The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-03-24
DR.. TALkAGB'S SERMON.
rHE DOMESTIC CIRCLE.

e~S
sermon in full:
There are great many people longing for
some grand sphere in which to serve God.
They admire Luther at the Diet of Worms
and only wish that they had some
such great opportunity in which to display
their Christian prowess. They admire Eaul
making Felix tremble and they only wish
that they had some such grand occasion In
which to preach Righteousness, temperance
and Judgment to come. All they want Is an
opportunity to exhibit their Christian hero
ism. Now the Christ comes to us and he
practically says:sI will show you a place where
YOU can exhibit all that is grand and beautl-
full and glorious in Christian character, and
that is the domestic circle"
If one is not faithful in an Insignificant
sphere he will not be faithful in a resounding
sphere. If Peter will not help the cripple at
the gate Of the temple he will never be able to
preach three thousand souls into the kingdom
at Pentacost: If Paul will not take pains to
of the Philippian dungeon, he will never
make Felix tremble He who is not faithful
in skirmish would not be faithful in an
armageddou. The fact is we are
all placed in just the position in which we
can most grandly serve God: and we ought
MOTTO be chiefly thoug ghtful about some sphere
of usefulness which we may after a while
gain, but the all-absorbing question with you
and with me ought to be: Lord, what Wilt
thou have me now and here to do!"
There is one word in my text around which
the most of our thought will this morning re-
volve. That word is home" Ask ten diff
ferent men the meaning of that word and
they will give you ten different definitions.
To one it means love at the hearth, it means
plenty at the table, industry at the work
stand, intelligence at the books, devotion at
the altar. To him it means greeting at the
door and smile at the chair. Peace hover
ing like wings. Joy clapping its hands with
laughter. Life tranquil lake. Pillowed on
the ripples sleep the shadows.
Ask another man what home is and
he will tell you it is want looking
out of a cherries fregrate, kneading
hunger in an empty bread tray, the damp air
shiveripg with curses, no Bible on the shelf,
children, robbers and murderers IN embryo,
obscene songs, their lullaby, every face Pic
ture of ruin, want in the background and sin
staring from the front. No Sabbath wave
rolling over that doorsill, vestibule of the
pit, shadow of Internal walls, furnace for
forging everlasting chains, faggots for an
unending funeral pile. Awful word! It is
spelled with curses, it weeps with ruin, it
chokes with woe, it sweats with the death
agony of despair.
The word 'shome" in the one case means
everything bright. The word home" in the
other case means everything terrific.
shall speak to you this morning Of home
as test of character, home as refuge,
home as a political safeguard, home as a
school, and home as type of heaven.
And in the first place I remark that home
is a powerful test of character. The disposi-
tion in public may be in gay costume, while
in private it is in dishabille. As play
actors may appear in one way on the stage
and may appear in another behind the scenes,
so private character may be very different
from public character. Private character is
often public character turned wrong side out.
A man may receive you into his parlor as
though he were distillation of smiles, and
yet his heart may be swamp of nettles.
There are business men who all day long are
mild and courteous and genial and good-na-
tured in commercial life, ,damrning back their
irritability and their petulance and their dis
content, but at nightiall the dam breaks and
scolding pours forth in floods and freshets.
Reputation is the only shadow Of character,
and very small house sometimes will cast a
very long shadow. The lips may seem to drop
with myIrh and cassia, and the disposition to
be as bright and warm as sheaf of sunbeams,
and yet they may only be magnificent show
window to awretched stock of goods There
is many man who is affable in public life
and amid commercial spheres who, in cow
ardly way, takes his anger and his petulance
home and drops them on the domestic cir
Gle.
The reason men do not display their bad
temper in public is because they do not want
to be knocked down. There are men who
hide their petulance and their irritability
Just for the same reason that they do not let
their notes go to protest; it does not paw; or
for the same reason they do not want man
~, 1oS,~ ~cfn IL IN call n OF
less than tho right price lest it depreciate the
value AS at sometimes the mind rises, so
after a sunshiny day there may be a
tempestuous night There are people who in
public act the philanthrophiSt, who at home
act the Nero, with respect to their slippers and
their gown.
Audubon, the great ornithologist, with
gun and pencil, went through the forests of
America to bring down and to
sketch the beautiful, birds, and at
ter years of toll and expense
trunk in Philadelphia and went off for few
days of recreation and rest, and came back
and found that the rats had utterly destroyed
the manuscript, but without any discompos-
ure and without any fret or bad temper, he
again picked up his gun and pencil and Wis
tied again all the great forests Of America
and reproduced his immortal work. And
yet there are people with the ten-thousandtb
part of that loss who are utterly irreconcila-
ble who, at the loss Of pencil or an article
of raiment will blow as long and loud and
sharp q northeast storm.
Now, that man who is affable in public and
who is irritable in private is making a
fraudulent overissue Of stock and he is as bad
as bank that might have four or five hun
dred thousand dollars of bills in circulation
with no specie in the vauh. Let us learn to
show piety at home. If we have it not
there we have it not anywhere.
If we have it not there, we have it not any
where. If we have not genuine grace in the
family circle all our outward and public
plausibility merely springs from fear of the
own selfshness. I tell you the home IS a
mighty test Of character. What you are at
home you are everywhere, whether you. de-
morstrate it or not
Again remark that home is a refuge. Life
is the United States army on the national
roaC to Mexico, q long march with ever and
anoe skirnish and battle. At eventide
we pitched our tent and stack the arms; we
hang up the war cap and, our head on the
knaosack, we sleep until the morning bugle
call, us to marching and action. How pleas
prises and the attacks Of the day, seated by
the still camp fire of the home circle.
Yea, life is stormy sea- With shivered
masts, torn sails and hulk aleak we put in ut the
harbsr of home! Blessed harbor! There we go
for repairs in the dry dock Of quiet life. The
candl in the window is to tn toiling man
the lighthouse guiding him INTO port. Chill
dren 70 forth to meet their fathers as pilots
at the ''narrows' take the hand of ships. The
door sill Of the home is the wharf where
heavylife is unladen.
There is the place where we may talk Of
what We have done without being charged
with s.lf-adulation. There is the place where
we msy lounge without being thought un-
graceill. There is the place where we may