Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-04-23
TALMAGE
SERMON
By Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE, DID,,
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Prssby-
terrain Church, Chicago

| CHlCapO, April lJ.-In This sermon
the preacher draws realistic picture
Of the numerous class that dnllies with
evil indulgence, making mock of dan
ger and needless of admonition until
it is too late. The text is Proverbs xiv,
o, Fools make a mock at sim"
There are times when hints and deli
cate phrascology are inadequate for
useful purpose, and when the kindest
and wisest course is to use plain, out
spoken characterization shot forth on
arrows Of denunciation and excoria-
ton. SO in my text Solomon says
plainly that the man who mocks Mt sin
is fool. When the human body IS
slowly but surely being eaten up by
cancer, it IS time to use the surgeons
knife. The gangrcned limb needs am.
putation. not balms or plasters or poul-
tees or fragrant ointmcnts. And when
men and women with wide open eyes
deliberately place themselves in n posi-
ton where they may inhale the fetid
atmosphere, reeking with the deadly
germs of that contagious and fatal
plague called sin, it is high time that
some one should be bold enough to
stigmatize them by an appropriate
name. They are not misguided chill
drcn who are merely lost in the crook
ed byways of life's journey. They can
see the evil results of sin everywhere
they go If they will only look as they
are capable of looking. They are not
mental wcaklings who have been con-
fined behind the iron bars oe lunatc
asylum. They can think, and clearly
think. if they will and do what they
ought to do. Such men aud women are
displaying suicidal folly, and the only
appropriate name for them is that
which Solomon applies to them; they
are fools. Going to destruction by
their own choice and volition hooking
at victims who have already been de-
stroyed, needless of the fate impend-
ing over their own heads. they are as
foolish as would be n sea captain who
in midocean and in the grip of hurri-
cane broke his rudder chains. threw his
chart overheard and smashed his COM
pass.
When a gigantic sin is working evil to
the body polite and is endangcrlng our
national well being. Solomon's method
is demanded. President Roosevelt evil
IDENTIFY thought 50 when. a short time
ago. referring to a common sin, he
wrote: Il do not know whether | most
pity or despise the foolish and selfish
man or woman who does not under
stand that the only things really worth
having in life are those the acquire
ment Of which normally means cost
and effort. The man or the woman
who deliberately avoids marriage and
has heart so cold as to know no pas
sion and brain so shallow and selfish
as to dislike having children is in effect
a criminal against the race and should
be an object of contemptuous abhor-
renee to all healthy people"
why MOckers Arc Fools.
The same kind of warning against
sin Hugh Latimcr gave when he sent
TO Henry VIII. his king. the present
of New Testament, with these pun
gent words written in plain letters up
on the fly leaf: For this We know that
no unClean person hath any Inheritance
in the kingdom OF Christ and of God"
The same kind of warning against sin
in high places John Knox used to give
when as court preacher he would look
down from bis pulpit and denounce the
sins OF his ruler until the beautiful
Mary, queen of Scots, would grit her
teeth and turn pale and clinch her tiny
fists in paroXysms OF rage. Let me
show you why the Knockers at sin are
fools; also why men and women in tho
daily walks of life should kncel every
morning and evening and ask the Hcav-
enly Father to protect and guide and
save them from the evil temptation
which bcset them everywhere they go.
Evil temptations invariably are intro
duced to their victim in u seemingly
harmless way. They seek your COM
partnership at first as friends, and not
as enemies. They do not approach you
glaring and convulsively working their
claws and leap at you, as the man eat
ing monster might try to get at your
throat when in all his fury he is Gagged
In the geological gardens of Calcutta.
But temptations come to you at first
with the soft fur and the purring salu-
tation of the little kitten which might
nestle in your lap. They come insd-
iously, as the cholera germs might
reach you wrapped in the beautiful
garment which Is sent to you from far
off India. They come with all the fra
GRANGE of the poisonous leaf which
brings death to every creature that
touches 1t. Or. Cuyler once gave a
wonderful description of one of the
poisonous trees, aptly called the Judas
tree. He said that the blossoms of this
tree are Of brilliant red. From far
and near the fatal beauty of those
flowers attracts the insects. Yet "ev-
cry bee wandering in search of honey
that alights upon the blossoms imbibes
fatal opiate and drops to the earth.
Beneath this enticing tree the earth is
strewn with the victims of its fatal
fascination" That fatal plant is a
vivid symbol of the way deadly sin
first appeals to its victims. Sin in the
beginning fascinates the eyes as with
the brightest of floral colors 1t fasci-
mates the ear as with the sweetest of
harmonies. 1t soothes the sense of
touch as with the velvety softness of a