The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-09-23
mr.. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
TIE EMPTY PLACE.

silyecware Of the palace, for King saul viii
give State dinner to-day, a di linguistic
place II kept at the table or his son-in-iaw, II
celebrat d warrior, David b. name Tue
guests, lewelel AID llumed come in and
take their p aces VIII N eiple are invited
TO King ban luet they arr Very a / to go,
But before the covers are liitel from tho
feast saul loo IS around and bnds varant
seat at the table. He says within himself, ur
perhaps audibly: what Goes this mean
Where Is my son-inlaw Where is u, id,
the graf warlir, l invite him. l ex-
pectel him. What A vacant chair at
King banquet u
The fact was that David the warrior had
been seated Tor the list time at his father in.
laws table, The day before jonathan hal
coaSed David to go and occupy that place at
the table, saving to David in the words Of
my text: Thou shalt b. missed, because
thy seat will tie empty
he predi ton was fulfilled, David was
missed, His seat was empty. That one va
cant chair 81 Ike louder than all the occupi d
chairs at thu banquet In al lost every
house the articles OF furniture take a living
personality, hat pi ture-a stranger would
not see anything rema kable either in its de-
sign or OK cut,on, but IL is more + you than
all the pictures o. the Louvre and tho Lux
embourg, on rem ember who bought it and
who admired it. Ard that hymn-bool-you
remember who sang out OF IL. And that
crade-you remsnlber who rocked it. Aud
that Bible-you remember who lcal out OF
it, And that bed-you rene nber " no slept
in it. And that rooal--you remember who
died in it. But there is nothing in al your
house so eloquent ami 50 mighty-voi cd as
the vacant chair. l suppose that uefol Saul
and his guests got up IRON this banquet there
was a gre clattar of wiuo-pit ,her,, bu6 all
that ia ;ket was drowned out by the vol Q
that came up, from the vacant chair at the
table. Many have gazed and wept at John
Quincy Ada us va aut char in the House Of
Representatives, aid at Mr. Wilson vacant
chair in the Nice-Presidency, an at Henry
Clay's vacant chair in the American Senate,
and at Prince Alb rts acant hair in Wind
str aStle and at TLiers vacant chair in the
councils OF the Freni nation: bat all these
chairs are unimpor ant to you as compared
with tho vacant chars in your own house,
hold. Have these chairs any lesson for you
to learnt Are We any ettsr men and women
than when they first addressed U.S.
!. FIRST: point out to you the fathers
va ant chair. Old men always like to sit in
the same place and in the same chair They
somehow feel more at home, and sometimes
when You are in their place AMI they come
into the room, you Jump up sud- My and
say: Here, fathec, here's your chair" The
probability Is it is an ar,l-chair, for he is
not so strong as ne once was, and he needs
little unfolding. His hair is a little frosty,
his gums little depressed, for in his early
days there was not much dentistry. Perhaps
cane chair aud olJi-fashioned apparel, for
though you may have suggested some i'm.
provement, father d es not ant any of your
nonsens'. GRANDPA her never had much ad
miration for new-fang,ol mott us. sat at
the table of one of my parishioners in q
former congregation; an aged man was at
the table and h S son was PIE iding, and the
tathor somewhat abruptly addressed the
son and said: MY son, don't now try to
show off be .ause the minister is herel" Your
father never liked any new customs or man
ners; he p eterred tho Z, Id way of doing
things, and he neve" looked s happy as when
VITA his eyes closed lie sat in the arm hair in
tire corner. From wrinkled brow to the tip
OF the slippers, what plarid'ty! The wave
of the past years OF his life broke al the foot
Ct that char. PERHAPS, so netilnss, be was a
little im0atient, and sometimes told the same
story twi 9; but over that old chair how
many blessed memories h1ver h ,pe you
did not crowd that old chair, and that it did
not get very much in the way. Sometin es
the old mans chair gets very much n the
wav, especially if he has been so unwise as TO
make over all his property 10 his children
with the under -tandin that they are to take
ca g of him. have seen in such cases chill lren
crowd the old mans chair to the door, and
then crowd it clear into the street, and then
crowd it into the poorhouse, and keep on
crowding it until tie Old man fell out of it
into his grave.
