Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-06-16
Copyright, Louis Klopsch. 1901

sIons DepIOred.
Copyright. Louis Klopsch. 1901
WASHINGTON, June lin this SER
mon DR.. Talmage discusses a topic
which will interest domestic circles
everywhere. The text Is Genesis xiii, 8
"Let there be no strife, | pray thee,
between me and thee and between my
herdmen and thy herdmen. Is not the
whole land before theeY'
Uncle and nephew, Abram and Lot
both pious. both millionaires, and with
such large focks Of bleating sheep and
lowing cattle that their herdmen got
into fight, perhaps about the best pas
ture or about the best water privilege
or because the COW Of one got hooked
by the horns Of the other. Not their
poverty Of opportunity, but their wealth
was the cause Of controversy between
these two men. To Abram, the glorious
old Mesopotamian sheik, such contro-
versy seemed absurd. II was like two
ships quarreling for sea room in the
middle Of the Atlantic ocean. There
was n vast reach Of country, cornhelds
vineyards. haryests and plenty Of room
in illimitable acreage. Now, says
Abram, "let us agree to differ. Here
are the mountain districts, swept by
the tonic sea breeze and with wide
reaching prospect, and there is the
plain Of the Jordan, with tropical
luxuriance. You may have either.
Lot. who was not as rich as AbTam,
and might have been expected to take
the second choice, made the first selec-
ton and with a molesiy that must
have made Abram smile said to him
"You may have the rocks and the
fine prospect; ] win take the valley of
the Jordan. with al its lu1UIiance of
cornfelds and tho river 20 water tie
hocks and the genial climate and the
wealth immeasurable. So the coutro-
ver.v was forever settled and great
souled Abram carried out the su-
tion If the text Let there DE 30
strife. / pray thee, between me and
thee. and between my herdmen and ily
herdmen Is not the whole land before
theeg
Well. in this the last decade Of tho
nineteenth century ana in this beau
tiful land, which was called America,
after Americas Nespucius. but should
have been called Columbia. after its
discoverer Columbus. we nave wealth
Of religious privilege and opportunity
that is positively bawilieriug Churches
Of all sorts Of crecds and Of AL kinds Of
government ana all forms Of worship
and all styles Of architectUre-what
opuleuce Of ecclesiastical opportunity
Now. while in desolate regions there
may be only one church, IN the opulent
districts Of this country there Is such
profusion that there ought TO be no
difficulty in making selection No
fight about vestmeuts, or between lltur-
gical or nonliturgical adherents, or
as 10 baptismal modes. or a handful Of
water as compared with a riyerful II
Ahram prefers to dwell on the heights,
where he can get only sprinkling from
the clouds. let him consent that Lot
have all the Jordan in which to i'm
merse himself. "Let there be no strife
pray thee. between me and thee and
between my herdmen and thy herdmen.
Is not the whole land before theeF
Angry Discussion Depiorcd.
E-pecially is it unfortunate when
families allow angry discussion at the
breakfast or dining or tea table as to
which is the best church or denomina.
ton. one at one end Of the table saying
he could never endure the rigid doc
trines Of Presbyterianism. one at the
other end responding that she never
could stand the forms Of Episcopacy,
and one at one side Of the table saying
he did not understand how anybody
could bear the noise in the Methodist
church. and another declaring all the
Baptists bigots. There are hundreds OF
families hopelcssly split on ecclesiasti-
cism. and in the middle Of every discus
sion on such subjects there is kindling
Of INDIGNATION. and it needs some old
father Abram to come and put his loot
on the loaded fuse before the explosion
takes place and say: "Let there be no
strife. | pray thee. between me and thee
and between my herdmen and thy herd
men. Is not the whole land before
theeY'
| undertake a subject never under
taken by any other pulpit for II Is an
exceedingly delicate subject, and II
not rightly handled might give serious
offense, but | approach it without the
slightest trepidaticn, fer | am sure
have the divine direction in the mat
ters propose to present 1t Is tre'
mendous question, asked all over CnIis.
tendon. often asked with tears and
sobs and heart breaks and involving the
peace Of families, the eternal happi-
ness Of many souls. In matters oi
church attendance should the wife so
with the husband or the husband 60
with the wifey
First. remember that all the evan
geliCal churches nave enough ""'" 80
them to save the soul and prepare Us
for happiness on earth and in heaven
| will go with you into any well Sc,
b lected theological library, and VIII
show you sermons from ministers IN al
denominations that set forth man as
sinner and Christ as a deliverer from
ain and sorrow That is the whole gos
3 pel Get that into your soul and yor
ere fitted for the here and the here
after There are differences, we admit
and some denominations we like better
than others But suppose three or loul
Of rs make solemn agreement to NEE
each other a week from now in Chicag'
ON important business, and one gees Dl
, the New York Central railroad anothei
by the Erie railroad, another by IN
Pennsylvania railroad. another oy th'
j Baltimore and Ohio railroad. One goe
this way because the mountains ar
rrander; another takes this because tn
cars are more luxurious; another tha
Q because the speed is greater; another
y takes the other because he has Ions