St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-08-19
STREAMING AT CHATS,
Dr.. Talmage breaches on Human
Inconsistency.
Makes Use Of an Ancient Eplgran q
illustrate the Folly OF ManklDd-
I'rone to Magnify Small Things,
Needless Of the Great.
Copyright. Louis Klopsch, 1880

Needless Of the Great.
Copyright. Louis Klopsch, 1880
Washington.
In this discourse, founded on an an
cient epigram repeated by Christ, DIR
Talmage illustrates the folly of being
very particular about insignificant
thin:s while aeglectful of vast con.
Germs. The text in Matthew 1924, I'VE
blind guides, which strain at gnat
and swallow camel"
A proverb Is compact wisdom, knowl-
edge in chunk ), library in sentence,
the electricity of many clouds dis
charged in one bolt, a river put through
mill race. When Christ quotes the
proverb of the text, He means to set
forth the ludicrous behavior 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 Guadruped are brought into COM
| parison-a gnat and a camel. You
have in museum or on the desert seen
the latter, 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 lteratures entitled 1.-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 a chrysalis, and then after a few
days becomes The gnat as we recognize
it. But the insect spoken of in the text
is in it's very smallest shape, and it yet
inhabits the water, for my text is mis-
print. and ought to read "strain out
gnat."
My text shows you the prince of in
cOnsistencies. A man, after long OBJ
servaticn, who has formed the suspi-
cion that in a cupful of water he is
about to drink, there is grub or the
grandparent of n gnat. He goes and
gets n sieve CIR a straincr. lie takes the
water and pours it through the sieve in
the broad light. He Gays: II would
rather do anything almost than drink
this water until this larva be oestir-
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 placidity. Eut going out
orc day, and hungry, he devours a
''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-
gcstion. lie puts the lower jaw under
the camers forcfoot, and his upper jaw
over the hump of the camei's back, and
gives one swallow and the dromedary
disappears forever. He strained out q
gnat, he swallowed a camel.
While Christ's audience was yet
smiling at the appositeness and wit Of
his illustration-for smile they did, I'M
less they were too stupid to understand
the Christ practically said
to them: THAT is you" Punctilious
about small things; reckless about at
fairs of great magnitude. No subject |
ever WINGED under surgeons knife |
more bitterly than did the Pharisees
under Christ's scalpel of truth. As an
will take human body to |
pieces and put the pieccs under nai- /
for examination, so Christ |
finds His way to the heart Of the dead
and cuts it out and puts it
under the glass of inspection for all
generations to examine. Those Phari-
sees thought that Christ would flatter
them and compliment them, and how
they must have writhed under the red
hot words as He said: 'Ye fools, We
Nhited sepulchcrs, We blind guides,
which strain out gnat and swallow a
,amel."
There are in our day a great many
ynats strained out and Il great many
.amels swallowed, and it is the object
" this sermon to sketch few persons
Who are extensively engaged in that
First, remark that all those minis
ers of the Gospel who are very scrupu-
GUS about the conventionalities of re- ,
igion, but put no particular stress up .
IN matters of vast Importance, are ,
in the text. Church serv- j
ces ought to be grave and solemn.
here is no room for frivolity in re- I
IgioIs cOnvocation, but there are IL
nstrations. and there are hyperboles I
ike that of Christ in the text that will
rradiate with smiles any intelligent .
udience. There are men like those ,
lind guides of the text who advocate 2
My hose things in religious service n
'hich draw the corners of the mouth {
own and denounce all those things +
Ihich have a tendency to draw the cor d
ers of the mouth up, and these men n
ill 60 to installations, and to pres Y
yteries. and to conferences. and to as c
their pockets full of fine 1
ewes to strain out the gnnts, while in G
leir own churches ut home every Sun d
1y there arc SO people sound asleep. h
hey make their churches great y
ormitory, and their somniferOus SER O
ons are a cradle and the drawled out +
ymns lullaby. while some wakeful $,
'ul in pew. with her fan. keeps the b
es off unconscious persons approxi- I,
ate. Now. l say it is worse to sleep in a
lurch than to smile in church, for the S,
tier implies at least attention, while a
re former implies the indifference Of c.
e hearers and the stupidity of the a
eaker. m
In old age. or from physical infirm- pr
:, or from long watching with the
*. drowsiness will sometimes over Ii
wer one. but when q minister of the p.
'spel looks off upon an audience and Of
dis healthy and intelligent people We
with drowsiness it is time W
him to give out the doxology or m
onounce the benediction. The great ali
nlt of church services to-day is not an
D much vivacity, but too much SOM tn
ience. The one is an irritating gnat M
1T NAV be eaSily strained Du% %hn | 70