The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-20
DR. R. TALMAGFS
 SERMON.

IL
 Washington. April 1s.--In the following 1isc0urse, prepared by Dr. Talmage be- lore his illness, the folly and danger Of postponing the acceptance of the Gospel Invitation are exposed on the text, Luxe xtv, IS. And they all with one consent began to make excuse."
 After the invitations to levee are sent out the regrets come in. One man apnl- 0gfges for non-attendance on one ground. nn0ther on another ground. The most of the regrets are founded on prior en- agreements So in my text a great ban uuet was spread the invitations were cir- culated, and now the regrets come in. The one gives an agricultural reason. the other . stock dealers reason, the other 2 domestic reason: All poor reasons. The fact was, they did not want to go. And they all with one consent began to make excuse.''
 So now God spreads a great banquet. It is the Gospel feast, and the table reaches across the hearispheres, and the Invitations go out, snd multitudes come and sit down and drink out of the chal- Sees of Gods love. while other multi nudes decline coming, the one giving this apology. ''and they all with one con sent begin to make excuse I propose, = far as God may help me. to examine ne aPolosies which men make for not en-
 Apology the first: I am not sure there = anything valuable in the Christian re- Hs1on. It Is pleaded that there are so many dispositions in this day; so many ehings that seem to be real are sham. ~ gilded outside may have a hollow in u1de. There is so much quackery in phys 5cs. in ethics. in politics, that men come % the habit of incredulity, and after 4.nile they allow that incrcduIity to colliie with our holy religion. But, my fr3endA I think religion has made d pretty good record in the world. How many wounds it has salved! How many pillars of fire it has lifted in the midnight wilderness! How many simeon struck deserts it hath turned into the gardens of the Lord! How it hath et'lled the chopped sea! What rosy light it hath sent streaming through the rift of the Atcrm-cioud! What pools of cool water it hath gathered for thirsty Hagar and 1snmael! What mama winter than cori-, ender seed 1t hath dropped all around the promises it hath sent out like holy watchers to keep the lamps burning around deathbeds, through the darkness that lowers into the sepulcher! What uasheS Of resurrection morni
 A Religion of Heroes.
 Besides that, this religion has made 70 many heroes. It brought Summer deld. the Methodist. across the Atlantic ocean with his silver trumpet to blow shs acceptable year of the Lord until it would take the kingdom of Heaven by violence. It sent Jehudi Ashman into Africa alone, in continent of naked harbarians. to lift the standard of civil lixation ard Christianity. It made John Milton among poets, Raphael among painters, Christopher Wren among archi- tects, Thorwaldsen among sculptors, Handel among musicians; Dupont among military commanders. and to give new wings to the imagination and better bal- ance to the judgment and more deter mination to the will and greater useful ness to the life and grander nobility 10 the soul there is nothing in all the earth like our Christian religion. Noth- ing in religion? Why, then, all those Christians were deceived when in their dying moment they thought they saw the castles of the blessed. and your child. that with unutterabie agony you put away into the grave. you will never see him again nor hear his sweet voice nor feel the throb of his young heart will come upon you. Rolf and turn on your pillow; no relief. The medicine may be bitter. the night may be dark. the pain may be sharp; no relief. Christ never comes to the sickroom Let the pain stab; let the fever burn; curse it and die. There Is nothing in religion? After awhile death will come. You will hear the paw ing of the pale horse on the threshold. The spirit will be breaking away from the body. and 1t will take fiight-whither. .whither? There is no God. no minister aHg angels, to conduct. no Christ, no Heaven. no home. Nothing in religion? Oh, you are not willing to adopt such dismal theory!
 The Use of a Skeptic.
 And yet the world is full of skeptics And let me say there is no class of peo- nIe for whom I have g warmer sympa- how to treat them. We deride them. we Garicature them. We. instead of taking them by the soft hand of Christian love. clutch them with the iron pinchers of those men had fallen away from Christi anity and become skeptics you would not be so rough on them! Some were brought up in homes where religion was overdone. The most wretched day in the week was Sunday. Religion was driven into them with triphammer. They had surfeit of prayer meetings. They were stuffed and choked with catechisms. They were told by their parents that they were the worst children that ever lived because they liked to ride down hill bet. ter than to read Pilgrims Progress" :" They never heard their parents talk of drawn down and the eyes rolled up. Oth- CTS went into skepticism through mal- treatment on the part of some who pro- 1sssed religion; There in a Is man n, san who spicuous in prayer meeting. and he was ofi1cious in all religious circles. but he cheated me out of s3.000. and don't want any of that religion Then there are others who get into skepticism by a natural persistence in asking questions. why or how? How can God be one being fin three persons? They cannot under stand it. Neither can I. How can God be a complete sovereign and yet man a tree agent? They cannot understand it. Neither can I. They cannot understand why a holy God lets sin come into the world. Neither can I. They say: Here Is . great mystery; here is a disciple of Fashion. frivolous and goddess all her days; she lives on to be an octogenarian. Here is a Christian mother. training her rhiidren for God and for Heaven, self facrifcing. Christlike. indispensable seem- ger and dies" The ekeptic says, "I can't Axplain that" Neither can I.
 can see how men reason themselves into skepticism. With burning feet have trodden that blistering way. Iknow what 1t is to have a hundred nights poured into one hour. There are men in the arid desert of doubt who would give get back to the old religion of their fath- CTS. Such men are not to he caricatur but helped. and not through their heads. but through their hearts. When these men really do come into the kingdom of God, they will be worth far more to the cause of Christ than those who never examined the evidences of Christianity. Thomas Chalmers. once skeptic.. Rob ert Hall once a skeptic. Christmas Evans once a skeptic: but when they did lay hoid of the gospel chariot how they made it speed aheadi If. therefore. I address men and women who have drifted away tnfs ekepticism. I throw out no scoff; l s-A%her .rnplead YOU by Nthe memory of Ssase good old times when YOU knelt al vour mothers knee and said your even- ing prayer and those other days of sick. gave you the medicines at just the right time and turned the pillow when if was