Democratic messenger., 1888-09-08
Poor Kind Of People.
DR. TALMAGE TELLS ABOUT jobs
cOMfORTERs AND THEIR WORK.
Loqaacious sympathixers who Make Grief
Harder to Hear by Tearing Open the
Wound Afrcsh--Some Good
Advice to Lymphatic


tuSyOouieHs
EAST HAMPTON, n. Y, Sept. Eth,
Rev. 7. Dewitt Talmagc, j. d., who
spends good part of his summer rest
here, took for the subject Of his vacation
sermon Of this date, "Plasicrs That VIII
Not Stick" Ills text was Miserable com
for,ers are yc all."-Job xvi, 9. Follow
Ing is the sermon
The man Of Cz had n. great many trial,
the loss Of his family. the loss of hi,
property, the loss Of his health; hut III,
most cxasperating thing that came upon
him was the tantalizing talk of those who
ought to have sympaihizcd with him.
Looking around upon them, and weigh
Ing what they had said. he uticrs III,
words of my text.
Why did God let sin come into III,
world! II Is question often hear dis
cusscd, hut never satisfactorily answered
God made the world fair and beautiful n,
the start. -four first parents hal not sin.
ed In Eden they might have gone out ol
that garden and found 80 paradiscs all
around the cartll-Europc. Asia, Africa,
North and South Amcrica-s0 many flow.
er.garicns or orchards Of fruit, rcioicn,
and luscious. | suppose that when God
poured out the Gihon and the lIididckcl
lie poured out at the same time the IIud.
son and the Susquehanna. The whole
earth was fair and beautiful to look upon.
Why did il not stay so. God Ind the
power tO keep back sin and woe. Why
did lie not keep them back: Why not
every cloud roseate, and every stcpa jo,
and every sound music. and all the ages u
long jubilee Of sinlcss men and sinlcss w0.
men! God can make rose as easily as
lie can make thorn. Why, then, the
prcdominance Of thoms? lie can make
good, fair, ripe fruit MS well rs gnarlcl
and sour. lie can make men robust in
health. Why, then, are there so many in.
valids: Why not have for our whole race
perpetual leisure, instead or this tug and
toll and ,usslc for n livelihood: ! will tell
you why God le, sin come into the world
when get on the other side oi The Riv.
erof Death. That is the place where sucl,
questions will he answered and such mys.
tcries solved. lie who this side that riv.
or attempts To answer the question only
illustrates his own ignorance and incom.
potency. All know is one great fact,
and that is that herd Of woes have come
in upon us, irampling down every thing
fair and beautiful A sword at the gate
of Eden, and swords at every gate. More
people under the ground than on il. The
graveyards In vast majority. The 6,OO0
winters have made more scars than the
5000 summers can cover up. Trouble has
taken the tender heart Of this world In its
two rough hands, and pinchcd il until the
nations wall with the agony. II all the
mounds Of graveyaris that have bcen liz.
cd were put side by side you might step
on them and nothing else, going all around
the world, and around again and around
again. These are the facts. And now |
have TO say that in a world like this the
grandcst occupation is that Of giving con.
dolcncc' This holy science of imparting
comfort 10 the troubled we ought all 10
study. There are many of you who
could look around upon some of your very
best fricuds who wish you well and are
very intelligent, and yet be able tru,hiully
to say to them IN your days or trouble
Miserable comioricrs are We ALL"
/ remark. in the first place, that very
valuable people are incompetent for the
work of giving comfort lIildad and Eli.
phas had the gin Of language. and with
their words almost bothered Jobs life out.
Alas for these voluablc people that 20
among the houses of the afflicted and talk
and talk, and talk. and talk They re.
hcarse their own s0rrows, and then tLcy
tell the poor sufferers that they feel badly
now, but they will feel worse aftci awhile.
Silence. DO you expect. with thin court
plaster Of words, TO heal wound deep as
the souly Step very gently around about
a broken heart. Talk very softly around
those whom God has bcrcit. Then go your
way. Deep sympathy has not much To
say. A firm grasp Of the hand. n compass.
siOnatc look. just one word that means MS
much rs n whole dictionary, and you have
given, perhaps, NIL the comfort that soul
needs. 4 man has terrible wound in
his arm. The surgeon comes and binds
il up. Now" he says. carry that arm
in n sling and he very careful "f il. Let
no one touch IT," But the neighbors have
heard Of the accident, and they come IN
aud they say: Let us see IT," And the
bandage Is pulled oil. and this one and
that one must feel II. and see how mucl
II is swollen aud there Is irritation. and
Inflammation, and evaporation. whcr,
there ought To he healing and cooling
The surgeon comes In aud says; what
docs all this mean. You have no huslncs.
Ia touch these handagcs. That wound
will never heal unless You let II alone, -
So there are souls broken down in sor
row. What they most want is rest. ri
very careful and gentle treatment hut the
ncighborS have heard of the bereavement
or Of the loss, and they come In 10 sym
paihizc. and they say "Show Us now III,
wound. What were his last words Re
hcarsc now the whole scene How did
you feel when you found that You wcr,
an orphan ?" Tearing of the nndare.
here, and pulling them oil there. leaving
CHASTITY wound that the balm of Gods
grace had already hcgun tn heal. oh lei
no loquacious people, with ever m,lling
tongues. go into the homes of the distress
ell
Again. | remark that all those persons
are incompetent TO give any kind Of com
fort who act merely as worldly philoso'
piers. They come In and say; why
this Is what you ought To have expected