Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-07-14
TALMAGE
SERMON
BY Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMACE. DID,.
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Presby-
terrain Church, Chicago


OF martyrs and great sufferers in the
cause OF Christ Rev. Frank De Witt
Talmage draws lessons of encourage
mont and fortitude for afflicted men,
bers OF Christ's church; text, Philip
plans ", %, "All the saints salute you,
chiefly they that are of Caesars house
hold"
Pope Leo XIII. was one day giving
an audience to some foreigners. Turn
ing to q gentleman present, he asked
"How long have you been IN our cityY'
'"Three days." was the answer.
'Then." said the pope. you have been
here long enough to practically know
all about Rome" He asked another
gentleman. How long have you been
In RomeY Three MONTHS" was the
answer. Then" said the pope, You
have been here long enough to know
that you have just begun to see Rome"
He asked third gentleman the same
question. II have been here three long
years." was the answer. "Then." said
the pope. You have been here long
enough to know that, though a man
may live in Rome hundred years, he
can never live long enough to fully APP
preciate Rome" The longer one lives
under the shadow of the Coliseum the
more he realizes how much of history,
of conQuests and defeats, of culture
and ignorance, of purity and vice, of
Justice and injustice, clusters about
the seven hills of the Eternal City.
But, though the most marvellous
achievements and the most startling
happenings may be panoramaed in that
one word, Rome" yet without doubt
to the Christian student the most alb
sorbing and intense of all Roman eras
is that which includes the history of
Nero's reign. Then the prosecutions
against the early Christians became
the most virulent, inhuman and fatal
Then the brutalities and mercilessness
of the fiendish monster, Nero, out
Hcroded even bloody Herod Then the
lowest dungeons of the inferno were
filled with pandemoniums of satanic
Joy. For then" wrote the historian,
'the Christians were covered by the
skins of wild beasts and torn to pieces
by the dogs Then they were crucified.
Then they were smeared with pitch
and combustible materials and burned
In the imperial gardens at night. Then
at last from horror stricken nation
there arose pity for the condemned,
since they were not put to death for
the public good, but to crafty the cru
city of one man." Yet Paul wrote
about this time that, in spite of all
these prosecutions and martyrdoms
there still manned In Rome men and
women who were true to the Christian
faith. In the darkest days of the his
tory of the early church there were
Christians ready to testify for Jesus
Christ. thor~h they wore the uniforms
OF the Rom, n emperor and though, on
account of that testimony, they knew
they had to die.
A Modern Epist1e.
Now, as Paul sent the salutations Of
the saints in Caesars palace to the
members OF the Philippian church for
their encouragement, | am going to
bring the SITUATIONS of the saints who
live In Cesar's modern palaces for the
encouragement OF every man. woman
and child. | am going to declare to
the young and the old, the rich and
the poor. the high and the low alike,
that, though some Of you are having a
hard time to maintain your Christian
Integrity against the commandments of
seemingly overwhelming worldly diff
culties, yet there are men and women
who are maintaining their Christian in.
tegrity against troubles infinitely
FOR ho md
women true to God today who have
shouldered upon their backs a whole
mountain range of misfortunes and
sorrows and pains, while you. com
paratively speaking, are going forth
into the gospel fight weighted dowr
only with little knapsack. There are
Christian men who. figuratively speak
ing, have been flung overheard mid
Atlantic and told to swim ashore, Will,
you have only a shallow brook to cross
There are Christian men who are ankl,
deep, knee deep. waist deep. shoulde
deep. chin deep in the quicksands o
difficulties who can yet look up ant
see the face of God, while you, com
paratively speaking. have Only ston,
path to climb. If the saints in Caesar
ancient and modern palaces could b
true to their gospel faith. surely thei
spiritual examples ought to rouse CIV
cry one of us to better and truer an
purer and nobler efforts. no matte
what our mental or physical or inc
dental difficulties may be.
would encourage those Christian:
In the first place. who are strugglin
against the physical depressions of i
health. Life even under the brightes
OF conditions Is an awful struggle. A
exander Pope once compared the ceas,
less struggle of life to continuou
Journey over the bridge of time. VI
on one end of this bridge the Englis
poet started the different generation
Then he kept them moving on and O