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TALMAGE. •JPHE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN- DAY SEKMON. Subjects \A Family Quarrel Settled.'* TBXS: Let there be no drife, J pray thee, oetuleen me and thee, and bMoeeti ihu Iterdu- men and thy herdeitten. /* not the whole land before tkeet Genesis ostU., 8, «. Uncle and nephew—Abraham pud Lot Both pious, both millionaires; wlih Hock* so held b .oked the cow of another herd. It was not their poverty of opiiortiiuity that brought these two m.n hit > a difference, but It was their wealth of oiijioituilltr, Abra- ham, the glorious old Bedouin tsholk, ww that the controversy was absurd and be said to Lot—for it foully see i e I like two ships in the middle of the Atlantic O.can quarreling about sua fooni— A bfnhaiii suiu to Lot: \Now lot OT tt'i'oe to UM'er. Here Is the mountain disiiriet swept of the conic si?a bice^Oj and with a faf-reaoluiig pfosroct, and out yonder is the Valley 61 the Jordan; with corhflolds »hd vineyard*, aud tropical luxuriance find immeasurable acreage of wealth, and the grontriver in which to water thello ks. Yolicniillavoeitller.\l.ot not as much wealth as Abraham and might nave been expected to hiuke the second choice, made toe first selection, and with a modesty that must have brought d smile to Abraham's face, said: \Abraliahij yo'tt can bavs the rocky district add tlid fine pros- pects, and I'll take the valley of the Jordan with the cornfields and the great river in whleh to tfater tile flocks, and all the tropi- cal luxuriance of ttie vineyards, I'll take that.\ So the controversy was forever sok tied, and Abraham, great-smiled Abraham, carried out the Suggestion Of the text: \list there be no (strife. 1 pray thee, between me and thee, aud between iliy herdsmen anil thy b 'i dsmen. Is not the whole land before thee!\ Well, in this last quarter of the nineteenth century, and iu tills beautiful land called America, altor Amorieus Vespucira, but which ought to have boon called Columbus after its discoverer, Columbus, we havd a wealth of religious opportunity and of eccle- siastical advantage that is pojitively bewil- dering. So many styles of creed, so many styles of worship, so many styles of church government, so many styles of architecture. What opulence of occiosiostlcal opportunity. \While iudesoliito regions there inny be only one church, and it in that or nothing, iu our thicklysettled districts ot country there is such vast variety of churches and such vast vurletyof ei'ccdsj.ono would think a ipaii would have ho dilllculty in mailing d selec- tion. Let therebe hb war of vestments, no contest as between liturgbaiand hbn-liturgfc cal adherence, no J strife about baptismal; roodesrHdWai*el' a*tff'. whothSl\; alidndfullf of water or a fiverfull of wafe*is\ the .better. If Abraiiahi ohVthe heights; gets only the sprinkling of the clouds, let him not bagrudge Lot, who has the whole river Jordan in which to immerse himself. \Let there Be no strife, I play thee, between ine and thee and between my herdsmen aiid thy herdsmen. Is not the whole land ilufbfo thee?\ Espe- cially is it unfortunate when in the homo cir- cle there is an angry controversy across the breakfast, or the dining, or\ the tea table, and on the one side of ilie table soma one says: \I ilever could bear the rigid do.tfihes of Presbyterianism,\ and the answer comes from tiie other end Of the cable saying: \I never could endure the conventionalities of Episcopacy,\ and from one side of the table comes: \I caii't see bow they stand the noise iii the Methodist Church, and from the other side there comes back the response: ''All the Baptists are bigotsi\ Hundreds of families have been split \of ec- clesiasticism, and as the discussion goes on there is kindling of indignation, aiid it neids some Abraham to come out and put his foot on the lighted fuse before the explosion takes place, and say: \Let.tlidre be no strife be- tween nie and thee and betweiin my herdsmen mid tby herdsmen. Is not the whole land before thee;\ I undertake this morning a discussion never befoi'e undertaken . in the pulpit, because .it is a very, ddli? cafe \ subject, and if not rightly bandied might produce great offense; but i approach the question without the slightest trepidation because. I feel 1 I have the divine direction in the mutter to be proposed; It.is a tremendous question, often asked with tears-ami -ssVs and-. Heartbreaks—ii.ptfestipn. involving sbinetiines. the peace ;o£ families aqd the salvation of immortal souls: [\In matters of cliurcli attendance aiid in matters of religion, should tub wife go with\ the hus- band or tliahousbaud go vvith the. wife?