The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-06-23
THE NEEDLES EYE.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Explains An
Clent Customs of Palestine.
Why IL Wns Hard For a Camel 60
Go TArough the Needles Eye.
The Rich Mans Task In
Entering Heaven.

copyright. 1905. by Louis E'opsohI
Los ANGELES, Cal. April The
self sufiCiency Of wealth the obstacles
It's possession opposes 10 spiritual prog
ress and how these may he overcome
are the theme Of todays sermon. the
preacher choosing as his text Mark Y,
25, "Than for a rich man 10 enter into
the kingdom Of God"
l am thankful that ] was so fortu-
nate as 10 visit Palestine before the
railroad engineers had made their sur
veys and built their bridges and erect
ed their dcpots and profancd the sa-
cred hills with the shrickings of an
Onrushing locomotive How can the
Holy Land remain much longer dis
tinguished by the habits and customs,
the usages and convcntionalisms OF
Abrahamic and Davidlc and SolOmonic
and prophetic and apostolic days when
the iron rails have been run near the
family burylng ground OF the Mach
pclah cave, when the freight cars bring
the luggage formerly carried In the
camels' packs and when the drago-
mans strange. weird thrilling stories
and midnight tales have given place to
the harsh and metallic voice of the
conductors who call. Next station IS
Bethlehemw Change cars for Jericho
and the Dead sea-" "All aboard for
the Grand Trunk line for Sychar and
Damascus Passengers for Caper-
naum and Magdala take forward cars.'
"Ten minutes for refreshments at Jeri-
cho's wellw "All aboard, All aboard"
Almost sacrileglous does ii seem TO
mention a railroad train IN connection
with these sacred places. In order 70
Interpret the literature of the Bible
Alright you must read it 10y the customs
and the habits and the lives of the peo-
ple Of past centuries You must have
the sandals and the walled in towns
and the robbers upon the hillsldes and
the shepherds and the Wild beasts. You
must have just such Holy Land as l
visited a few years ago and the Holy
Land which hope you may yet be able
10 visit before the railroad tracks have
honcycombed the sacred hills. as they
are now running up and down the
length and breadth Of our own land.
But If you are 10 see the Holy Land
as l saw II you must hasten there
Even now there are railroad trains
running from Joppa to Jerusalem ana
from Damascus TO Beirut. Soon all
those eastern cities will have their diff
ferent depots and their rival railroad
lines.
We would not use today the railroad
depot for a pulpit. BY the ancient cam
els pack, and not by the modern
freight car. would interpret the words
Of my text. I see in the evening hour
two merchants coming over the west
ern hills toward Jerusalem. They are
pounding and proddng and driving
their camcls along as fast as they can
make them travel. But the camels are
very heavily laden. The road is steep.
The pace IS slow. / hear one OF the
drivers turn TO the other and say,
'Isaac. l doubt IL we will get 10 the
CITY walls before the gate is shut
TOO bad" says the other man. THAT
means we are going TO have an awful
struggle making the old camels 40
through the needles eye" "Yes," an
swered the first speaker, 'but we must
do II. or else the robbers will steal
from us all we have. There see, the
gates are shut. We will have a hard
fob ahead OF us"
The two men approach the city wall
with its shut gates. "IIo, watchman'
hol" they cry "Open unto us; open
unto US" "Nay, nay" says the watch
man; that is against the law. But
will open for you the needles eye If
you wish" "All right" answer the
merchantmen; eve will come In by the
needles eye"
With that the watchman descends
from his lookout tower. and within the
gate he opens a door. This heavy door
Is cut into the gate as a panel can be
cut out Of door. II is called the
needles eye. In the meantime the
camels are unloaded. Then the own
ers command the big stupid brutes to
kneel, and by cOaXings and beatlngs
and growlings and cursings the cam
els on their knees are compelled TO
drag themselves through this small
door. All the baggage which was pack
cd upon the oamels' backs is carried
within tho city walls in the arms Of the
merchantmen. Then the door, or the
needles eye, Is shut, and the great city
fearless Of outside foes sleeps on. All,
II was no easy matter to make a camel
80 through the needles eye. II is no
easy matter for a rich man 70 enter
into the kingdom Of God. Christ says
Il. In the one case as in the other the
difficulty is almost insurmountable.
Whyf Why Is II 'easler for a camel
to 40 through the eye Of needle than
for a rich man to enter the kingdom Of
GOdr
The rich man. in the first place, is
loath TO bend the knee and come TO
Christ as a suppliont pauper. he dis
likes 10 surrender his gold and silver
and railroad bonds and warehouses
and big bank account and to unload
all az the mercy seat He hates 70
say Lord, oil that am and all that
I have is thine" And yet that is Just
the way the rich man must come. He
must come exactly In the same way
and with the same spirit which Christ
indicated when he told the rich young
ruler Of the east to surrender bis pos
sessions. Christ practically said to
this would be disciple: Young man.
unioose your gold and silver, your
farms and plantations and your herds