The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-09-07
MISERABLE C~OMF0RTERS.
REV. DR.. TALMAcE DiscouRsEs
AT EAST HAMPTON. | |.

why Did God Let Sin Come Into tn.
worid?-No One Can Ten Until He Get
ON tho Other side Of the River of Death
Imparting Comfort to the Troubled.
EAST HAMPTON, N. z. Sept. a.-The Rev
7. De Witt Talmage, d. D., who spends {
good part of his summer rest here, took foi
the subject of bis vacation sermon of thi
date, HPiastersT That WI Not Stick His tex
was, Miserable comforters are We als-
Job xvi, q Following Is the sermcn:
The man Of Ux had q great many trials
the loss Of his family, the loss Of his prop
erty. the loss Of his health; but the most en-
asperating thing that came upon him wa,
the tantalizing talk Of those who ought &
have sympathized with him Looking
around upon them, aud weighing what they
had said, he utters the words Of my text.
Why did God let sin come into the world
1t is a question l often hear discussed, but
never satisfactorily answered. God made
the world fair and beautiful at the start. II
our first parents had not sinned In Eden
they might have gone out of that garden
and found fifty paradises all around the
earth-Europe, Asia, Africa, North and
South Americas many flower gardens, OF
orchards of fruit, redolent and luscious. ]
suppose that when God poured out the Gihon
and the Hiddekel he poured out at the SAM
time the Hudson and the Susquehanna; the
whole earth was very fair and beautiful to
look upon. Why did it not stay sof God
had the power to keep back sin and woe.
Why did he not keep them backi Why not
every cloud ~roseate, and every step a Joy,
and every sound music, and all the ages a
long jubilee Of sinless men and sinless wo-
menf Codes an make a rose as easily as he can
make a thorn. Why, then, the predominance
of thornsi He can make good, fair, ripe
fruit as well as gnarled and sour fruit. Why
SO much, then, that is gnarled and souri, He
can make men robust in health. Why, then,
are there so many invalidsi Why not have
for our whole race perpetual leisure, instead
of this tug and toll and tussle for a livelihood
l win tell you why God let sin com into the
world-when i get on the other side of the
River of Death. That is the place where such
questions will be answered and such myster-
les solved. He who this side that river at
tempts to answer the question only illustrates
his own ignorance and incompetency. All ]
know is one great fact, and that is, that a
herd of woes have come in upon us, tram
ping down everything fair and beautiful. A
sword at the gate Of Eden, and a
sword at every gate. More people un
der the ground than on it. The grave
yards in vast majority. The six thousand
winters have made more scars than the six
thousand summers can cover up. Trouble
has taken the tender heart of this world in
its two rough hands, and pinched it until the
nations wall with the agony. II all the
mounds of g~raveyards that have been lifted
were put side by side, you might step on
them and on nothing else, going all around
the world, and around again, and around
again. These are the facts And now I have
to say that, in a world like this, the grandest
occupation. is that of giving coincidence.
This holy science Of impartfng comfort to
the troubled we ought all of us to study.
There are many Of you who could look
around upon some Of your very best friends
who wish you well and are very intelligent,
and yet be able truthfully to say to them in
your days of trouble, Miserable comforters
are We alLn
Iremark, in the first place, that very volu-
BILE people are incompetent for the work Of
giving comfort Bildad and Eliphaz had the
gift of language, and with their words almost
bothered Jobs life out. Alas for these volu-
BILE people that go among the houses Of the
afflicted and talk, and talk, and talk, and
talki They rehearse their own SORROWS, and
then they tell the poor sufferers that they
feel badly now, but they will feel worse after
a while. Silencei Do you expect with q
thin court plaster of words to heal q wound
deep as the soulf Step very gently around
about a broken heart Talk very softly
around those whom God has bereft. Then
go your way. Deep sympathy has not much
to say. A firm grasp of the hand, a compass
sionate look, just one word that means as
much as a whole dictionary, and you have
given, perhaps, all the comfort that a soul
needs. A man has a terrible wound In his
arm. The surgeon comes n binds 1t up.
"Now, y he says, s'carry that arm In a sling and
be very careful of it. Let no one touch it
But the neighbors have heard of the accident,
and they come In, and they say, LET Us see
it." And the bandage is pulled off, and this
one and that one must feel it, and see how
much it is swollen; and there is irritation,
and Inflammation, and evaporation, where
there ought to be healing and cooling. The
surgeon comes in, and says: What does all
this meant You have no business to ouch
those bandages. That wound viii never heal
unless you Let it alone.n So there are souls
broken down in sorrow. What they most want
Is rest, or very careful and gentle treatment;
but the neighbors have heard of the bereave-
ment or of the loss. and they come in to
sympathize, and they say: "Show is now the
wound. What were his last words7 Re-
hearse now the whole scene. How did you
feel when you found you were an orphanP'
Tearing of the bandages here, and pulling
them of there, leaving a CHASTITY wound that
the balm Of Gods grace had already begun to
heal. Oh, let no loquacious people, with ever
rattling tongues, go into the homes of the
distressed
Again I remark, that all those persons are
incompetent to give any kind of comfort who
act merely as worldly philosophers. They
come In and say: "Why, this is what you
ought to nave expected. The laws of nature
must have their way;;n and then they get elo-
quent over something they have seen in post
norton examinations. Now, away with all
human philosophy at such a timei What diff
ference does it make to that father and
mother what disease their son died off He Is
dead, and it makes no difference whether the
trouble was in the epigastric or hypogastric
region. If the philosopher be of the stoical
school he will come and say: "You ought to
control your feelings. You must not cry SO.
You must cultivate a cooler temperament
You must AVE self reliance, self govern
ment, self controls" an iceberg ~reproving q
hyacinth for having a drop Of dew in its eye.
A v~iolinist has his instrument, and he
sweeps his fingers across the strings, now
evoking strains of joy, and now strains
Of sadness. He cannot play all the tunes on
one string. The human soul Is an Instrument
Of a thousand strings, and all sorts Of emo
lions were made to play on it Now an
anthem, now q dirge. It Is no evidence Of
weakness when one Is overcome of sorrow.
Edmund Burke was found in the pasture
field with his arms around q horses neck.
caressing him and some one said: "Why, the
great man has lost him mindr" No, that
horse belonged to his son who had recently
died, and his great heart broke over the
grief. It Is no sign Of weakness that men are
overcome Of their SORROW Thank God for
the relief Of tears Have you eve bean In
trouble when you could not weep, and you
would nave given anything for a good cryl
David did well when be incurred for Alb
salom, Abraham did well when he bemoaned
Sarah, Christ did well when he wept for
Lazarus, and the last man I want TO see come
anywhere near me when ] have any kind OF
trouble Is a worldly philosopher.
Again I remark that those persons are in
competent for the work of comfort bearing
who have nothing but cant to offer. There
are those who have the idea that you must
groan over the distressed and afflicted.
There are times in grief when one cheerful
face dawning upon q mans soul is worth 9
thousand dollars to him. Do not whine over
the afflicted. Take the promises Of the Cos
pei, and utter them in a manly tone. Do moi
be afraid to smile II you feel like it Do moi
drive any more hearses through that poor
soul. Do not tell him the trouble was fore
ordained; it will not be any comfort to know
1t was a million years coming. II you want