The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1899-07-21
STREAMING AT CHATS.
Or. Talmage breaches on Human
Inconsistency.
Makes Use of an Ancient EpiEram to
Illustrate the Folly of Mankind
Prone to Magnify Small Things,
Needless of the Great.
Copyright, Louis Klopsch, 1897


In this discourse, founded on an an
cient epigram repeated by Christ, DE-
Talmage illustrates the folly of being
very particular about insignificant
things while neglectful of vast con-
Germs. The text in Matthew 1924, "Ye
blind guides, which strain at gnat
and swallow a camel
A proverb is compact wisdom, knowl-
edge in chunks, library in sentence
the electricity of many clouds dis
charged in one bolt, river put through
n mill race. When Christ quotes the
proverb of the text, He means to set
forth the ludicrous behavior of those
who make a great buster about small
sins and have no appreciation of great
ones. In my text small insect and
large quadruped are brought into COM
parison-a gnat and a 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
in 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 mis-
print, and ought to read strain out a
gnat."
My text shows you the prince of in
consistencies. A man, after long OBJ
Bervation, who has formed the suspi-
cion that in a cupful of water he is
about to drink, there is a grub or the
grandparent of gnat. He goes and
gets sieve or strainer. He takes the
water and pours it through the sieve in
the broad light. He says: II would
rather do anything almost than drink
this water until this larva be extir-
pated." This water is brought under
inquisition. 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 psacidity. But going out
one day, and hungry, he devours
'ship of the DESERT" the camel, which
the Jews were forbidden to eat. The
astronomer has no computations of
conscience. He suffers from no indi-
gestion. He puts the lower jaw under
the camePs forefoot, and his upper jaw
over the hump of the camers back, and
gives one swallow and the dromedary
disappears forever. He strained out a
gnat, he swallowed a camel.
While Christ's audience was yet
smiling at the appositeness and wit of
his inustration-for smile they did. I'M
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
anatomist will take a human body to
pieces and put the pieces under a mi
croscope 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 Phari-
sees thought that Christ would fiatter
them and compliment them, and how
they must have writhed under the red
hot words as He said: "Ye fools, ye
whited sepulchers, ye blind guides,
which strain out a gnat and swallow a
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, l remark that all those minis
tiers of the Gospel who are very scrupu-
lous about the conventionalities of re-
ligion, 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 |
Illustrations, and there are hyperboles
like 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 denounce all those things
which have tendency to draw the cor
ners of the mouth up, and these men
will go to installations, and to pres
byteries, and to conferences. and to as
sociations, their pockets full of fine
sieyes to strain out the gnats, while in
their own churches at home every Sun
day there are so people sound asleep.
They make their churches a great
dormitory, and their somniferous ser
mons are n cradle and the drawled out
hymns a lullaby, while some wakeful
soul in a pew, with her fan, keeps the
flies off unconscious persons approx
mate. Now, say it is worse to sleepin
church than to smile in church, for the
latter implies at least attention, while
the former implies the indifference of
the hearers and the stupidity of the