The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-06-13
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: DISABLED Hunters Bring,
ing Down the Most Game"

ing Down the Most Came"
TExT-"The lame take the prey."-Isaial
nxiii, %.
The utter demolition of the Assyrian hos
was here predicted. Not only robust mer
should 60 forth and gather the spoils of con
quest, but even men crippled of arm anG
crippled of foot should go out and capture
much that was valuable. Their physica
disadvantages should not hinder their great
enrichment So it has been in the past, so il
is now, so it will be in the future So it is in
all departments Men labor under seemingly
, great disadvantages and amid the most uu
favorable circumstances, yet making grand
achievements, getting great blessing for
themselves, great blessing for the world
great blessing for the church, and so "the
lame take the prey"
Do you know that the three great poets OF
the world were totally blind! Homer, Os-
sian, John Milton. Do you know that Mr..
Prescott, who wrote that enchanting book,
"The Conquest of Mexico" never saw Mex
ico could not even see the paper on which he
was writing? A framework across the sheet,
between which, up and down, went the pen
Immortal Do You know that Gambassio, the
sculptor, could not see the marble before him
or the chisel with which he cut it into shapes
bewitching' Do you know that Alexander
Pope, whose poems will last as long as the
English language, was so mnch of an invalid
that he had to be sewed up every morning in
rough canvas in order to stand on his feet
at all.
Do you know that Stuart. the celebrated
painter, did much of his wonderful work
under the shadow of the dungeon. where he
had been unjustly imprisoned for debts Do
YOU know that Demosthenes by almost
superhuman exertion, first had to conquer
the lisp of his own speech before he con-
quered aSSemblages with his elo4uence? Do
you know that Bacon struggled all
through innumerable sicknesses, and that
Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott went
imping on club feet through all their life,
and that many of the great poets and paint
the world had something to keep them back,
and pull them down, and impede their way,
and cripple their physical or their intellectual
movement; and yet they that pushed on and
pushed up until they reached the spoils Of
worldly success, and amid the huzza OF
nations and centuries, ''the lame took the
/; prey9" 49,: -
You know that vast multitudA Of these
men started under the disadvantage of OBJ
scure parentage. Columbus, the son of the
weaver. FEguson, the astronomer, the son
of the shepherd. America, the prey of the
one; worlds on worlds the prey OF the other.
But what is true in secular directions is more
i
proceed to prove it.
There are in all communities many inva-
lids They never know well day. They
adhere to their occupations, but they go
painting along the streets with e1haustions,
and at eventime they lie down on the lounge
with achings beyond all medicament. They
have have tried tS1oob all prescriptions fSs shsy
which were proclaimed infallible.
and they have come now to surrender
to perpetual ailments. They consider they
are among many disadvantages; and when
they see those who are buoyant in health
pass by they almost envy their robust
frames and easy respiration.
But have noticed among that invalid
class those who have the greatest knowledge
of the Bible, who are in nearest intimacy
with Jesus Christ, who have the most glow
ing experiences Of the truth, who have
had the most remarkable answers to
prayer, and who have most exhilar-
ant anticipations Of heaven. The tempta'
tions which weary us who are in
robust health they have conquered. They
have divided among them the spoils OF the
conquest Many who are alert and athletic
and swarthy loiter in the way. These
ne the lame that take the prey. Rob-
bert Hall, an invalid; Edward Payson,
an invalid; Richard Baxter, an invalid;
Samuel Rutherford an invalid. This morn
ing, when you want to call to mind those
who are most Christlike, you think of some
darkened room in your fathers house from
which there went forth an influence potent
for eternity.
A step farther: Through raised letters the
art Of printing has been brough to the at
tention of the blind :.
You take up the Bible for the blind, and
you close your eyes, and you run your fin
gers over the raised letters, and you say:
"Why, never could get any information IN
3 this way. What slow, cumbrous way OF
reading! God help the blind
And yet find among that class OF persons
among the blind, the deaf and the dumb
the most thorough acquaintance with Gods
word. Shut out from all other sources of
information, no sooner does their hand touch
the raised letter than they gather prayer.
of Gods love. Without hearing they catch
the minstrelsy Of the skies. Dumb, yet with
pencil, or with irradiated countenance, they
declare the glory Of God. -,
A large audience assembled in New York
at the anniversary Of the Deaf and Dumb
ASYLUM, and one Of the visitors with chalk on
the blackboard wrote this question to the
pupils: .Do you not find it very hard to be
deaf and dumb!' And one Of the pupils took
sublime sentence in answer: when the song
of the angels shall burst upon our enrapt-
Jred ear, we will scarce regret that our ears
were never marred with earthly sounds"
OH the brightest eyes in heaven will be
those that never saw on earth. The ears
most alert in heaven will bs those that in
this world heard neither voice Of friend, nor
thrum of harp, nor carol Of bird, nor doxol-
ogy Of congregations
A lad who had been blind from infancy
was cured. The oculist operated upon the
lad, and then put very heavy bandage over
the eyes, and after few weeks had gone by,
the bandage was removed, and the mother
said to her child: "Will:e, can you sees" He
Said: ''Oh! mamma, is this heavenW The
contrast between the darkness before and the
brightness afterward was overwhelming.
thousandfold brighter for those who never
saw ANYTHING on earth. While many with
good vision closed their eyes at night, and
many who had good artistic and cultured
ear went down into discord, these afflicted
ones cried unto the Lord in their trouble,
and he made their sorrows their advantage,
and so ''the lame took the prey"
In the Seventh century there was legend
of st. Modobert 1t was said that his mother
was blind, and one day while looking at his
mother he felt so sympathetic for her blind
ness that he rushed forward and kissed her
blind eyes, and, the legend says, her vision
came immediately. That was only legend,
but it is a truth, glorious truth, that kiss
of Gods eternal love has brought to many a
blind eye eternal illumination.
A step further: There are those in all COM
munit:es who toll nightly for livelihood.
They have scant wages. Perhaps they are
diseased, or have physical in6rmities, so they
are hindered from doing a continuous day
work. A city missionary finds them up the
dark alley, with no fire, with thin clothing, with
very coarse bread. They never ride in the
street cars; they cannot afford the five cents.
They never see any pictures save those in
the show windows on the street, from which