The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-05-09
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
SUNDAY'S DISCOURSE 8Y THE NOTED
DIVINE
Subject: Religious Creeds-A Plea For the
Doing Away With the DoE;natics and
For the Substituting of Creed
rounded on Faith in Christ.
[CcpyrISht lgOc.l

rounded OH Faith in Christ.
(Ccpyrlsht lgOcl
WASHINGTON, D. Cat a time when the
Old discussion OF creeds is being vigorously
and somewhat bitterly revived THIS diS-
course OF DR.. Talmuge has Speclai ln-
terest. The text is John XII, Al. Loose
him and let hin GO
My Bible is, at the place OF TINS teSt,
written all over with lead pencil marks
made at Bethany on the ruirs OF the house
OF Mary aud Martha and Lazarus. We dis
mounted from our horses on the way up
from Jordan to tho Dead Sea. Bethany
was the summer evening retreat OF Jesus.
After spending the day in the hot city OF
Jerusalem He would come out there almost
every evening to the house OF His three
friends. I think the occupants or thas
house were orphans, for the 1ather ana
mother are not mentioned. But the son
and two daughters must have Inherited
nroperty. for It must have been, judging
from what saw OF the foundations and
the size OF the rooms, an opulent home.
Lazarus, the brother, was now at the head
of the household and his sisters depended
On him and were proud OF him, for he was
very popular, and everybody liked him,
and these girls were splendid Girls-Martha
q first rate housekeeper and Mary sptr-
ituelle. somewhat dreamy, but affectionate,
and as good cir! as could be found In all
Palestine. But one day Lazarus got sick.
The sisters were in CONSERVATION. Father
zone and mother gone, they feel very ner-
yous lest they lose their brother also. Dis
case did its quick work. How the girls
hung over his pillow! Not much sleep
about that house-no sleep ut oil.
!, From tho characteristics otherwise de-
yeioped / Judge that Martha prepared the
medicines and made tempting dishes OF
fo~ ha fTarAr
but Mary prayed aud sobbed. Worse aud
worse gets Lazarus until the doctor an
nounces that he can do no more. The
shrek that went up from that household
Wien the last breath had been drawn and
the two sisters were being led by SYM
pathizers into. the adjoining room all those
OF US can imagine who have had our own
hearts broken, But why was not Jesus
there, as He 80 often had been? Far away
in the country districts, preaching, healing
other sick, how unfortunate that this otani-
potent doctor had not been at that do
.mestic crisis In Bethany. When at last
Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had
been buried four days, and dissolution mad
taken place. Iu that climate the BREATH
less bsdy disintegrdtes more rapidly than
In ours. II Immediately after decease the
body had been awakened into lie. unbe-
llevers might have said he was only In q
comatose state or in sort OF trance ana
by some vigorous manipulation or power
full stlmulalt vitality had been renewed.
No! Four days dead.
At the door OF the sepulcher Is q crowd
O. people, but the three most memorable
are Jesus, who was the family friend, and
tho two bereft sisters. We went into the
traditional tomb one December day, and
1t Is deep down and dark, and with torches
We explored it. We found 1t all'quiet that
afternoon OF our visit, but the day spoken
of in the Bible there was present an ex.
cited multitude. wonder what Jesus will
do? He orders the door OF the grave re-,
moved, and then He begins to descend the
steps, Mary and Martha close after Him
and the crowd after them. Deeper down
into the shadows aud deeperl Tho hot
tears OF Jesus roll over His cheeks and
plash upon the backs Ct His hands. We're
ever so many SORROWS compressed into 80
Small space as in that group pressing on
iown after Christ, all tho time bemoantpg
Shat He had not come before? rs
1, Now all the Whispering and all the cry
ing and all the sounds of shufalng feet are
stopped. 1t Is the silence Of expectancy.
Death hos conquered, but now tho van
quisher OF death confronted the scene.
Amid the awful hush OF the tomb the ia.
miliar name which Christ had often had
upon His lips in the bospltalitles Of the viii
lage home came lack to His tongue, aud
with pathos and an aimightiness OF which
the resurrection Of the last day shall only
be IN echo He cries, Lazarus come forthl"
Ths eyes OF the slunberer open, and he
rls.s and comes to the foot OF tho steps and
with great difficulty begins to ascend, for
the :eremenrs OF the tomb are yet on him,
and his feer are fast, and his hands are
sfast and the impediments to all his move
ments are 80 great that Jesus commands:
"Take off these cerementsl Remove these
hindrances! Cnfasten these graveclothes!
Loose him and let him gop'
Oh, I am so glad that after the Lord
raised Lazarus He wont on and commanded
the looseuing OF the cords that bound his
feet, so that he could walk, and the break
Ing off Of The cerement that bound his
hands, so that1he could stretch out his
arms in salutation, ndthe tearing oil OF
the bandaSe from around his jaws, so that
he could speak. What would resurrected
life have been to Lazarus II he had not
been freed from all those crlpplemert5 OF
his body? l au glad that Christ COM
manded his complete emancipation, say
Ing, "Loose him and let him 60"
! The unfortunate thing now Is that 80
many Christians are only halt liberated.
They have beon raised from the death and
burial of sin into spiritual life, but they
yet have the Sraveclothes on them. They
ore like Lazarus. hobbilng up the stairs OF
the tomb bound hand and loot, aud the
object OF this sermon is to help free their
body and free their soul. and shall try to
obey the Masters command that comes to
me and comes TO every minister Of re-
ligion, .I.oose him and let him 60"
Many are bound hand and foot by re-
ligious creeds. Let no man mislnterpret
me as antagonizlns creeds. have eight
or ten OF them-a creed about religion, q
creed about ar, creed about social lie,
q creed about government, aud so on. A.
creed is something that O man belieyes,
whether it be written or unwritten. Yhe,
Presbyterian Church is now agitateds
about its creed. Some good men In itRre.
for keeping 1t because it was framed from
the belief Of John Calvin. Other good men
IN it want revision. I am with neither
party. Instead Of revisiond want substf-
tuition. ! was sorry TO hare tue question
disturbed ut all. The creed did not hinder
us from Offering the pardon and the COM
fort OF the Gospel to all men, and toe West
minister Confession has not interfered With.
me one minute. But now that the electric
lights have been turned on the imperlec-.
tions OF that creed-and everything that
man fashions Is imperfect-let US put the
old creed respectfully aside and get brand
new one.
1t is impossible that people who lived
hundreds OF years ago should fashion an
appropriate creed for our times. John
Calvin was n great and good man, but he
died 1886 years ago. could call the names
OF twenty living Presbyterian ministers OF
religion who could make better creed
than John Calvin. The nineteenth century
ought not to be called to sit ut the feet OF
the sixteenth.
.'But," you say, sit Is the same old Bible,
and John Calvin had that as we'll Us the
present student OF tho Scriptures" Yes;
go 1t is the same old sun In the heavens.
but in our time 1t has gone to making