Milford chronicle., 1885-04-03
TIE SUNDAY FIRESIDE.
THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS FOR A
DAY OF REST.
Talmage Returns Home, and IL joyful
Tie Enigma of Life-T0O Poor 60 90 10
Church-In Nature, Rte, Etc.
DIR. rA1MAaE on JOYFUL RETURNS.

Ialmage Dack 10 the brooklyn IaDer-
nacle after his two weeks absence.
After the usual Introductory services,
the Doctor chose for his text the words
from st. Luke xv., %, 'Bring hither
the fatted calf"
1t had been the custom, said DR..
Talmage, in all ages and among all
peoples, to sigualize and celebrate joyful
events by banquets and festive demon
strations. In such channels and by such
means had the joyful heart of man
sought and found expression. The
fatted calf was killed; fruits and flowers
and choicest wines were brought into
requisition; and music brought the as
sembled company into sweet and har-
monious unity of feeling.
DIR. Talmage then went on to char
acterize the Joy on such occasions and
10 give it its spiritual application.
There was the joy of the restored one.
But great as was the JOY of tine returned
prodigal, it but feebly and imperfectly
illustrated the Joy of the convert who
found himself in his Fathers house
again, and at his Fathers table, restored
to his fathers love and among his
Fathers friends.
There was the Fathers Joy. As was
the Joy of the father of the returned
prodigal, sowas the Joy over every saved
soul. God was no sultan, no tyrant, no
despot. On the contrary, all that was
to be found in the earthly father was
centered in God and in infinite perfec-
ton.
There was the joy of the family and
friends. Angels took an interest in this
great work of redemption. 1t was their
business to do so. Saints in glory took
an interest in it. They could not help
doing so.
There was the joy of those who found
the wanderer and brought him back. 1t
was admitted, said DR.. Talmage, that
ministers were long lived, longer lived
as rule than the men of any other Oc-
cupation or profession. Why were they
long lived 1t was not because their
work was light and easy. They were the
hardest worked of men. 1t was not be-
cause their work was free from care and
anxiety. What anxiety could be COM
pared to that of him who cared for
human souls ? 1t was not because their
lives wece made comfortable by good
salaries. Far from that--some of them
were most wretchedly paid. Five hun
dred dollars a year could not give q man
peace of mind; and $500 year had been
and still was no uncommon stipend. 1t
was a shame that it should be so. Why
was it that clergymen were, as a rule, so
long lived? 1t was because of the Joy
they had in their proper work. When
he him self a few Sundays ago looked
forth on the great congregation and saw
filing the aisles in trout OF him the nBm-
Der Of con7e-- who were about to join
their ranks felt like st. Paul on a
mem ~ - ~. hndv -
could not tell. Out of the body9 I
could not tell"
THE ENIGMA OF LIFE.
The Rev. DIR. Edward B. Coe: We see
many things both in nature and history,
which though inexplicable at the time
of their occurrence, in the light of after
ages become plain. The same is true in
Individual lives. A man grows up in OBJ
security with no special gifts Of mind or
body and so far as he can sec utterly
unfit for anything. He may never sus-
pect for what God is training him. But
a Crisis may arise; strong arm is needed
to stand up for a principle, to champion
or lead a great reform. And he feels
that he is the man as plainly as if voice
out of Heaven called him. Then he sees
for what he was being fitted. There
may come upon us a sudden failure of
all our plans, when it seems as if the
sky grew dark at MONDAY, as if we had
passed the porch of Dante with the in
scription over it, can hope abandon ye
who enter here; that God must have
left us or have become Indifferent to us,
and we cry, "Carest Thou not that we
perish ?" There are few men and women
among us who have not felt this, and is,
and then in after days as we look back
we can see that it was a Divine interpO-
3ition we thought was too much for us
10 bear at the time. but we. .afterward find
hat it was Gods plan for our good.
What we did not know we came to know
n later days. This is the law of Gods
lealing with us. We only gain the ex-
PLANTATION afterward. The inference to
be drawn is that we are to expect it to be
10. Everything that He has for us He
must plan and we must believe that the
that we have is a kindly and
owing treatment, because the purpose is
/ kindly and a loving purpose. For the
present there must be a mystery about
3od's dealing with us, because our sight
s limited, but He knows the future. We
re shut up to faith. 1t is token of His
Iindness that he thus deals with us, be-
,ause we do not live for the present
llone; our vision is not for this world
,nly. It illustrates the dignity Of our
nature that we have in common with
5od and the angels.
THEY WE'RE TOO POOR.
The Rev. ". S. Rainsford. discussing
The Battle Cry of Outcast New York,
,efore the Congregational Club, pre-
ented a few undeniable and unsavory |
acts with regard to the cause of immor-
.lity and criminality in New York city,
specially among the working girls.
Among these reasons was the seeming !
lnwelcome of the churches to the poor.
The motto of ancient theology" he
aid, "was Come ye all that are weary
nd heavy laden and I will give you
est : but modern theology says Come
-e that are weary and heavy laden and
.ble to pay pew-rents. He main
aimed that when church sittings are
made free, when the poor are made to
eel that in the church all are welcome
md stand upon a common level, then
would the Gospel be spread among the
owly and the immoral, and the criminal
would be lifted up to a better life.
IN NATURE.
Let every man learn that everything
n nature, even notes and feathers, go
" law and not by luck, and that what
le soWs he reaps. By diligence and
let him put the bread he
,ats at his own disposal that he may not
.tand in bitter and false relations to
,ther men for the best good of wealth
S freedom. Let him practice the minor
7irtues. How much of human life is
ost in waiting? let him not make his
wait. How many words
md promises are promises of conver-
lion let his be words of fate. r. w.
EMERSON.
HoRsEsHoEs are now made in two
parts. One remains stationary upon
he hOrsaa' hoofe. while the other Is