New Tabernacle SermonsTalmage, T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt)
Religion
New Tabernacle Sermons
Talmage, T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt)
Presbyterian Church -- Sermons; Sermons, American
No other audience a thousandth part as large. No other audience a
millionth part as large. No human eye could look across it. Wing of
albatross and falcon and eagle not strong enough to fly over it. A
congregation, I verily believe, not assembled on any continent,
because no continent would be large enough to hold it. But, as the
Bible intimates, in the air. The law of gravitation unanchored, the
world moved out of its place. As now sometimes on earth a great tent
is spread for some great convention, so over that great audience of
the judgment shall be lifted the blue canopy of the sky, and
underneath it for floor the air made buoyant by the hand of Almighty
God. An architecture of atmospheric galleries strong enough to hold up
worlds. Surely the two arms of God's almightiness are two pillars
strong enough to hold up any auditorium.
But that audience is not to remain in session long. Most audiences on
earth after an hour or two adjourn. Sometimes in court-rooms an
audience will tarry four or five hours, but then it adjourns. So this
audience spoken of in the text will adjourn. My text says, "He will
separate them one from another as a shepherd divideth the sheep from
the goats."
"No," says my Universalist friend, "let them all stay together." But
the text says, "He shall separate them." "No," say the kings of this
world, "let men have their choice, and if they prefer monarchical
institutions, let them go together, and if they prefer republican
institutions, let them go together." "No," say the conventionalities
of this world, "let all those who moved in what are called high
circles go together, and all those who on earth moved in low circles
go together. The rich together, the poor together, the wise together,
the ignorant together." Ah! no. Do you not notice in that assembly the
king is without his scepter, and the soldier without his uniform, and
the bishop without his pontifical ring, and the millionaire without
his certificates of stock, and the convict without his chain, and the
beggar without his rags, and the illiterate without his bad
orthography, and all of us without any distinction of earthly
inequality? So I take it from that as well as from my text that the
mere accident of position in this world will do nothing toward
deciding the questions of that very great day.
"He will separate them as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the
goats." The sheep, the cleanliest of creatures, here made a symbol of
those who have all their sins washed away in the fountain of redeeming
mercy. The goat, one of the filthiest of creatures, here a type of
those who in the last judgment will be found never to have had any
divine ablution. Division according to character. Not only character
outside, but character inside. Character of heart, character of
choice, character of allegiance, character of affection, character
inside as well as character outside.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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