Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1888-01-27
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Weekly DhOOursss of the Great
Brooklyn Preacher.
Subject: ''NIarriage for World.
ly Success Without Regard
10 Moral Character.o


whose possessions ioere IN Carmel and the
man trus Gerry great, and he had three thou
sand sheep aud a thousand goats VI Sam
uel, XIV, 2.
My text introduces us to a drunken bloat
of large property. Before the day of safety
deposits and government bonds and national
banks people had their investments in fiocks
and herds, and this man, Nabal, of the text
had much OF his possession in live stock.
he came also of a distinguished family and
had glorious Caleb for an ancestor. But this
descendant was sneak, churl, a sot and a
fool. One instance to Illustrate: 1t was a
wool raising country, and at the time of
shearing great feast was prepared for the
shearers; and David and his warriors, who
had in other days saved from destruction
the threShing floors of Nabal, sent to him
asking, in this time of plenty, for some bread
for their starving men. And Nabal cried
out: Who is Davidin As though an Eng
lishman had said: "Who is Wellingtonln or
German should say: "Who is Won Moltkeln
or an American should say: "Who is Wash
ingtonN Nothing die Nabal give to the
starving men, and that night the scoundrel
lay dead drunk at home, and the Bib,e gives
us full length picture of him sprawling and
maudlin and hopeless.
Now that was the man whom Abigail, the
lovely and gracious and good woman, mar
r1ed-a tuberoSe planted beside a thistle, O
palm branch twine1 into q wreath of deadly
nlghtshade. Surely that was not one OF the
matches made in heaven. We throw up our
hands in horror at that wedding. How did
she ever consent to link her destinies with
such creature Well, she no doubt thought
that 1t would be an honor to be associated
with an aristocratic family, and no one can
despiss great name. Beside this, wealth
would come and with it chains of gold and
mansions lighted by swinging lamps of
aromatic oil, and resounding with the cheer
of banqueters seated at tables laden with
wines from the richest vineyards, and fruits
from ripest orchards, and nuts threshed from
foreign woods, and meats smoking in plattars
of gold, set on by slaves in bright uniform.
Before she plighted her troth with this dissi-
pated man she sometimes said to herself;
how can l endure him! To be associated
for life with such q debauche l cannot and
will notm But then again she said to her.
self: ut is time was married, and this is
cold world to depend on, and perhaps l
might do worse and may be l will make
sober man out of him, and marriage is lot
terry anyhow" And when one day this rep
resentatlve OF great house presented himself
in parenthess of sobriety aud with an
assumed geniality and gallantry Of manner,
and with promises of fidelity and kindness
and self-abnegaton June morning smiled
on march squan and the great souled
woman surrendered her happiness to the
keeping of this infamous son of fortune
whose possessions were in Carmel; and the
man was very great and he had three thou
sand sheep and thousand goats
Behold here domestic tragedy repeated
every hour of every day all over Christen-
dom-marriage for worldly success without
regard to character. So Marie Jeanne
Phlipon, the daughter of the humble en-
graver of Paris, became the famous Nine.
Roland of history, the vivacious and brill
liant girl united with the cold formal mo-
notonous man, because he came of an atfiu ent
family of Amiens and had lordly blood in
his veins. The day when through political
revolution this patriotic woman was led to
the scaffold around which lay piles of human
heads that had fallen from thu ak, and she
sad TO an aged man whom she had comforted
as they assembled the scaffold: Go first that
you may not witness my death, and then
undauntcd took her turn to die-that day
was to her only the last act of the tragedy of
which her uncongenial marriage day was the
first
Good and genial character in a man, the
very first requisite for awomans happy mar
riage Mistake me not as depreciative of
worldly properties. There is a religious
can't that would seem to represent poverty as
virtue and wealth as a crime I can take
you through thousand mansions where God
Is as much worshiped as he ever was in a
cabin. The gospel inculcates the virtues which
tendtoward wealth. In the millennium we will
all dwell in palaces and ride in chariots, and
sit at sumptuous banquets, and sleep under
clch embrolderies, and live 400 or 500 wears.
Tor, if according to the Bible, in those times
a child shall die 100 years old, the average of
human life will be at least five centuries. The
whole tendency of sin is toward poverty, and
the whole tendency of Righteousness is toward
wealth. Goodness is profitable for the life
that now is as well as for that which is &c
come. NO inventory can be made of the
picture galleries consecrated to God, and of
sculpture, and OF libraries, and pillared mag
nlnnannn lie o.,l
gardens in the ownership of good men and
women. The two most lordly residences in
winch L was ever guest had morning and
evening prayers, all the employees present
and all day long there was an air of Cheerful
Plety III the conversation and behavior. Lore
hauSEock carried the gospel to the Russian
NOBILITY. Lord Cavan and Lord Cairns spent
their vaction in evangelistic service LORD
Congieton became missionary to Bagdad
And the Christ who was born in an EASTER
caravansary has again and again lived in 6
palace.
1t is grand thing to have plenty O
money, and horses that don't comnel vG, +.
take the dust or every numbering and laz,
vehicle; and books of history that give yol
glimpse OF all the past; and shelves o
poetry to which you may go and ask Milton
or Tennyson or Spencer or Tom Moore o.
Robert Burns to step down and spend al
evening with you; and other shelves t.
with the shams Of the world, and ask Thack
cray to express your chagrin, or Charlie
Dickens to expose the Pecksniaianism, O
Thomas Carlyle to thunder your Indignation
or the shelves where the old gospel writer
stand ready to warn and cheer us while the
open doors into that city which is so brigh
the mondays sun is abolished as useless. Their
is no virtue in owning horse that takes fou
minutes to go a mile, if you can own on
that can go in little over two minutes ant
half; no virtne in running into the teetl
of northeast wind with thin apparel
being poor when you can honestly be rich
There are names of men and women that
have only to mention and they suggest no
only wealth but religion and generosity ant
philanthropy, such as Amos Lawrence Jane
Lennox, Peter Cooper, William E. Dodge
Shaftesbury, Miss Wolf and Mrs. Astor
A recent letter says that of fifty leading
business men in one of our Eastern cite
and of the fifty leading business mel
of one of our western cities three-fourths O
hem are Christians The fact is that abou
VI the brain and the business geniu! - OF
- 5he side of religion Infidelity is incipient in
sanity All infdels are cranks. Many o
them talk brightly, but you soon find that il
their mental machinery there is screy
loose. When they are not lecturing agains
Christianity they are sitting in barrooms
squirting tobacco Juice, and when they gel
mau swear TILL the place IS SulphurouS. Ihe'
only talk to keep their courage up and a
best will feel like the intidel who begged t,
be buried with his Christian wife am
daughter, and when asked why he wante
such burial replied IF there be resurrec
tion of the good, as some folks say there vii
be, my Christian wife and daughter Wi
somehow get me up and take me along wit
them"
Men may pretend to despise religion, bu
they are rank hypocrates The sea captai
was right when he came up to the village o
The sea coast, and insisted on paying $40 t
the church although he did not attend hin
self. When asked his reason he said thu