The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-01-13
Il. DE WITT TALMAGE.
Every Good Mans Duty at
Home.
Sermon Preached in Brooklyn Tabernacle
by Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, D. D., on
Sunday, January 2, 1888.

church. A quartet Of male voices will
render especial music and chants. The
congregational singing as formerly will
be led by a cOrnet precentOr. Mr.. Henry
Eyre Browne formerly of Plymouth
Church, Brooklyn, will be the Organist
from the 1st of May.
The subject of DR.. Talmage's sermon
was Home"
TEXT. Tim, v. A.: LET them learn
first to show pieJy at hOme."
In the summery months the tendency
is to the fields, to visitation, to foreign
travel and the watering places, and the
ocean streams are thrOnged. But at
this season of the year the tendency is
to gather in the domestic circles, and
much of our life for months must be
spent indoors. My text enjOins upon US
Christian behavior amid such surround
ings. How many are longing for grand
spheres in which to serve God. They ad-
mire Luther at the Diet of Worms, and
wish they had NOme such daring OppOr-
tunity in which to exhibit Christian
character. They admire Paul before
Felix, and they would like to have HOme
grand occasion like that in which to
preach righteousness, temperance, and
judgment to come. They admire the
heroic in Christian character, and are
only waiting for an opportunity in
which to display their Christian PROV
ess. Now the Apostle comes to such per-
sons in my text and says: 81 can show
you place where you can exhibit all
that is grand and beautiful and gl0ri-
Gus in the Christian character, and that
place is the domestic circle" Let them
learn first to show piety at hOme." In
deed, if man does not serve God on a
small scale, he never will serve Him on
large scale. nPeter is not willing to
help the cripple at the gate, he will not
be able to preach 5000 souls into the
kingdom on the day of PentecOst. If
Paul will not stop to instruct the keeper
Of the Philippian dungeon he will not
be able to make Felix tremble. Faith
iulness in small affairs is a prophecy of
faithfulness in large affairs. There is
one word in my text around which all
our thoughts this morning will TeVOlve:
Home. Ask ten different men for a def
milton of that word and they will give
You ten different definitions. To one
man the suggestion of that word means
love at the hearth, plenty at the table,
industry at the work. stand, intelligence
at the books, devotion at the altar. In
that house discOTd never sounds its war
whOOp, nor does deception trick with
her false face. HOmel 1t is a greeting
at the door. 1t is smile at the chair.
ping its hand with laughter. Life is a
tranquil lake. PillOwed on the ripples
sleep the shadows. To another man the
word "hOme" suggests want looking out
of the cheerless stove CRATE, knead1ng
hunger in an empty flour tray, the
damp air shiVering with curses. No
Bible on the shelf. Children-rObbers
and murdeTers in preparation. Obscene
songs their lullaby. Each face picture
of ruin with want in the background
and sin staring from the front. No
Sabbath wave rolls over the dOOT-siIl.
Physical death gnawing the body; spirit
uai death gnaWing the soul. Awful
placeP Vestibule Of the pit. Shadow of
Internal walls. Furnace for forging
everlasting chains. FaggOts for an un-
ending funeral pile. Home! Awful
wOrdl 1t is spelled with curses. 1t
weeps with ruin. 1t chOkes with woe.
1t sWeats with the death agony Of de-
spair, In the one case the word iS sig
nifcant of all that Is dark. l propose
this morning to speak to you Of home as
a test, of home as refuge, of home as a
political safeguard, of home as school,
of home as a type of heaven.
The home in the first place is the most
powerful test of ones character. A
mans disposition in public may be in
gay costume, while in private 1t is in
deshabille. The play actor does differ
emily on the platform from the way he
does behind the scenes Public life is
often very different thing from private
life. man will receive you in his par
lOr wilh so much gracefulness that he
seems to be the distillatiOn of smiles,
while in his heart there is a swamp of
nettle. Men will sometimes in business
life all day long be courteous and good
natuTed, damming back their Irritable
ty and their petulance and their discon-
tent, but at nightfall the dam breaks
and scOlding pours forth in floods and
freshets. The wind sometimes rises at
sunset and after summeTy days there
may be tempetuous nights. Anger does
not like to display itself among the men
who excite it, but sometimes in coward
ly manner comes home and drops itself
on the domestic circle. Private life is
often public life turned wrong side out
Tne lips that dropped with myrrh and
cassia, the disposition that seems to be
warm and bright as a sheaf of sun.
beams, may only be a magnificent show
window to a wicked stock of goods. The
harp that all day sang like an angel may
at night CRATE like a saw. Such per
SONS do not understand the precept Oi
my text. They do not show piety al
home. In the home we reveal our real
character. Reputation Is only the
shadow of character, and you know q
small house will sometimes cast a very
long shadow. Men do not like to ex
hibit their badness in public, for the
same reason they do not want men in
their stock company to sell at too low q
rate, for it will depreciate the value
There are men who do not exhibit theiI
bad temper in public for the simple rea
son that they do not want to be knocked
down. There are those who are philan.
thrOpists in public life who in home are
the Nero with respect to their slippers
and their gown. Audubon, the great
OrnithOlOgist, with gun and pencil went
all through the forests Of this country
for the purpose of bringing down and
sketching the birds Of the land; then
went home, put the valuable documents
in trunk, and after an absence found
that the rats nad completely deyouree
gun and pencil and again went through
the forests of the land, reproducing thai
which was destroyed; while there are
many in private life at the loss of 8