\ , I lay the foundation for ihy remarks in the t act that all denominations of Christians have in them enough truth to save the soul and.fit us for happiness and for heaven;; Go with hie into any well selected theological library, and I will show you 8611110113, from all denominations of Christians setting forth the idea that man is a sinner and that Christ is the deliverer froiii sin ahd stfrrdw. .Well, that is.tho wboib'Gbspel. Get that intd your heart and your life and yoii are fit-for the here and the hereafter. The world has twenty-six letters to its alphabet, btitthefe are onlv two letters in the Gospel aphabet, 8 and c; S standing for man, the sinner, gnd C standing for Christ, the deliv- erer. Blessed, be His glorious name forever. Now, in any church where you can learn those two letters and app jebiace all they stand for you ought to be edified ahd you plight to be happy., Then there -is: a jdifferr encb between denominations of Christians, and sohi3 we like better thatt others. But, suppose four or Ave of us should agree to tneeieach\ othof one week ffdhi now\ in Clil- 'cagbbh sbhie very important business, ahd ibhe v irian should take the N. Y. Cen- tral R, R., and another man should taka the Krio, and another man should tako the Pennsylvania B. B,, •nd anotlicK man should take the BaHiMbre and jOblo B, K. One becauso be likes the scouery on ibis route ilio better, anjthcr bo- cailso he likes the mrs.as they arempfa lux- uriant on thiKiouW tlwn the otheM, another man takes this rou'o I e aueo tUd train is swifter, another mail takes another route be- cause no knows all tUo employeit oh that road. It makes no dllfdreuco so far at our engagement is concerned if wo only get there. It makes no difference by which route wo come if we come to the terminus and meet our_ongagemout. Ifow, lii every denomlna- tij bf evangelical Christians, there is •hough truth to take you to heaven. Al- though solne denominations mar run trains on a broad giiage and others may run trains on & narrow giiage, still you follow the teachings of any one of the evangelical de- nominations of Christians ahd yoii will come 011 tat the Grand Central Depot of the uiilvoi SD—Heaven, the great metropolis of God on high, Now, having understood this, that a man is safe in any evangelical de- homlnatlon, I proceed to remark ITirst^rlf in the married couple one be a Christian and the other not a Cbristlanj then it is the duty of the one who Is a Chris- tian to go with the one who is not a Christian to any church pre/erred, if he or she will go to no other. You of the connubial partner- ship are e. Christian. You are safe for the skies,and your first duty then is to secure the eternal salvation of your lifetime partner. The salvation of the wife impenitent, or the salvation of the husband impenitent, is of more importance than your cUurab worship. The residence of your companion for a t/UsUi lllibn of yjars is a mightier considera- tion than the gratification of your e :ebMlas- pcal taste for forty or fifty years. If a man 61' a woman halt one half a minute before surrendering a church preference when the question of the eternal salvation bf a partner is involved—I say if such person .halts for half a minute in the consideration before making the surrender, such person hasno re- ligion at ail, never bos had, and, I fear, never will have. Mighty God, in all 'fhy creation Is there, one person professing to be a Christian and yet so. stolid, so unthinking, so fur gone unto death.as to hesitate about surrendering a church preference before a ? uestioii of salvation and Heavenly reunion! f you area Christian woman aud you are attendant on this Brooklyn Tabernacle, and your unconverted husband will not comb here because he does not like Its minister, or its tm'isic, or its architecture, or its uncora- fortitble Crowding, find be goes to no house of Gqrt, but would go if you accompanied hini, then your first ditty is to fhango your £ lace bf worship. Tdkehome your hymn- 00k id-day, say good-bye to those who are near yb\u iii the pews, unit yoii go to any one of a hundred evangelical churches with your husband until liissoul is saved, and he Joins you on thb,niafch tb Heaven, Tljat Hiifc. on the third finger of the loft hand is hot of so much importance as thatGodyour Heavenly . Father alionliHii; the ml vntlon or' your nit«: !i*mm$1m:TH?imtwmw at the Was 6i the old parable: f Piit tubMngbri his band.