGTON d. C.-The trials through
which the truth has struggled nre by DIR.
Talmage here set forth under Biple sym
Dol OF great suggestiveness and power;
text, Solomon's Song, ILL.,. 9, who is this
that cometh out OF the wilderness like
pillars OF smoker"
The architecture OF the smoke is won
drous, whether God with HIS finger
curves It into cloud, or rounds 1t into
a dome, or points 1t In spire, or
spreads 1t in wing, or, as In the text,
hoIsts IL in a pillar. Watch 1t winding
up from the country farmhouse In tho
early morning. showing that the pas-
toral Industries have begun, or see 1t
ascending from the chimneys OF thu
olty, telling OF the homes fed, the fac
tories turning out valuable fabrics, the
printing presses preparing nook and
newspaper and all the 10000 wheeli
OF WORK in motion. On clear day this
vapor spoken OF mounts with such buoy.
ancy, and spreads such delicate veil
across the sky, and traces such graceful
lines OF circle and semclrcle and waves
and tosses and sinks and soars and scatters
with such affluence OF shape and color and
suggestlveness that, IL you have never no.
ttced 1t, you are like II man who has all his
IFS lived In Paris and yet never seen the
Luxemboure. or all his life in Rome and
never seen the Vatican or all his life nt
Lockport and never seen Niagara. Forty
four times the Bible speaks OF the smoke,
and 1t Is about time that somebody
preached sermon reeognlzing this
strange weird, beautiful, elastic, charm
ing, terrific and fascinating vnpor. Across
the Bible sky fonts the smoke of Sinai, the
smoke OF Sodom, tho smoke OF Al, the
smoke OF the pit, the smoke OF the volcanic
4. M. .I,n,, Id ut,I In
text the glorious church OF God coming up
ous OF the wilderness like pillars of smoke
In the first place, these pillars OF smoke
In my text Indicate the suffering the
church of God has endured. What do !
mean by the church? / mean not build
ing, not n sect but those who in all nges
aud all lands and OF all beliefs love God
and are trying to do right. For many cen.
turtles the heavens have been black with
the smoke of mnrtyrdom. III set side by
side, you could girdle the earth with the
fires OF northumberland Taylor
burned at Hndeigh, Latimer burned Mt
Oxford. John Rogers burned at Smithneld,
John Hooper burned Mt Gloucester, John
Huss burned at Constance, Lawrence
Saunders burned at Coventry, joan OF Arc
burned Mt Rouen.
Protestants have represented Catholics
ns having n monopoly OF prosecutors, but
both Protestant and Catholic have prac-
tlced Infamous cruelties. The Catholics
during the reign OF Hunneric were by Pro-
testants put to the wors. tortures, stripped
OF their clothing, hoisted in the air by
pulleys with weights suspended from their
feet, then let down, and ears and eyes,
nose and tongue were amputated. and red
hot plates OF iron were put against the ten
derest part OF their bodies.
George Bancroft, the historian, says OF
the State of Maryland: "In the land which
Catholics had opened to Protestauts mass
might not be said publicly, no Catholic
priest or bishop might utter his faith In II
voice of persuasion, no Catholic might
teach the young. II wayward child of
paplst would become an apostate, the
law wrcsted for him from his parents
share OF their property. Such were the
methods adopted to prevent the growth of
popery."
Catholicism, as well as Professionalism,
has had its martyrs. 1t does seem as IN
when any one sect got com plete dominancy
in any land tho devil of persecution and
cruelty took possession OF that sect. Then
see the Catholics after the Huguenots. See
the genties after the Jews in Tournine,
whore grent pit was dug and fire lighted
ut the bottom the pit, aud 100 Jewish VIC
tins were consumed. See the Presbyterian
parliament of Epglnnd, more tyrannieal
In their treatment OF opponents than had
been the criminal courts. Persecution
against the Baptists by PBdo- -Baptists, per-
secution of the Established Church against
the Methodist Church, persecution against
the Quakers, persecution against the Pres
byterians. Under Emperor Dlocletlan
1000 Christians were massacred, and
700, 900 more Of them died from Punishment
and exposure.
Witness the sufrerngs OF the Waldenses.
OF the Albigenses, of the Nestorluns. Wit
ness st. Bartholomew's massacre. Witness
the Duke OF Alva driving out of life 18 900
Christians. Witness Herod ana Nero and
Decius and Hildebrnnd and Torquemada
and Earl OF Montfort and Lord Claver-
house, who, when told that he must give
account for his crueltles, said, 81 have no
need to account to man, and as for God
will take Him in my own hands" A red
line runs through the church history OF
1900 years, II line OF blood. Not by the
hundreds OF thousands, but by the millions,
must we count those slain for Chrst's sake.
No wonder John Milton put the groans of
the martyrs to an immortal tune, writing
Avenge, o Lord, Thy slaughtered saints
whose bones
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains
cold.
The smoke of martyrs homes and
martyrs bodies II rolling up all at once
would have eclipsed the MONDAY sun and
turned the brightest day the world ever saw
into midnight. 'Who Is this that
cometh up out of the wilderness like pill
lars OF smoker"
Has persecution ceased? Ask that young
man who Is trying to be Christian in
store or factory, where from morning to
night he Is the butt OF all the mean wit
ticisms sofunbeleving employees. Ask that
wife whose husband makes her fondness
for the house OF God and even he kneel-
ing prayer by the bedside n derision and
Is no more flt for her holy companionship
than filthy crow would be ut companion
for robin or u golden orioie. Compro-
mise with the world aud surrender to its
conventionalities and 1t may lot you alone,
but all who will live godly in Christ Jesus
must suffer persecution, Bea theatre going,
card playing, wine drinking, round dancing
Christian and you may escape criticism
aud social pressure. But be nm up and
down. out and out follower OF Christ, and
worldllng will wink to worldling as h6
speaks your name, and you will bo put in
many doggerel and snubbed by those
not worthy to backen your oldest shoes.
When the bridge at Ashtabuln broke and
let down the most OF the carload of pas
sengers to instant death, Mr.. Z. i. Bliss
was seated on one side OF the aisle of tho
ear writing down Christian song which
he WAS composing, and on the other sidQ
group OF men were playing cards.
Whose landing place in eternity would you
prefer-that OF L. p. Bliss, the gospel sing
ar, or OF tho card playersp
great complaint comes from the thea
tres about the ladies' high hats because
they obstruct the view OF the stage. and
lady reporter asked me what L thought
Ul.A q 4 q u 4