The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1899-1900, 1899-07-19
STREAMING AT GNATS.
DE. Talmase breaches on Human
Inconsistency.
Wy
Makes Use Of an aeaS Episram to
HlInstrate the Folly of Mankind
Prone to Magnify Small Things,
HeedIess Of the Great.
CcOpyrlght. Louis Klopsch, 1sggl

%tche CPiSrdm TepcuVcu ny NHTlst, III
Talmage illustrates the folly of being
very particular about insignificant
things while neglcctful of vast con-
Germs. The text in Matthew 23:24, "Ye
blind guides, which strain at a gnat
and swallow camel
Aproverb is compact wisdom, knowl-
edge in chunks, a library in sentence,
the electricity of many clouds dis
charged in one bolt, a river put through
a mill race. When Christ quotes the
provcrb of the text, He means to set
forth the ludicrous behavior of those
who make great bluster about small
sins and have no appreciation of great
ones. In my text small insect and a
large quadruped are brought into COM
parison-a gnat and camel. You
have in museum or on the desert seen
the latter, a great awkward, sprawl.
ing creature, with back two stories
high and stomach having a collection
of reservoirs for desert travel, an ami
NAL forbidden to the Jews as food, and
in many literatures entitled "the ship
of the desert" The gnat spoken of in
the text is in the grub form. 1t is born
dn pool or pond, after few weeks be-
comes chrysalis, and then after few
days becomes the gnat as we recognize
it. But the insect spoken of in the text
is in its very smallest shape, and It yet
inhabits the water, for my text is a mis-
print, and ought to read "strain out a
.gnat-"
Ny text shows you the prince of in
.consistencies. A man, after long OBJ
seFvation, who has formed the suspi-
cion that in a cupful OF water he is
about to drink, there is grub or the
.graudparent of gnat. lie goes and
gets a 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 extir-
pated." This water is brought under
dnquisition. The experiment is sue
cessful. The water rushes through the
sieve and leaves against the side of the
sieve the grub or gnat. Then the man
carefully removes the insect and drinks
the water in placidity. But going out
one day, and hungry, he devours a
''ship of the desert" the camel, which
the Jews were forbidden to eat. The
gastronomer has no compunctions OF
conscience. He suffers from no indi-
gestion. He puts the lower jaw under
the camers 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.
While Christ's audience was yet
smiling at the appos;teness and wit OF
his illustration-fo smile they did, un-
less they were too stupid to understand
the hyperbole--Christ practically said
to them: "That is you.' Punctilious
about small things; reckless about af-
fairs of great magnitude. No subject
ever WINGED under a surgeons knife
more bitterly than did the Pharisees
under Christ's scalpel of truth. AS an
anntomist will take human body to
pieces and put the pieces under mi
croscope for examination, so Christ
finds His way to the heart of the dead
Pharisee and cuts it out and puts II
under the glass Of inspection for all
generations to examine. Those Phari.
secs thought that Christ would fatteI
them and compliment them, and how
they must have writhed under the red
hot words as He said: "Ye fools, ye
shited sepulchers, ye blind guides
which strain out gnat and swallow q
camel"
There are in our day great many
gnats strained out and a great many
camels swallowed, and it is the object
OF this sermon to sketch few persons
who are extensively engaged in that
business.
First, / remark that all those minis
ters of the Gospel who are very scrupu
ious about the conventionalities of re
Iigion, but put no particular stress up
on matters of vast Importance, are
photographed 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 IL
Iustrations. and there are hyperboles
ike that of Christ in the text that will
irradiate with smiles any intelligent
audience. There are men like those
blind guides of the text who advocate
only those things in religious service
which draw the corners of the mouth
down and denouncc all those things
which have tendency TO draw the cor
ners of the mouth up, and these mel
will go to installations and TO pres
byteries, and TO conferences. and to as
sociations, their pockets full of finC
sieyes to strain out the gnats, while il
their own churches at home every Sun
day there are so people sound asleep
They make their churches a grea
dormitory, and their somniferous ser
mons are a cradle and the drawled out
hymns lullaby, while some wakefu
soul in pew, with her fnn, keeps thu
dies off unconscious persons approx
mate. Now, say It is worse to sleep il
church than to smile in church, for th'
latter implies at least attention, while
the former implies the indifference o.
the hearers and the stupidity of thu
speaker.
In old age, or from physical intirm
dty. or from long watching with TIL
sick, drowsiness will sometimes over
power one, but when minister of IN,
Gospel looks off upon an audience ant
finds healthy and intelligent peopl,
struggling with drowsiness it is tim,
for him to give out the doxology OF
pronounce the benediction. The grea
fault of church services to-day is no
too much vivacity, but too much som
nolencc. The one is an irritating gna
fhat may be easily strained out, tn,
JBther is a great sprawling and sleepy