The Russellville Democrat., 1888-07-19
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
A Homily on the Sour Portion of
 Life's Experiences.
The Successes of Life CounterbaIanced by the Dlsappointments-T Saw s tours Love and Sympathy
 VIII Sweeten All.

VIII sweeten All.
 The subject U recent sermon by Rev. T. Dc Witt Talinage was s'Sour Experi-
 ences," his text being:
 When Jesus, therefore, had received the vinegar. r.-John, xix, 30.
 The brig ands of Jerusalem had done their work It was almost sundown. and
 Jesus was dying. Persons in crucifxion often fingered on from day to day--cry-
 ing, begging, cursing; but Christ had been exhausted by years of maltreat- ment. Pillowless, poorly fed, fogged-- as bent over and tied to a low post His. bare back was indamed with the scourges, intersticed with pieces of lead and bone-and now for whole hours the weight of His body hung on delicate tendons, and, according to custom, yio- lent stroke under the arm-pits had boon given by the exeeutioner. Dizzy, swoon- ing, nauseated, feverish--a world of agony is compressed in the two words, "I thirstln o skies of Judea, let drop of rain strike His burning tongue. o. world, with rolling rivers and sparkling lakes, and sparkling fountains, give Jesus something to drink. If there is any pity in earth or Heaven, or hell, let it now be demonstrated in behalf of this royal sufferer. The wealthy wo- men of Jerusalem used to have fund of money with which they provided wine for those people who died in cruel fixion-a powerful opiate to deaden the pain; but Christ would not take it. He wanted to die sober, and so he refused the wine But afterward they go to Q cup of vinegar and soak sponge in It, and put it on stick of hyssop, and then press it against the hot lips of Christ. You say the wine was an anesthetic. and intended to relieve or deaden the pain. But the vinegar was an insult. I am disposed to adopt the theory of the old English com mentators, who believed that, instead of its belng an opiate to soothe, it was vim egar to insult Malaga and Burgundy for Grand Dukes and Duche sses, and costly wines from royal vats for bloated impe- rialists; but stinging acids for a dying Christ. He took the vinegar.
 In some lives the saccharlne seems to predominate. Life is sunshine on bank of flowers. A thousand hands to clap ap- proval! In December or In January, looking across their table, they see all their family present. Health rubicund. Skies famboyant Days resilient. But in great many cases there are not so { IDdny sugars dS atluS.r luc ttulVg dhtto, and the vacations, and the 'disappoint- ments of life overpower the successes. There IS gravel in almost every shoe. An Arabian legend says that there was worm in Solomon's staff, gnawing it's strength away; and there is weak spot in every earthly support that man leans on. King George of England forgot all the grandeurs of his throne because, one day, in an interview, Beau Brummel, called him by his frstname, and addressed him as a servant crying: George, ring the belli' Miss Langdon, honored all the world over for her poetical genius, Is SO worried over the evil reports set afioat regarding her that she is found dead, with an empty bottle of prussic acid in her hand. Goldsmith said that his life was wretched being, and all that want and contempt could bring Lit had been brought, and cries out: s'sWhat, then, is there formidable in e jail~ Correggio'sI fine painting is b ung up for tavern sign. l Hogarth can not sell his best painting, except through a,raffie. Andrew Delsart makes the great fresco in the Church of the Annunciation, at Florence, and gets for pay sack of corn; and there are an- noyance and vacations in high places as we'll as in low places, showing that in a great many lives the sours are greater than the sweets ff sf 0r4
 When Jesus, therefore, had received the vim egar.
 It Is absurd to suppose that man who I has always been well can sympathize with those who are sick; or that one who has always been honored can appreciate the sorrows of those who are despised; or that one who has been born to Q great fortune can understand the distress and the straits of those who are destitute. The fact that Christ Himself took the vim egar makes Him able to .sympathize to- day and forever with all those whose cup is filled with sharp acids of this life. He took the vinegarl
 In the first place there is the sourness of betrayal. The treaehery of Judas hurt Christ's feelings more than all the friend ship of His disciples did Him good. You have had many friends; but there was one friend upon whom you put especial stress. You feasted him. You loaned him money. You befriended him in the dark passes of life, when he especially needed friend. After. ward, he turned upon you, and he took advantage of your former intimacies. He wrote against you. He talked against you He microscopized your faults. He flung contempt at you when you ought to have received nothing but gratitude. At first you could not sleep at nights. Then you went about with a sense of having been stung. That difficulty will never be healed. for though mutual friends may arbitrate in the matter until you shall shake hands. the old cordiality will never come back. Now, I commend to all such the sympathy of a betrayed Christ Why, they sold Him for less than our twenty dollars. They all forsook Him and fed. They cut Him to the quick. He drank that cup of betrayal to the dregs. He took the vinegar.
 There IS also the sourness of pain. There ares one of you who have not seen R well day for many years. By keeping out of draughts, and by carefully study ing dietetics, you continue to this time; but oh, the headaches, and the sideaches, and the backaches, and the heartaches which have been your accompaniment all the way through You have struggled | under heavy mortgage of physical dis. | abilities; and instead of the placidity that | once characterized you, it is now only | with great effort that you keep away | from irritabiIity and sharp retort. Diff | faculties of respiration, of digestion, of | locomotion, make up the great obstacle | in your life, and you tug and sweat along | the pathway. and wonder when the ex haustion will end. My friends, the | brightest crowns fin Heaven will not be | given to those who, in stirrups, dashed | to the cavalry charge, while the General | applauded and the sound of clashing | sabres rang through the land; but the | brightest crowns in Heaven, I believe, | will be given to those who trudged on amid chronic ailments which unnerved their strength. yet all the time maintain ing their faith in God It is compara- lively easy to fight in a regiment of one thousand men, charging up tho parapets to the'sound of martial music; but it is not so easy to endure when no one but the nurse and the doctor are the witnesses of