The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1886-09-16

Rev. T. Dewitt Talmsge preached bis
irst ermon on his return from bis sum-
ner jaunt, in the Brooklyn Tabernacle
from the following text:
Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will
oe empty samuel, III, Is
Set on the table the cutlery and chased
Ulverware Of the palace, for King Saul
Ni.l give state dinner to-day. a distia-
pushed place is kept at the table for his
Iou-in-law, a celebrated warrior, David
0y name. The guests, jeweled AMI
blumed, come in and take their places.
When people are invited to a kings ban
3uet they are very apt to go. But before
the covers are lifted from the feast Saul
looks around and finds vacant seat a
the table. He says within himself, or per-
aaps audibly:
"What does this mean Where IS my
yon-in-law: Where is David. the great
warrior: invited him. / expected him.
What; A vacant chair at a kings ban
,uet!"
The fact was that David. the warrior,
hai been seated for tie last time at his
ta'her-in-law's table. The day before
Jonathan had coaxed Davil to 80 and oe-
-upy that place at the table, saying 10
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 loa Ter than ali the &C.
cupiei chairs at the banquet. In almost
every house the articles OF furniture take
'T-furr a Thai Mo
stranger would not see any ID 3ng remark
allie either in its design n execution, but
il is more to you than al the pictures of
the Louvre AMI the Luxembourg. You re-
member who bought it AMI who admired
it And that hymn bo5k-vou remember
who sang out Of il. And that cradle-vou
remember who rocked it. AMI that Bible
you remember who read out Of il. AMI
that bed-yOu an -mher who slept in l..
And thai room-you remember who del
in il. But there is nothing in all yo8G
house so eloquent and 20 miLhty-voicz@
as the vacant chair. Isuppos- that before
Saul and mis- guests got up from this ban
quat there was q great clatte- Of wiue-
pitchers. but all that racket was drowned
out by the voice that came Up from tn
vacant chair at the table. Many have
gazad and wept at J i'm Quincy Adams
vacant chair in the House OF r =prssenta-
tives, and at Mr.. Wilson'S vacant chair in
the Vice Presidency, an a: Henry Clay's
vacant chair in the American Senate,
and at Prince Albert's vacant chair H.
Windsor Castle, and az Theirs vacant
chair in the councils Of the French nation:
but all these chairs are unimp9rtant 10 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 u.s..
l. point out 10 you the fathers vacant
chair. Old men always like to sit n the
same place AMI in the same chair. They
somehow feel more at home. and some
times when you are in their place ana
they come into the room you jump up
suddenly and say:
"Here. father: here's vour chair"
The probability is It is an arm chair, for
he is not so strong as he on e was and lie
needs little upholdin-. His hair is lit
tie frosty. his gums a little depressed, for
in his early days there was not much den
tistry. Perhaps a cane chair ana 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
miration for new-fangIed notions. l sat
at the table of one Of my Pensioners in
former congregation; an aged man was at
the table and his son was presiding, and
the father somew hat abruptly addressed
the son, and said:
MY son, don't now try TO show off be-
cause the minister is hereD
Your father never liked any new GUS
toms or manners; he preferred the old
way Of doing things, and he never looked
so happy as when with his eyes closed, he
sat in the armchair in the corner. From
wrinkled brow to the tip of the slippers
what plecidity! 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 hover.
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
been so unwise as TO make over all his
property to his children with the under
standing that they are to take care of him.
lave seen in such cases children crowd
the old mans chair to the door, and then
crowd il clear into the street, and then
crowd it into the poor house, and keep on
crowding it until the old man fell out of it
into his grave.
But your fathers chair was sacred
place. The children used to climb up on
the rungs of it for good might 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 a
throne of influence in your domestic cir
Gle.
l 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
II was the letter an" 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 arm chair! 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
he fell dead in their arms. And are you