The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1886-04-30

| Safeguard, n School and as Type
Of Heaven on Earth.
Below we give Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage'.
ninth discourse OF 'sThe Marriage Ring
series, delivered at Brooklyn Tabernacle
The subject, 1.-THE Domestic Circle" wal
Illustrated from the following text:
90 home to thy friends. and tell them how
great things the Lord hath done for thee
Mark. v. 10.
There are 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
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 and he practically says: ~
will show you a place where you can ex-
hibit all that is grand, and beautiful, and
glorious in Christian character, and that Is
the domestic circle"
II one is not faithful in on Insignificant
sphere he will not be faithful in q resound.
ing sphere. II 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 PEN
tecost. II Paul will not take pains to in
struct In the way Of salvation the jailer of
the Philipian dungeon, he will never make
Felix tremble. He who is not faithful in q
skirmish would not be faithful in an
Armageddon. 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 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 men the meaning of that
word, and they will give you ten different
definitions. To one it means love at the
hearth; 1t means plenty ut the table, in
dustry at the workstand, intelligence at
the books, devotion at the altar. To him It
means greeting at the door and q smile
at the chair. Peace lowering like wings.
Joy ciapping its hands with laughter.
Life tranquil lake. Pillowed ON the rip
Piles sleep the shadows.
Ask another man what home IL, and he
win tell you it is want looking out Of
cherries 6re-grate, kneading hunger in
an empty bread tray, the damp air shiv-
ering with curses. No Bible on the shelf.
Children, robbers and murderers in en-
bryo, obscene songs their lullaby. Every
face picture Of ruin. Want in the back
ground and sin staring from the 'front.'
No Sabbath wave rolling over that door
sill. vestibule Of the pit. Shadow of in
formal walls. Furnace for forging ever
lasting chains. Faggots for an unending
funeral pile. Awful wordi It 10 spelled
with curses, 10 reeks with ruin, IL chokes
with woe, It sweats with the death agony
Of despair.
The word "home" in the one case means
every thing bright. The word "home" in
the other case means every thing terrific.
shall speak to you this morning of
home as test Of character. home as
home AZ . school, and home rs . type Of
Heaven.
And, in the first place, remark that
home 10 . powerful test Of character. The
disposition In public may be in gay cos
tune, while in private it IL in deshabille.
As play actors may appear in one way ON
the stage and may appear in another way
behind the scenes, 20 private character
may be very different from public |
character. Private character 10 Of
ten public character turned wrong
side out A man may receive you into his |
psrlor - though he were . distillation Of
smiles, and yet his heart may be swamp
Of nettles. There are business men who
al day long are mild and courteous and
genial and good-natured in commercial |
life, damming back their irritability and |
their petulancs and their disconteat, but |
at nightfall the dam breaks and scolding
pours forth in floods and freshets.
Reputation 10 only the shadow Of char.
acter, and very small house sometimes
win cast very long shadow. The lips
may seem to drop with myrTh and cassia,
and the disposition to be ~ bright and
warm ~ sunbeams, and yet they may be
only . magnificent show.window to .
wretched stock Of goods. There II many
nan who 10 anable in public life and amid
commercial spheres, who, in = cowardly
way, takes his anger and his petulancs
homo and drops them ON the domestic |
circle.
The reason men do not display their bad
temper In public II because they do mot