The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1900-05-26
TALMAGE SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE ABLe DI,
VINE,

| VIHe.
subject: Religious CreeIs-a Plea For the
Doing Away With tho Dog,natics and
For the Substituting of Creed
rounded on Faith in Ch,ist.
[Coryright 1901
WASHINGTON, ID. Cat n time when the
| Old discussion OF crceds is being vigorously
and somewhat bitterly revived this dis
course OF DR.. Talmage has n special in
terest. Tho text is John xi., Al, loose
him and let him 60"
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 70 the Dead Sea. Bethany
was the summer evening retreat Of Jesus.
After spending the day in the hot city Of
| Jerusalem He would come oat there almost
| every evening to the house Of His three
friends. l think tho occupants OF that
house wero orphans, for tho father and
mother are not mentioned. But the son
and two daughters must havo inherited
property, 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 EoW 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-Nartha
first rate housekeeper and Mary spir-
ituelle. somewhat dreamy, but affectonate,
| and as good girl as could be found In all
Palestine. But one day Lazarus got sick.
The sisters were In CONSERVATION. Father
gone and mother gone, they feel very ner-
vous lest they lose their brother also. Dis
ease did its quick work. How tho girls
hung over his pillow! Not much sleep
about that house-no sleep at oil.
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 sobbel. Worse and
worse gets Lazarus until the doctor an
| nounces that he can do no more. The
| shrek that went up from that household
| when 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 so often had been? 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 dislntegrates more rapidly than
In ours. II Immediately after decease the
body had been awakened into life, unbe.
lievers might have said he was only in a
comatOse state or In sort OF trance and
by some vigorous manipulation or power
full stimulant vitality had been renewed.
No! Four days dead.
At the door OF the sepulcher Is crowd
OF people, but the three most memorable
n rn uy, ho fop {ltrf frfa nd nd
the two bereft sisters. We went into the
traditional tomb one December day, and
1t Is deep down and dark, and with torches
We explored 1t. We found it all quiet that
afternoon Of our visit, but the day spoken
OF III 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 and deeper The hot
tears OF Jesus roll over His cheeks and
plash upon the backs Ct His hands. Were
ever so many sorrows compressed into 80
small space as in that group pressing on
down after Christ, all the time moaning
that He had not come before?
. Now all the whispering and all the cry.
Ing and all the sounds OF shufling feet are
stopped. It Is the silence Of expectancy.
Death has 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 hospitaities OF the viii
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 forth!'
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
tho cerements Of the tomb are yet on him,
and his feet are fast, and his hands are
fast, and the tmpediments to all his move
ments are 80 great that Jesus commands:
"Take off these cerements! Remove these
hindrances! Unfasten these graveclothesl
Loose him and let him go!"
Oh, am so glad that after the Lord
raised Lazarus He went on and commanded
the loosening of tho cords that bound his
feet, so that he could walk, and the break
ing of Of the cerement that bound his
hands, 80 that he could stretch out his
arms in salutation, and the tearing of OF
the bandage 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 crlpplements OF
his body2 I 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 graveclothes 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 shall 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 man mfsinterpret
me as antagonizing creeds. have eight
or ten of them-a creed about religion, a
creed about art, a creed about social life,
O creed about government. and so on. A
creed is something that q man believes,
whether 1t be written or unwritten. The
Presbyterian Church is now agitated
about It's creed. Some good men In 1t are
for keeping 1t because 1t was framed from
the belief OF John Calvin. Other good meE
in it want revision. I am with neither
party. Instead Of revision want substt-
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 with
me one minute. But now that the electric
lights have been turned on the imperfea/
tions of that creed-and everything
man fashions is imperfect-let US
old creed respectfully aside and a.
new one.