\ There beveit'\iirasi % letter of more im- portanre that came to thb great city of GorintuVtbafc city situated on, -what was called tt lirid^e of the sea, glistening with sculpture and gated with a style- of brass so magnificent that the following age? have not been able successfully tb ihiitate it, overshadowed by the Acf ucorinthus.afortresj; of rpek 3,001) feet llliih—I say. no letter of greater Importance ever cametb thatgreat city of Corinth than the letter in which Paul S lit ^theso two startling questions: \How abwest thou, oh, wife, but thou shalt save thy .Husband 1 How kn8w- est thoUi oh, /husband; but thou shalt save thy wife?\: Any sacfiilce ybiimakels, cheap for salvation. Bettor go to the small 'st church, the weakest church, the most insig- nlllcnnt church 011 earth, and be co-partucrs In eternal bliss, than that you should attend the riibst gorgeously, attractive church and one of you perish outside evangelical advan- tages; Better that the drowning .be saved -with a scow or a sloop, than that he or she should go down while you' sail past lit- the gilded cabins bf a Britannic or a Great Eastern. ... Itemark the second: If both of ; the mar- ried couple are. Christians, but one is so nat- urally bonstriicfced. as. to be. severely secta- rian and could not be happy in another than the one church or denomination preferred, then it is your duty, you who are the less sec; .tariaiiand the more liberal, to go \with the one IVho is very partinilnr. As for myself, I feel about as much at home in one denomination as another. I have sometimes ~ said 1 think I iihust, hsvs Ksoii borii near the line. X like the solemn roll of the Episcopal., liiurgy, and I like the spontaneity of the Metliodists, and I like the impbrtance gifrbhtb bdptlsm by thb Baptists, and I like the freedom of the dohgrejatioh' alists, aiid I like the governmbht and the sub- lime doctrines of the Presbyterians,. and I like a score of other denominations just as- good as those I have mentioned, and 1 1 could live happily in any bheof them, and proach and die. happily, and from the sacredf dbbra be carried out tb my last resting place. But some persons are born with a stout aiid un- bending preference for some church or some den&minatiohjahd it \would be torture.tb them to be anywhere else. From the very starting it.was iudicatel what they wore to be, and what was to be the style of their ecclesiasti- feishi; It was vrritten on thb side bf their cradle, if father ahd toother Had eyesight kedn enough to see it.. Whbh they cfieofin their infancy theycould not besilenoed lintil they had for a.jplaythlng Westminster Cate^ chismbrthe Thirty-nine Articles; Now, it woiildbo. a-tbrture. and iv misery, for\ such person to bi- in any denbmiiiatioii that was outside of the one preferred. But ybUcan Afford tb surrehdbr your pref- erences if yoii have not bdeh Both with the same spirit of se;tariahtshi. It is the .duty of the grapevine tofbllbwthe sinuosities of the oak and the hick- ory, tt Abraham has * larger .flock of Christian graces that! Lot, who is built on a smaller scale, then it Is Abraham's duty to say toLot: \Let there be ho strife between us, or between my herdsmen and ybhrherds' men. Is not thb whole land before theof If you can bo happy anywhere, and your hus- band or your* wlf eptoiiotbe happy ex epfc in one place, surrender your preferences, and surrender ihsm without dlssuss'on. Another remark: If both of the married couple are eatially strong in their sectarian- ism aud their preferences, then go to the churches that please you b83t. ToUarenoS bound tb go to the samo chi«rch. God does not demand that you do no. l'oligion is some- thing between your conscieucoandyour God. If, therefore, oh Sunday morning you came out from the front door of your house to- gether, and one gobs oho way and the other gbes the othef way, heartily wish each other a good sermon niid an hour ol -profitable devotion, and when you meet at the noonday repast, let it be evident each te each and to the children and to the hired help that you both have been on the Mount of Transfiguration, though you went up by different paths, and that you have been both fed with the bread of life though it were kneaded in different trays and baked hi dif ferent ovens. But I am often asked—for I am not discus- sing, this morning an abstraction—I am often asked by parents: \What about tho childehi\ My reply is: \Let the children make their choice.