St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-03-20
~ ;.:AI..iAGE'S SERMON.
Ninth Discourse Of the Series on
"The Marriage Ring"
The Domestic CircIe-Home Life as a Test
Of Character, n Refuge, a Political
Safeguard, a School and as u Type
of Heaven ON Earth.

ainth discourse of "The Marriage Ring''
series, delivered at Brooklyn Tabernacle
The subject, "The Domestic Circle" was
illustrated from the following text:
Go home to thy friends, and tell them how
grea: things the Lord hath done for thee
alark, v. 10.
There are great many people longing
Tor some grand sphere in which to servo
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
Paul making Felix tremble, and they only
wish that they had some such grand occa-
sion in which to preach righteousness, tenn
perance and Judgment to come; all they
want is only an opportunity to exhibit
their Christian heroism. Now the apostle
comes to US aud he practically says: 81
will show you place where you can ex-
hibit all that is grand, ami beautiful and
glorious in Christian character and that is
Che domestic circle.'
1t one is not faithful in an insignificant
sphere he will not be faithful in a resound-
ing sphere. If Peter will not help the
cripple at the gate of the tempt:
ne will never be able to preach three
thousand souls into the kingdom at the PEN
kecost. If Paul will not take pans to in
stract in the way of salvatiou the jailer of
Che Phiiipian dungeon, hH ~vill never make
Felix tremble. He WIZ * not faithful in a
slkirmish wollG Mp be faithful in an
Armageddon, The fact is we are all
placed in jus: the position in which we
can NEST grandly serve God; and we
ougbs rot to be chiefly thoughtful about
son,s zphere of usefulness which we may
afts- awhile 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 thoughts will this
morning revolve. That word is "home."
Ask ten different mon 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, in
5ustry at the worllstand, intelligence at
the books, devotion at the altar. TO him it
means greeting at the door and smile
ut the chair. Peace lowering like wings.
Joy clapping its hands with laughter.
Life a tranquil lake. Pillowed on the rip
pies sleep the shadows.
Ask another man what home is, and he
will tell you it is want looking out of
cherries fire-grate, kneading hunger in
an empty bread tray, the damp air shiv-
e-iug with curses. No Bible on the shelf.
Children, robbers and murderers in en-
hryo, obscene songs their lullaby. Every
face a picture Of ruin. Want in the back
ground and sin staring from the front.
No Sabbath wave rolling over that door,
sill. Vestbule of the pit. Shadow of in
fernal walls. Furnace for forging ever
lasting chains. Faggots for an unending
funeral pile. Awful word! 1t is spelled
with curses, it reeks with ruin, it chokes
with woe, it sweats with the death agony
of despair.
The word ''bome" in the one case means
every thing bright. The word ''home" in
She other case means every thing terrific.
i shall speak to you this morning of
home as test of character home as
refuge, home as a political safeguard,
ih0Hae as a school, and home as type of
Heaven.
And, in the first place, I remark that
home is powerful test of charac ter. The
disposition in public may be in gay cos
tune, while in private it is in deshabille. |
AS play actors may appear in one way on
tie stage and may appear in another way |
behlnd the scenes, so private character |
Eray be very different from public |
Character. Private character is Of
ten public character turned wrong
side out. A man may receive you into his
rarlor as though he were a distillation of
smiles, and yet his heart may be swamp
Of nettles. There are business men who
ell day long are mild and courteous and
genial and good-natured in commercial
,;'fe, damming back their irritability and
sheir petulance and their discomfort, but
ut nightfall the dam breaks and scolding
pours forth in floods and freshet,
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 petulancy and their IT.
stability for the same reason that they
do not let their notes go to pro-
Sest-it does not pay. Or for the
same reason that they do not want
a man in their stock company to sell his
stock at less than the right price, lest it
depreciate the value. As sometimes the
wind rises, SO after sunshiny day there
may be tempestuous night There are
people who in public act the philanthro-
pist, at home act the Nero, with respect
TO their slippers and their gown.
Now, that man who is affable in public
and who is irritable in private, is making
n fraudulent overissue of stock, and he is
rs bad as bank that might have $500, 600
or 900 Of bills in circulation with no
specie in it's vaults. Let US learn to show
piety at home. If we have it not there,
we have it not anywhere. If we have not
genuine grace in the family circle, all our