The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1886-09-16
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
A Heart-Reaching Discourse on
"The Vacant Chair"
A Subject That Embraces Every Home
The Chairs sMade Vacant by Absence
and Death-"Thou Shalt be Missed
Because Thy Seat VIII be Empty"


be empty,-I Samuel, Xxx, Is.
Set on the table the cutlery and chased
silverware of the palace, for King Saul
will give a state dinner to-day. A distin-
guished place is kept at the table for his
son-in-lew, celebrated warrior, David
by name. The guests, jeweled and
plumed, come in and take their places.
When people are invited to kings ban
quet they are very apt to go. But before
the covers are lifted from the feast Saul
looks around and finds a vacant seat at
the table. He says within himself, or per-
haps audibly:
"W hat does this mean? Where is my
son-in-law? Where is David, the great
warriorY l invited him. l expected him.
What? A vacant chair at a kings BAN
que,w
The fact was that David, the warrior,
had been seated for the last time at his
father-in-law's table. The day before
Jonathan had coaxed David to go and oc
cuDy that place at the table, saying to
David in the words of my text;
Thou shalt be MISSED because thy seat will
be empty.
The prediction was fulfilled. David was
missed. His seat was empty. That one
vacant chair spoke louder than all the oc-
cupied chairs at the banquet. In almost
every house the articles of furniture take
q living personality. That picturo-a
stranger would not see any tn ing remark
able either in its design or execution, but
it is more to you than all the pictures of
tha LON nd I Vptt,so
member who bought it and who admired
it. And tina hymn book-you remember
who sang out of it. And that cradle-you
remember who rocked it, And that Bible
you remember who read out Of it, And
that bed-you remember who slept in it.
And that room-you remember who died
in it. But. there is nothing in all your
house so eloquent and so mighty voiced
as the vacant chair. suppose that before
Saul and his guests got up from this ban
quet there was a great clatter of wine-
pitchers, but all that racket was drowned
out by the voice that came up from the
vacant chair at the table. Many have
gazed and wept at John Quincy Adams
vacant chair in the House of Representa-
Hves, and at Mr.. Wilson's vacant chair in
the Vice-Presidency, and at Henry Clay's
vacant chair in the American Senate,
and at Prince Albert's vacant chair in
Windsor Castle, and at Theris' vacant
chair in the councils of the French nation;
but all these chairs are unimportant to you
as compared with the vacant chairs in
your own household, Have these chairs
any lessons for you to learn? Are we any
better men and women than when they
first addressed us?.
l. point out to you the fathers vacant
chair. Old men always like to sit in the
same place and in the same chair. They
somehow feel more at home, and some
times when you are in their place and
they come into the room you jump up
suddenly and say;
"HeFe, father; here's your chair,O
The probability is it is an arm chair, for
he is not so strong as he once was, and he
needs little upholding. His hair is lit
tie frosty, his gums a little depressed, for
in his early days there was not much dem
tistly. Perhaps a cane chair and old
fashioned apparel for, though you may
have suggested some improvements,
father does not want any of your nom
sense. Grandfather never had much adj
mration for new-fangled notions. l sat
1T the table Of one of my parishioners in a
former congregation; an aged man was at
the table and his son was presiding, and
the father somewhat abruptly addressed
che son, and said:
''My son, don't now try to show off be-
cause the minister is here"
Your father never liked any nav GUS
toms or manners; he preferred the old
way of doing things, and he never looked
30 happy as when with his eyes closed, he
sat in the arm chair in the corner. From
wrinkled brow to the tip of the slippers,
what plGcidityl The wave Of the past
years Of his life broke at the foot of that
chair, Perhaps, sometimes, he was a lit
tie impatient, and sometimes told the
same story twice; but over that old chair
how many blessed memories hoveri |
hope you did not crowd that old chair.
and that it did not get very much in the
way Sometimes the old mans chair gets
very much in the way, especially if he has
beon so unwise as to make over all his
property to his children with the under
standing that they are to take care of him,
have seen in such cases children crowd
the old mans chair to the door, and then
crowd it clear into the street, and then
crowd it into the poor-house, and keep on
crowding it until the old man fell out of il
into his grave.
But your fathers chair was sacred
place. The children used to climb up on
the rungs Of it for a good night kiss, and
the longer he staid the better you liked it.
But that chair has been vacant now for
some time. The furniture dealer would
not give you fifty cents for it, but it is
throne Of influence in your domestic cir
Gle.
saw in the French palace and in
the throne room the chair that
Napoleon used to occupy. 1t was beau
tiful chair, but the most significant part of
Il was the letter IN" embroidered into
the back Of the chair in purple and gold.
And your fathers old chair sits in the
throne room of your heart, and your af-
fections have embroidered into the back
Of that chair in purple and gold the letter
"F." Have all the prayers of that old
chair been answered. Have all the coun-
sells Of that old chair been answered.
Speak out, old armchair History tells
us Of an old man whose three sons were
victors in the Olympic games, and when
they came back, these three sons, with
their garlands, and put them on their
fathers brow, the old man was so rejoiced
at the victories Of his three children that
he fell dead In their arms. And are you,
n MAN Uoino IN hrino n xvraath of low aud
Christian usefulness and put 1t on your
fathers brow, or on the vacant chair, or
on the memory Of the one departedi
Speak out, old arm-chairl With refer
ence to your father, the words Of my text
have been fulfilled:
Thon ahnlt ha rniaaad hannnna thu annA