Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1899-07-27
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
DIVINE SATIRE, THE SUBJECT
LAST SUNDAY.
Ye Blind Guides which Strain at a
Gnat and swallow Matthew
23: 24-Great Minds GrappIe with
Great Undertakings.
Copyright 1899 by Louis Klopsch.)

hHoWieuSe III CHUNKS, library In a
sentence, the electricity of many clouds
discharged in one bolt, a river put
through a mill race When Christ
quotes the proverb of the text, he
means to set forth the ludicrous be-
havior of those who make great
buster about small sins and have no
appreciation of great ones. In my
text, a small insect and a large
quadruped are brought into compar-
ison-a gnat and camel. You have
In museum or on the desert seen the
latter, a great awkward sprawling
creature, with back two stories high,
and stomach having a collection of res
ervoirs for desert travel, an animal
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 a few
days becomes the gnat as we recognize
it, But the insect spoken of in the
text is in its very smallest shape, and
1t yet inhabits the water-for my text
is misprint and ought to read strain
out a gnat"
My text shows you the prince of in
consisteneies. A man after long OBJ
servation has formed the suspicion
that in cup of water he is about to
drink. there is grub or the grand
| parent of a gnat. He goes and gets
sieve or strainer. He takes the water
and pours it through the sieve in the
broad light. He says, Il would rather
do anything almost than drink this
water until this larva be extirpated."
This water is brought under inquisi-
ton. The experiment is successful. The
| water PUSHES through the sieve, and
| leaves against the side of the sieve the
| grub or gnat. Then the man carefuuy
removes the insect and drinks the
water in placidity. But going out one
| day, and hungry, he devours ship of
the DESERT" the camel, which the Jews
| were forbidden to eat. The gastron-'
omer has no compunctions of con-
science. He suffers from no indiges-
| ton. He puts the lower jaw under the
camers forefoot, and his upper jaw
over the hump of the camels back,
| and gives one swallow and the drom-'
| edary 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 illustratiOn-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
microscope for examination, so Christ
hnds 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, We
whited sepulchres, ye blind guides,
which strain out gnat and swallow a
camel"
There are in our day a 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. =. "a.
First, | remark, that all those minis
tiers Of the Gospel who are very
scrupulous about the conventionalities
OF religion, but put no particular stress
upon matters of vast Importance. are
photographed in the text. Church
services ought to be grave and solemn.
There is no room for frivolity in relig-
ious. convocation. But there are illus
trations, and there are hyperboIes like
that of Christ in the text, that will ir-
radiate with smiles any intelligent au-
dlence. 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 corners of
the mouth up, and these men will go
to installations and to presbyteries and
to conferences and to associations,
their pockets full of fine sleeves to
strain out the gnats. while in their own
churches at home every Sunday there
are fifty people sound asleep They
make their churches a great dormitory,
and their somniferous sermons are a
cradle, and the drawled-out hymns a
lullaby, while some wakeful soul in a
pew with her fan keeps the flies off I'M
conscious persons approximate Now,
/ say it is worse to sleep in church than
to smile in church, for the latter i'm
plies at least attention. while the fer
mer implies the indfferences of the
hearers and the stupidity of the
rpeaker.
In old age, or from physical infirm-
ity, or from long watching with the
sick, drowsiness will sometimes over
power one; but when minister of the
Gospel looks off upon an audience. and
finds healthy and intelligent people
struggling with drowsiness. it is time
for him to give out the doxology. or
pronounce the benediction. The great
fault Of church services today, is not
too much vivacity, but too much SOM
Violence. The one is an irritating gnat
that may be easily strained out: the
other is great, sprawling and sleepy
eyed camel of the dry desert. In all
our Sabbath schools, in all our Bible
classes, In all our pulpits we need to
brighten I'D our religions meScaoo u,;+h