\ I have sometimes thought that at ten years of age a child knows more of religion than those whp have come on to forty, fifty, sixty \or seventy years of age. We go out in the world and we get befogged with scepticisms, and we hoar 00 many of the discussions of unbelief, ah 1 our life gets so full of imperfection arid so full of sin that I hava thought littb children inoy kiiow more religion than some bf us who have got older.. At any rate, I give ybiithe advice, let children choose for themselves:- They will probably grow, up with a revef- enco for both denominations represented by yoii, the father ahd mother. And if joii, the father, live the holy life they will' hare more reverence for your denomination, and if you, the mother, live the holy lite, they will have more reverence for your denomi- nation; and sonre day you will both be foutid going to the saine church and the same ser- vice, and the neighbors will look but bf the windows and they will say: \Wby I won- der what's the matter with our. neighbors, the husband and wife going arm and arm to the same church! I never thought they 'jrould go to the same church; I wonder what's the matter?' I will tell you what is the matter. Something very impor- tant has happened; That day, the son of that family is announcing himself a Christian. That day the son of that house- hold is standing in the aisle tb take the vows; He had been somewhat wayward and had given his father and mother a good deal of anxiety; biit tbeir prayers Mayb beeii an- swered ih hlssalvatlon, and now, 03 he stands in the church aisle, and tl ' \' ~ -.ion\;.«*yi- wmi0&Sgm> who niade yoii and \t .. deemed you for your eternal portion! and do you promise to serve Him all tho days of your life!\ and the young man, with a manly voice, says: ''I do;\ There Is an April shower in the pew where father and mother'sit, ahdarainbowof joy overarching evervthiuu that makes, the difference of creeds iuHnitesslmsl. Aye, on that v«ry day, the daughter, of the family may phi her life on the alter of consecration, ana the sunlight coming through the church window, falling on her brow and oheok may make her look like the other daughter whose face took on the brightness of another world when God took bar info His Heavenly keeping years ago. Aye, I should hot wba- der .if those, parents spent the. evening of their days in the same church, all their church preferences overwhelmed in tua joy of worshiping in the place where their sons aiid their daughters were prepared for use- fulness aud for heaven. But l.will give ybU a.recipe for ruining your children. Angrily discuss and contend in your household about matters of religion, and contend that your church is right and all btherehufehes are wrong,, especially the cfiiirch ybiir companion atteids, bring sheer and caricature id eiuphdsiib youropih- ibhs, and your children wiu.grbw up to be- lieve religion is a shairi; and',' they will want none of it. In the northeast storm of domestic controversy the Roseibf Sharon and the Lily of thj Valley nevbr.grbw, Fight about apostolic succession; fight about.dleo- tion and free agency; fight abbut baptism; fight aboiit.the bishopric; fight about gown and surplica, and the religious, interests of your children will-ba let fc.aead Jbii thefield; Ybii. will : be Unfortunate;as Chbrlbs, Duke of Burgundy, w;Ko in- a battle lost a diamond worth i. '• iuWottp. for yoii will iii the battle about'ehureh differences in your household.'lose the prISe of salvation for .four own entire household. Of coarse, I say : nothing against your advdeeidy of your .own belief. That is fight; Gather all telling ': lllustfatibris\ gath# all demonstrative facts, , gather all.aciltd arguments tb prove that ybiir thebrids are the right -.theories, but let there be no acerbity, iib stinging retort, no insinuation, no superciliousness, as though you were fight and everybody else wf.bii^. '.Take a hint from astronpiify. The Ptbleniic systemtiught that the eaith was the centefraiid the-'world3 turned' around the. earth. The .Cbperhlcan system came and taught, that the. sua was ; the center, and the\ worlds turned around that: %he bigot thinks' hisdittle bdief is the siinj and,ho wants e^ei^Jhihgto tUi'n.arbund him;.while the large sbiMed-Chf istiah says the Sun of Bightebusnes3 istne centre of his <tubology aiid all time and all dlet'hity tufa afound it. Ovef the tbmb'of William Stan- lbjr ih Westminster Abby is insdfibed thd passage of Sfcfiptu'B: \Thy monument is ex- ceeding broad.\ Db not, therefore; crowd us oti to a -'very thin .path like the the 1 bridge over which), the Mohammedans sayimuit go all the . souls .into glory if tlioy got there—this bridge thinner than the web of a starved Mpider, thinner than the edge of a razor or sword—aiid, oyef that bridge, reaching\ ovef bell itito piwwlsey all must go, of riot go at all, and tho Siaiioimneii.'itis g&v tmay fall \ down on\Jb'at cdzei- While our way to «<s«v- eais riot so #id6that we can take iti all bur sins with till 1 ktti glM to know it is mi laf go that all Clin'stlans of all faiths and of all be- liefs may march id perfect safoSy to a glorious heaven, Ah abundant en- trance, not crowding through, but an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our God Beware, my brother, bowyou make 0 soutid