But your fathers chair was q sacred place.
The children used to Climb up on the rungs
OF it for goodnight kiss. Tho longer he
sta ed the better YOU li';el it. But that chair
has been vacant now for some the. The
| furniture dea er would not give you fifty
cents for it, but it is throne of inuuenoe in
| yCur domest tie circle. | saw in the breach
palace aud in the throne room the chair that
Ma oieon used 10 cupy 1t was Reauti.
ful chair, VI the most significant part of il
was the letter M embroidered into the
ba X of the chair in purp.e and gold. And
your fathers oil chair sits in the throne
room of your heart, and your q lie tiuns have
embroiderei into the ak Of that chair in
purple and gold the letter "F." Have all
/ thu prayers of that old chair been answered!
have all the counsels OF that old chair teen
| practiced! Speak out, old armchair! HIS
tory tells us of an old msn whose three sons
+ were victors in the Olympic games, and wher
| they came ack, these three SOS, with theiI
| garlands, and put them on their fathers
brow, the old man was SO e DICED at the vic
tories of his three chi dren that he fell d q
in their arms. And are you, O man, going
to bring wreath of icy and Christian use
fulnesS and put it on t, your fathers br wv.
or on tie vacant chair, or on the memory o.
tho one departed, Speak out, old arm chair
they wantel you to, and would give the
world if you had never thrust q pang
through their dear old hearts God pity the
young man who has brought disgrace on his
1ather's nanei God pity the young man
who has broken his mothers heart! Better
if he had never been born: better if in the
first hour of his life, instead of being laid
against the warm bosom of maternal tender
ness, he had been Co.fined aud sepulchred
! There Is no balm powerful enough to hea
the heart of one who has brought parents tc
. sorrowful grave. and who wanders about
through the d small cemetery, rending tht
hair AM wiring ng the hands and crying
"Motherl Mother" Oh, that to-day by al
the memories OF the past and by all the hope.
of the future, you would yield your heart t
God May Your fathers God and YOU
'nother's God be yo IL God forc.-i
gone from the house, and gone from the field
and gone from the nei9hborhood. Cry n
loud for forgiveness as you may over tn
mound in the chur thyard, they- will no
an wer. Dea |! Dead! And thel you viii
was cut from your mothers brow ju
before they buried her, and you will
take the cane with viii h your fathe
used to walk, and you will think ant
think and wish that you had done Just a!
word home to my parents that hal game,
the victory" And the prouie and IN S
brilliant moment il your life will be the mo
that you have con |uered your evil habits h,
the grace of God, and bic me eterna victor
Oh, despise not parental an lietyl The tim
will come when you Will ha neither fathe
nor mother, and you will so arouni the place
where they used to watch you,and Fl I'd then
Another victory for the va ant chair. Witt
reference to YOUR mother the WORKS of m,
ext were fulfilled Thou shalt be missed
tecause thy seat will be empty
Some one said to a Gre ian General
"What was the proude t moment in you
lfe." He thought a moment and said: "Th
proudest moment in my life was when l sen
great while" Icannot help that; it is al
the mightier for that; it is onnipotent, tina
vacant mothers chair 1t whispers; i
speaks; it weeps; it carols; it mourns: i
prays; it warns; it thunderS Young ma,
went of and broke his mothers heart, ant
while he was away from home his mothe
died, and the telegraph brought the son, an,
he came into the room where she lay ant
looked upon her face, and he cried out: "Oh
mother, motherl what your life could not d.
your death shall effect. This mon eut Civ
my heart to God" And he kept bis promise
And when you went into the house of sin
voice saying: What would your mother
Ii she knew you we're here"
And you were provoked with yourself, an