The Canton times., 1902-04-25
DANGER in DELAY.
Folly Of Postponing Acceptance of
Gospel Invitation Exposed.
Dr. Talmage Examines ADologies o.
Men Cor Not Entering the Chris
tian Llfe--sympathy f0r &
the Skeptics.
tCopyright, lsoa, by Louis Klopsch. n. VI
washington,

by DR.. Talmage before his lllness' th'
folly and danger of postponing the ac
ceptance of the Gospel invitation arr
exposed on the text, Luke 14:1S, "Ant
they all with ona consent began t.
make excuse"
After the invitations to a levee are
sent out the regrets come in. one maj
apologies for nonattendance on ON
ground, another on another ground
The most of the regrets are founded
on prior engagements. So IN my tex
a great banquet was spread, the IN
vitatiQns were circulated, and now the
regrets come in. The one gives an
agricultural reason, the other a stock
dealer reason, the other 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 great banquet.
1t is the Gospel feast, and the table
reaches across the hemisphere, and
the invitations go out, and multitudes
come and sit down and drink out of the
chalices Of Gods love, while other null
titudes decline coming, the one giving
this apology, and the other giving that
apology, t'and they all with one con-
sent began to make excuse" l pro-
pose, so far as God may help me, to ex-
anime the, apologies which men make
for not entering the Christian life.
Apology the first: I am not sure
there is anything valuable in the Chris
tian religion. 1t is pleaded that there
are so many impositions in this day; SO
many things that SCENE to be real are
sham. A gilded outside may have n
hollow inside. There is SO much quack-
cry in physics, in ethics, in politics,
that men come to the habit of incred-
ulity, and after awhile they allow that
incredulity to collide with our holy
religion. But, my friends, l think re-
Iigion has made a pretty good record
in the world. How many wounds it
has salved! How many pillars of fire
it has lifted in the midnight wilder
nessi How many simoom struck des-
erts it hath turned into the gardens of
the Lord! How it hath stilled the
chopped sea! What rosy light it hath
sent streaming through the rift of the
stormcloud! What pools of cool wa
ter it hath gathered for thirsty Hagar
and Ishmael! What mamma whittier
than coriander seed it hath dropped
all around the camp of hardly bested
pilgrims What promises it hath sent
out like holy watchers to keep the
lamps burning around deathbeds,
through the darkness that lowers into
the sepulcher! What flashes of resur-
rection morn!
Besides that, this religion has made
so many heroes. 1t brought Summer
field, the Methodist, across the Allan
tic ocean with his silver trumpet to
blow the acceptable year of the Lord
until it seeemd as if all our american
cities would take the kingdom of
heaven by violence. 1t sent Jehudi
into Africa alone, in a conti-
nent of naked barbarians, to lift the |
standard of civilization and Christian
ity. 1t made John Milton among po-
cts, Raphael among painters, Christie
pher Wren among architects, Thor
among sculptors, Handel |
among musicians, Dupont among mil
tary commanders, and to give new
wings to the imagination and better
to the judgment and more de-
termination to the will and greater
usefulness to the life and grander no.
oility to the soul there is nothing in all |
5he earth like our Christian religion.
in religion? Why, then, all
hose Christians were deceived when
n their dying moment they thought
hey saw the castles of the blessed,
md your child, that with unutterable
lgony you put away into the grave,
Iou will never see him again nor hear
lis sweet voice nor feel the tlrrob of
lis young heart. There is nothing in
religion? Sickness will come upon
-ou. Roll and turn on your pillow;
10 relief. The medicine may be bitter,
he night may be dark, the pain may
'e sharp; no relief. Christ never comes
o the sickroom. Let. the pain stab;
ct the fever burn; curse it and die.
here is nothing in religion? After
while death viii come. You will hear
he paving of the pale horse on the
hreshold. The spirit win be breaking
way from the body, and it will take
ight-whither, whither? There is no
+od, no ministering angels, to con-
uct, no Christ, no heaven, no home.
Tothing in religion? Oh, you are not
villing to adopt such dismal theory
And yet the world is fan of skeptics.
nd let me say there is no class of
eople for whom have a warmer SYM
athy than for skeptics. We do not