creed the founJafcloa of yohf salvation, it (carjisftib ptypii that I know very well aro making that mistake. A man may own all the statutes of the Scats of New York and yet not lis • a law/ef; A man may own 'all th» inMfcal tfeatlses ever w*fitteu and yet Uot be a physician; A man may own whole libraries of works on painting and statuary and yet not bo ah artist. A man uioy own great vol- umes about architecture and yotn'itboatt architect. And a man may own all the sound creeds on earth and not be a Christian, It Is not what WJ have id the usad aid'on the bac't, but what we have in the heilrl and in. our life that decide:* every- thing. Ih olden, times, in England, before the modern street Jainp was invented. It was oipeicod that evety, householder Would hang a lantern at his front door in the night. ah'< when the watchmen at the eventide went thieugh the street they cried: \Hangout yur light, bang but youriight.*' Oh, brothers and sisters, instead of angrily and excitedly discussing different • styles of lanterns—one liking this lenteru better, another lilting that lantern, better—as a watchman on ths wall of Zioh I th's day cry but: ''Let ybiir light so . shine before men: that others seeing your good works may glorify y s onf Father who is ia heaven. Hang out your light, hang out your light!\ And, above all, do not, as some of you, my friends, I fear are doing, excuse yottfself front aceeptirig religion because there are so many different kinds of religionists; Pojpid say to mo: \This church believes so, and this other church believes so, and I am completely be- wildered about the whole thing, and so I shall not take this religion, at all.\ Standing in Westminster Hotel, London, looking out of the window, I saw throb \blocks andai near as I can remember, one was oa West- minster Abbey, and another was' on the Parliament House and anofcKdf was.biiSt Margaret's Ghqpel; and they werealldlffef-; ent, and One clock-said 13, and aubthsf clock said five minutes before ' 13, and another clock said five minutes after. 12.- 1, Standing there 1 mlglit just as well have said: \Well there is Jib such thing as time because the tiiiie-pieces differ,\ as for you to sit and stand'there and say \there is nothing in religion because 1 eligiortists differ aha; the c-ioeks iii the cnurch srsepice, are so different, one saying one thing and .another saytag another 'thlii*\ I, .wai you it is about noon, ft;is,aHutl3.iojclock; bf^ \ tBefeis bnbiigh Ught fof allr^thd; hbbrilay; light. Bow.shall we esifipei if we neglect to gi-eat salvation. But oh, the glorious thought comes over me, that though now bur families are parted in their worship, worshioing paftly in oiie church atid. paftly in another, or, worshiping at the saine altar, th3y have tojsabriflce their,'pwferbdcesj if we ofd redeemed we are on tub way to a perfect church where all oiir preferences will be gratified. Great cathedral. of eternity, with arches bf amethyst and pillars of sap S hire and flb-irs of emerald and wid- ows aglow with the sunset of earth and the sunrise of heaven. What wide.-'alsles, spacious enough to allow whole em- pires to enter. What amphitheatre, with splendor above splendor, gallery above gallery, princes and prinedsses, kings and queens bending over them. What stupendous towersiWith chime;, angel hoisted and angel rung. What multitudes of Worshipers, white robed and coronated. What walls hung with shields and flags captured by chUrdE militant, now become church triumphant; What ofneiator at the altar, the .great high priest bf our profession: What dbxologyof nations; Corbet to cornet, Cymbal to cy^UbaL harp tb harp, organ to organ; Pull out the ' tremulant stop to recall the suffering 1 past. Pull out the trumpst stop to celebrate the victory; When shall these eyes thy Heaven butit walls And pearly feates behold^ Thy'bulwafks with.salvation strbag And streete of shining gold? . After the Houcyninba !in«i w»;r,cj>. \JffSi Winkle—\Oh itty dear, thai ibreiyplfiy you and I stiw tpgether be- fore we weffe married is tb be produced'' again. Let's go,'' tic. Winkle^--\The onp with.tlie lov- ers in. it who'die for each other.?'' \Yes.\' •\What's the use? ItdjduanoL We went on liVihi&— Omafui Wdrik* A Symptom of Lunacy. They met, .. . \SB yoii are still on the invalid list?\ \Alasj yes, nhd t have taken galtbhl bf medicine.\' . . . \Jefijaps you took too mucTi nieai- cine,\ • • \Well I've tried every thing, LSst summer I tried searbathing and now I am, trying electricity;'' , \•'Ho wonder yott are ih bad health aftef.gpihg thrbiigii salt arid bafctbryi' 1 And then as the awful truth dawned upon them, they both burst into\ maniac laughter iand fled from the scene.— \RUrMef. Mtntia
