Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1900-04-27
REV. DR.. TAlMAGE.
THE EMINENT DlvINE'S SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
Sui. &C; Religious Creeds-A Plea For the
Doing Away With the Dogmatics and
For the Substituting of a Creed
rounded on Faith In Chtist.


copyright 1901
WASHINGTON, D. Cat a time when the
old discussion OF creeds is being vigorously
and somewhat bitterly revived this dis
course Of Dr.. Talmage has a special In
terest. The text is John xi., "A, Loose
him and let him CO."
My Bible is, at the place OF this text,
written all over with lead pencil marks
made at Bethany on the ruins Of the house
Of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. We dis
mounted from our horses on the way up
from Jordan to the 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. think the occupants OF that
house were orphans, for the father and
mother are not mentioned. But tho son
and two daughters must have Inherited
property, for 1t must have been, judging
from what saw Of the foundations and
the size Of the rooms, an opulent home.
Lazarus, the brother, was now ut the head
OF the household and his sisters depended
OF him and were proud OF him, for be was
very popular, and everybody liked him,
and these girls were splendid girls-Mari ha
a first rate housekeeper and Mary splr-
ituelle, somewhat dreamy, but affectionate,
and as good a girl as could be found In all
Palestine. But one day Lazarus got sex.
The sisters were In CONSERVATION. Fla her
gone and mother gone, they feel very ler-
vous lest they lose their brother also. Dis
ease did Its quick work. How the girls
hung over his pil,owI Not much sleep
about that house--no sleep at all.
From the characteristics otherwise de-
veloped Judge that Martha prepared the
medicines and made tempting dishes OF
food for the poor appetite OF the sufferer,
but Mary prayed and sobbed. Worse and
worse gets Lazarus until the doctor an
nounces that he can do no mere. The
shrek that went up from that household
wien the last breath had been drawn and
the two sisters we're 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 so often had been2 Far away
in the country districts, preaching, healing
other sick, how unfortunate that this omni.
potent doctor had not been at that do.
nestle crisis In Bethany. When at last
Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had
been buried four days, and dissolution had
taken place. In that climate the breath
less body disintegrates more rapidly than
In ours. II Immediately after decease the
body had been awakened into life. unbe-
levers might have said he was only In
comatose state or In sort of trance and
by some vigorous manipulation or power
tu stimulant vitality had been, renewed.
No! Four days dead.
At the door Of the sepulcher Is crowd
Of people, but the three most memorable
are Jesus, who was the family friend, and
the two bereft sisters. We went into the
traditional tomb one December day, and
ii is deep down and dark, and with torches
we explored 1t. 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 aud Martha close after Him
and the crowd after them. Deeper down
into the shadows and deeperl The hot
tears OF Jesus roll over His cheeks and
plash upon the backs CT His hands. We're
ever so many sorrows compressed into so
small space as In that group pressing on
down after Christ, all the time bemoaning
that He had not come before?
Now all the whispering and all the cry
ing and all the sounds Of shuffliDg feet are
stopped. 1t is the silence OF expectancy.
Death has conquered, but now the van
quisher of death confronted the scene.
Amid the awful hush of the tomb the ia
miiar name which Christ had often had
upon His lips In the hospitalities OF the VII
lage home came back to His tongue, and
with pathos and an almightiness Of which
the resurrection of the last day shall only
be an echo He cries, Lazarus, come forthl'
The eyes OF the slumberer open, and he
rises and comes to the foot OF the steps and
with great difficulty begins to ascend, for
the cerements of the tomb are yet on him,
and his feet are fast, and his hands are
fast, and the impediments to all his move
ments are so great that Jesus commands:
'Take off these cerementsl Remove these
hindrances! Unfasten these graveclothes!
Loose him and let him go!''
OBJ, am so glad that after the Lord
raised Lazarus He went on and commanded
the loosening 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 that he could stretch out his
arms in salutation. and the tearing off OF
the bandage from around his Jaws 80 that
lie could speak, What would resurrected
life have been to Lazarus IL he had not
been freed from all those cripplemepts OF
his body? l am glad that Christ COM
manded his complete emancipation, say
ing, "Loose him and let him CO."
The unfortunate thing now Is that so
many Christians are only half liberated.
They have been raised from the death and
burial Of sin into spiritual life, but they
yet have the gravecIothes on them. They
are like Lazarus, hobbling up the stairs Of
the tomb bound hand and foot, and the
object OF this sermon is to help free their
body and free their soul, and rhall try to
obey the Masters command that comes to
me and comes to every minister OF re.
ligion, Loose him and let him CO."
Many are bound hand and foot by re-
ligious creeds. Let no mai misinterpret
me as antagonizing creeds. have eight
or ten Of them-a creed about religion,
creed about art, a creed about social life,
q creed about government, and 30 on. A
creed is something that q man believes,
whether 1t be written or unwrltten. The
Presbyterian Church Is now agtated
about its creed. Some good men in it are
for keeping 1t because it was framed from
the belief OF John Calvin. Other good men
party. Instead OF revision want substi-
tuition. was sorry to have the question
disturbed at all. The creed did not hinder
us from Offering the pardon and the COM
fort of the Gospel to all men, and the West
minister Confession has not interfered Will
RS enc minute. But now that the electric
lights have been turned on the Imperfect
lions 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 great and good man, but he
died 1856 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 at the feet OF
the sixteenth.
Out" you say, at Is the same old Bible,
and John Calvin had that as well as the
present student Of the Scriptures" Yesl
so 1t is the same old sun in the heavens.
but in our time 1t has gone to making
daguerreotypes and photographs. 1t is
the same old water, but In our century 1t
has gone to running steam engines. 1t Is
the same old electricity, but In our time 1t
has become lightning footed errand boy.
So Il Is the old Bible, but new applications,