National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-03-08

Tue SUBJECT DelDB 'Jne DOmeSJlc SNClc''
Before the sermon he read the names Of
seventy new members, making the present
number Of communicates about $500. The
hymn sung was:
"oh, could speak the matchless WORTH
Oh, could sound the glories i9rth
That in my Saviour shinoW
Appropriate passages of scripture were
read and expounded by DR.. Talmage, after
which he took his text from Mark v, 10:
"Go home to thy friends and tell them how
great things the Lord hath done for thee"
Following is the sermon in full:
There are a 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
great opportunity in which TO display their
Christian proves. They admire Paul max
ing 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 only an
opportunity to exhibit their Christian her
oism. Now the apostle comes to us and
he practically says: ~ will show you q
place where you can exhibit all that Is
grand and beautiful and glorious in Chris
tan character, and that is the domestic cir
cle.n
II one is not faithful IN an insignificant
sphere he will not he faithful in resound-
ing 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 the Pentecost.
II Paul will not take pains to instruct in
the way Of salvation the iailer Of the Philip
plan dungeon, he will never make Felix
tremble. He who is not faithful In q sl<ir-
mish would not be faithful in an Arranged
don. The fact is, We are all placed in Just
the position in which we can most grandly
serve God; and We ought not to be chiefly
thoughtful about some sphere Of usefulness
which we may after 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 most Of our thoughts viii this morn
ing revolve. That word is "Home.n Ask
ten different men the meaning of that
word and they will give you ten different
definitions. To one 1t means love at the
hearth, II means plenty at the table, In
dustry at the workstand, intelligence at the
books, devotion at the altar. To him It
means greeting at the door and smile at
the chair. Peace lowering like wings. Joy
clapping its hands with laughter. Life a
a tranquil lake. Pillowed on the rlpples
sleep the shadows.
Ask another man what home Is, and he
will tell you 1t is want looking out OF a
cherries ilregrate, kneading hunger in an
empty bread tray, the damp air shiyering
with curses. No Bible on the shelf; chill
dren, robbers and murderers in embryo
obscene songs their lullaby; every face a
picture Of ruin; want In the background
and sin staring from the front. No Sab
bath wave rolling over that doorsill vesti-
bule of the pit; shadow Of internal walls;
furnace for forging everlasting chains; fag-
OTIS for an unending funeral pile. Awful
word II is enellp1 with nursnc. ~ wpnne
with ruin; IL chokes with woe; 1t sweats
with the death agony Of despair!
The word "hOmep in the one case means
everything bright; the word 'home" in the
other means everything terrific.
1 shall speak to you this morning OF
home as n test of character, home as a
refuge, home as political safeguard, home
as school, and home as type of heaven.
And in the first place remark that home
is powerful test of character. The dis
position In public may be In gay costume,
while in private 1t 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 he 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 distil-
lation of smiles, and yet his heart may be a
swamp of nettles. There are business men
who all day long are mild and courteous,
and genial and good natured in commercial
life, damming back their irrltability aud
their petulance and their discomfort, but at
nightfall the dam breaks and scolding
pours forth in floods and freshets.
Reputation is only the shadow Of charac.
ter, and very small house sometimes will
cast very long shadow. The lips may
seem to drop with myrrh and cassia, and
the disposition to be as bright and warm as
a sheaf OF sunbeams, and yet they may only
be magnificent show window to a
wretched stock of goods. There is many O
man who is affable in public life and amid
commercial spheres who, in cowardly
way, takes his anger and ispetulance home
and drops them on the domestic circle.
The reason men do not display their bad
temper in public is because they do moi
want to be knocked down. There are men
who hide their petulance and their irrita-
bility Just for the same reason that they dc
not let their notes go to protest-it does moi
pay. Or for the same reason that they dc
not want a man in their stock company tc
sell his stock at less than the right price
lest it depreciate the value. As at some
times the wind RISES so after a sun-shiney
day there may be O tempestuous night
philanthropist, who at home act the Nero
with respect to their slippers and theil
gown.
Audubon, the great ornithologist, Will
gun and pencil, went through the forests OF
America to bring down and to sketch the
beautiful birds, and after years Of toll ant
exposure completed his manuscript, anC
put 1t in trunk in Philadelphia for few
days Of recreation and rest, and came bacl
and found that the rats had utterly de
stroyed the manuscript; but without any
discomposure and without any fret or bat
temper, he again picked up his gun ant
pencil, and visited again all the great forests
.NfA al INN .tn
work. And yet there are people with the
ten thousandth part OF that loss who arr
utterly unreconcilable, who, at the loss o.
pencil or an article of raiment, will blow
as long and sharp as northeast storm.
Now, that the man who is affable In pub
lie and who is irritable in private, is making
fraudulent oyerissue of stock, and he is a
bad as bank that might have four or flvt
hundred thousand dollars Of bills In circu
lation with no specie in the vault. Let III
learn to show piety at home. II We have 1
not there, we havei II not anywhere. II w
have not genuine grace In the family circle
all our outward and public plauslbllit.
merely springs from fear Of the world o
from the Shiny, putrid pool Of our own sci
fshness. tell you the home is q might,
test of character. What you are at hom
you are everywhere, whether you demon
strate 1t or not.
Again, l remark that home is refuge
Life is the United States army on the ma
tional road TO Mexico, long march will
ever and anon skirmish aud battle. A
eventide we pitch our tent and stack tn
arms; we hang up the war cap and lay on
head on the knapsack; we sleep until tn
morning bugle calls us to marching and &C
tion. How pleasant 1t is to rehearse tn
victories and the surprises and the attack
of the day, seated by the still camp fire o
the home circlel
Yea, life Is a stormy sea- With shlveret
masts and torn sails and hulk aleak, we pu
In at the harbor OF home. Blessed harbor
tua fnr Ice, ID, A, .