Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-10-03
THE NATIONS PRAYERS
FOX PRESIDENT GARFIELD WERE NOT
A FAILURE.
Answers That Were Better Than We Asked
President GarfsId's Relief From
Suffering and Responsibility -
Death to Mormonism-A
Sanctifsd Nation.
SERMON BY REV. 7. DsWtTT TAtMAGe
New YORK, October 2, 1881.


Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage preached
this morning at the Brooklyn Taberna-
Gle. His sermsn was upon the subject
OF the prayers which had been offered
for President Garfield, and he declared
that they had all been answered OF
would be answered in ways better than
we know.
Subject w ere the Nations Prayers for
the La;e President Fsilurep
TEXT: II Corinthians XII, s-"1 besought the
Lord thrice that il might depart from me, and
He said unto me, MY grace is sufficient for
lhee.'"
Something was the matter with Paul
in the text. He spoke OF something
that tried or mortified him or hurt him
under the figure of "thorn in the
flesh" Some say it was crooked back
some say it was suffering tongue; but
more, among them the learned kit'o
and DR.. John Brown, the Scotch essayist,
think that it was diseased eyes amount
ing to almost total blindness. They think
this because he almost always employed
amanuenses, in one case mentioning 1t
as a rare occurrence that he had written
$50 long letter with my own hands;
and because he was almost always &C
companied from place to place by at
tendants, and also because he seems TO-
refer to the trouble with his eyes when
in describing the enthusiastic love OF
the Galatians towards him he said, aye
would have
"Plucked Out Your Own Eyes and Have
Given Them to Ne"
In other words, ~ think you would
have been willing to trade your good
eyes for my poor eyes" But, whatever
might have been the trouble, he prayed
God to cure it, and he prayed again and
again. He no doubt had prayed hun
dreds of times, but there were three
times in which he agonized in prayer.
Did God answer these three prayers?
Yes, but in better way than Paul ex-
pected; not by curing eyes or straight
ening the back or curing the stammer.
ing OF the tongue, but by giving him
grace to make the trouble glorious adj
vantage instead Of an irritating detri-
ment. Better than to cure his eyes, he
made him the greatest apostle OF the
ages. 81 besought the Lord thrice that
it might depart from me, and He said
unto me, MY grace is sufficient for
thee.
So then, so now. In the 5000 years
OF the worlds existence there have not
been hundred right-hearted prayers
unanswered, nor ten prayers, nor tlve
nor has there been one. II in all these
wears there had been Just one right
hearted prayer unanswered it would
have impeached the character OF God
and have dethroned the Almighty. II
God does not give you just what is asked
for, He gives something better. For
eleven weeks all Christendom was pray
ing for President Gar6eld's recovery.
All the Sabbaths were full of supplica-
ton. Days of fasting were proclaimed.
Never 80 much prayer for one object in
any eleven weeks since the world was
by the wings Of the Almighty brooded
out OF chaos. Yet the body OF our late
President is in Lake View cemetery,
Ohio. Your prayers are a dead fail
ure," said many sceptics. "a dead fail
ure," thought many more. "You might
as we'll have spared your breath. The
laws OF nature triumph. Do not here
after mix theology and medicine"
l shall show you that all the right
hearted prayers on this subject are di.
vided into two classes-those which
have been answered, and those which
will be answered. There were two
thoughts in every right. hearted prayer
on this subiect-the invalid's best In
terest and the nations best interest
The autopsy shows that if the illustrious
invalid had been continued in life he
would have been
A Paralytic Unable to Walk
and unable to attend to the work OF his
high office. But suppose that miracle
had been performed aud he had walked
forth entirely restored could he ever
fulfill the unbounded expectations
awakened in regard to him? Yet if he
had been an angel from God and with
the power Of hundred Gar6elds, could
he in an administration where thousand
questions come up have pleased every
body? No. In all questions as between
the two political parties how could he
have satisfied both, although both have
been equally attentive and equally
eulogistic during his sickness. He must
have eventually offended one or the
other, and the one he offended in con.
sequence OF what it had done for him
during this sickness would have de,
nounced him as an migrate with a We
hemence never seen In American poll.
tics. Suppose question should come
up between monopoly and anti.monop.
DIV, how could President Garfield have
acted without iilimitabie affront? The
leading anti-monopolists had been show
ing their warm interest in him through
all these weeks while among the mon
opolists was the Pennsylvania railroad
that gave him free rail train to Lons
Branch and built ali extra track where
it was needed while the leading
monopolists OF New York and OF the
country had subscribed from one to five
thousand dollars each for Mrs. Garfield
and if you think Mro. Garfield did no
tell him all about it in his better mo
ments, you have never been married
On all that subject of monopoly in wha'
a plight he would have been once re
stored to health. Suppose during the
next three and half years questions o.
international right should arise between
England and America, a. ever and amor
questions do arise, how could the re
stored President have acted, remember
ing that the Queen and all the roya
Court, from the first day OF his wound
ing had bent over his suffering couch
The unparalleled kindness and sympa
thy during his sickness wouft have
heaped around his administration EN-
bsrrassments mountains high. Beside
that, all the people having brought hin
under obligation, the multitude OF thos'
who want favors would have multiplied
a thousand-fold, and line OF new no
tells, reaching all around the city o
Washington, would not have
Accommodated the ohRes Seekers
But the second half of your prolonged
prayer was for the best interest OF th'
nation. Has this last half OF you
prayer been answered? I suppose, II
the first place, that no affiiction tha
ever came upon this country has beer
a. ,ano,;6aI Uha, pootb shot in