The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-09-08
miscellaneous.
Rev. T. DEWITT TALMAGE.
Holy VIOLENCE.


The plainest people in our day had lux
uries which the kings and queens OF oil
den time never imagined, l walked up
and down the stairs Of Holyrood Palace
"A palace that was considered one of the
wonders of the Woodland / said: Can
it be possible this is all there was Of this
Wonder2" There are fruits in Westches-
ter county and on Long leland farms far
better than the pomegranates and april
cots Of Bible times. Nevertheless, thro'
all the ages there have been scenes of
festiyity, and the wealthy man Of my
text plans great entertainment and in
yites his friends. If one builds beauti'
ful home, he wants his aCquaintancej to
come and er Joy it; if one buys an exqui'
site picture, he wants his friends to come
and appreciate it; and it was laudable
thing when the wealthy man Of my text,
happy himself, wanted to make other
people happy. And 80 the party invita-
tions went out; but something " ent very
much wrong. You can imagine the en-
barrassment of any one who has rrovi-
ded a grand feast, WREN he finds out that
the guests invited do not propose to come
There is nothing 80 provokes queter
as that. Well, these people invited to
this grean barquet made the most fr!vo.
lous excuses. The fact was, l suppose
some of them were offended that this
man had succeeded 30 much better in
the world than they had. There are peo-
pie in all occupations and professions
who consider it wrong to them that
anybody else is advanced. l suppose
there invited people said among them
selves: "We are not going to min sfer to
that mans vanity; he is proud enough
now; we won't 60; besides Il at, we could
all give parties If we made our money
the way that man makes his" And
when the messengers went out with the
party invitations there was unanimous
refusal. One man said: "0h, have bot
farm, and must needs 60 and see itl'
He was a land speculator, and had no
business to buy land until he knew about
it, Frivolous excuse, Another man
said; II bought five yoke of oxen." The
probability is he was dealer in live
stock. He ought to have known about
the oxen before he bought them. Be.
side that, ifhe had teen very anxious
to ge to the feast, he could have HOOK
ed them up and driven them on the road
there. Frivolous excuse, Another man
said: "Oh, have married wife ard l
can't Gomez when, il he said to his wife,
~ have au invitation to splendid din
ner; it is highly plimentary to me;
should very much like to go; would you
20 along with me2" she would have said
HMost gladly will l CO." Frivolous ex-
Cuse. The fact was they did not want to
go. Now" said the great man of the
feast, II will not be defeated in this mat.
ter; have with an honest purpose pro.
Vided a banquet, and there are scores of
people who would like to come if they
were Only invited Here, my man, here
you go out, and when you fpd blind
man, give him your arm and bring him
in; and when you find lame man, give
him crutCh and bring him in; and when
you find pOol man, tell him there is a
plate for him in my mansion; and when
you find any one who is 30 r gged and
wretched that he hes never been invited
anywhere, tn y, by the kindess tender
ners and most loving invitation any one
ever had, compel him to come in" Obi
my friends it requires no aGuteness on
my part or on your part to zee in all this
affair, that religion is a barqret. .
do not want to hear anybody talk
about religion as though it were funer.
al. / do not want any body to whine in
the prayer.meeting about he kingdom
Of God. l do not want anybody to roll
up his eyes, giving me in that way the
evidence of his sanCity. l am yet to find
one of these cantiDg, lugubrious, and
sanCtimonious professors of religion that
could trust v ith ten cent piece! The
men and women Of God whom happen
to know, for the mott part, find religion
a great Joy. It is exhilaration to the
body; it is invigoration to the mind; it is
rapture to the soul; it is balm for all
wounds; it is light for all darkness; it is
harbor from all storms, and though God
knows some Of them have trouble enough
now, they rejoice because they know
they are on the way to congratulations
eternal. l stopped one nightfall, years
ago, at Freyburg, Switzerland, to hear
the organ of world wide celebrity in that
place. l went into the cathedral at nig,,t.
fall; all the accessories we're favor BILE;
there was only one light in all the Cathe-
dral, and that faint taper on the altar.
l looked up into the venerable arches,
and saw the shadows of centuries, and
when the organ awoke, the cathedral
aWoke, and all the arches seemed to lift
and quiver as the music came under
them. That instrument did not seem to
be made ont of wood and metal, but out
Of human hearts, 30 wonderfully did it
pulsate with every emotion; now laugh
ing like child, now sobbing like TEN.
pest. At one moment the music would
die away until you could hear the cricket
Chirp outside the wall and then it would
roll up until it seemed as if the surge of
the sea and the crash of an avalanche
had struck the organ pipes at the same
moment. At one time that nignt it seem.
cd as if a squadron Of spirits weeping up
from earth had met Fquadron Of de
sCending angels, whose glory beat back
the woe. Isaid to myself, "That organ
pipe is the point at which the harmon.
les Of earth meet the hallelujahs of
heaven" AS II stood there ard and look.
ed at the dim taper on the altar of the
cathedral, I said, "How much Ike many
Christian lifsl Shadows hover, some.
times his hope is dim, and faint and
Pickering, like taper on the altar. But
atwhat time God wills, the heavens break
forth with music upon his soul, and the
air becomes resonant as the angels of
God beat 1t with their shining sceptres
OF The Lord God has many fair and beau.
tiful daughters; but the fairest Of them
all is her whose ways are pleasantness
and whose paths are peace. Now, my