Milford chronicle., 1888-03-09

Before the sermon the congregation, led by
cornet and organ, sang;
When earth shall pass away,
In the great judgment day,
Jesus is mine!
The Rev. 7. De Witt Talmage, D. D., took
as the subject of his discourse: "a Song
Concerning My Beloved His text was
Isaiah v, /: ''Now will sing to my well be-
loved a song of my beloved DR.. Talmage
said:
The most fascinating theme for a heart
properly attuned is the Saviour There is
something in the morning light to suggest
him, and something in the evening shadow
to speak his praise. The flower breathes
him, the star shines him, the cascade
proclaims him, all the voices of ma
ture chant him. Whatever is grand,
bright and beautiful, if you only listen
to it, will speak his praise. When l
come in the summer time and pluck flower,
think of him who is ''the Rose Of Sharon
and the Lily of the Valley" When l see in
the fields a lamb, say, "Behold the Lamb
of God that taketh away the sin Of tho
world.n When, in very hot weather, come
under projecting cliff, say;
Rock Of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in theel
Over the old-fashioned pulpits there was a
sounding board. The voice Of the minister
rose to the sounding board and then was
struck back again upon the ears Of the people,
And so the ten thousand voices Of earth ris-
ing mp find the heavens a sounding board,
which strikes back to the ear Of all the na-
tions the praises of Christ. The heavens tell
his glory and the earth shows his handiwork.
The Bible thrills with one great story Of re-
demption Upon a blasted and faded para
disc it poured the light of a glorious restora-
ton 1t looked upon Abraham from tho
ram caught in the thicket. 1t spoke in the
bleating of the herds driven down to Jerusa-
lem for sacrifice. 1t put infinite pathos into
the speech Of uncouth fishermen. 1t lifted
Paul into the seventh heaven, and it broke
upon the ear of st. John with the brazen
trumpets and the doxology of the elders and
the rushing wings of the seraphim.
Instead Of waiting until You get sick and
worn out before you speak the praise Of
Christ, while your heart is happiest, and your
step is lightcst, and your fortunes smile, and
your pathway blossoms, and the overarching
heavens drop upon you their benediction,
speak the praises Of Jesus.
The old Greek orators, when they saw their
audiences inattentive and slumbering, had
up to the greatest enthusiasm In the midst
of their orations they would stop and cry out,
''BIarathon!' and the peoples enthusiasm
wolld be unbounded. My hearers, though
yoa may have been borne down with sin, and
though trouble, and trials, and temptation
may have come upon you, and you feel hardly
like looking up, methinks there is one grand,
royal, imperial word that ought to rouse your
soul to infinite rejoicing, and that word is
"Jesusm
Taking tho suggestion Of the text, shall
speak to you of Christ, our soug. 1 Iremark,
i'll the first place, that Christ ought to be the
cradle song. What our mothers sang to us
when they nut us to sleep is singing yet We
may have forgotten the words; but they
went into the fiber Of our soul, and will for
ever be part of it. 1t is not so much what
You formally teach your children as what
you sing to them. A hymn has wings and
can hy cverywhither One hundred and
fifty years after you are dead, and cold
Mortality" has worn out his chjsel in re-
cutting your name on the tombstone, your
great grandchildren will be singing the song
which this afternoon you sing to your little
ones gathered about your knee There is a
place in Switzerland where, if you distinctly
utter your voice, there come back ten or fif-
teen distinct echoes, and every Christian
song sung by a mother in the ear of her child
shall have ten thousand echoes coming back
from all the gates of heaven. Oh, if mothers
only knew the power of this sacred spell, how
much oftener the little ones would be
gathered, and all our homes would chime
with the songs of Jesusl
We want some counteracting influence
upon our children. The very moment your
child steps into the street, he step1 into the
path of temptation. There are foul mouthed
children who would like to besoil your little
ones. It will not do to keep your boys and
girls in the house and make them house
plants; they must have fresh air and recrea-
ton God save your children from the
scathing, blasting, damning influence of the
streets! / know of no counteracting influ-
ence but the power of Christian culture and
example Hold before your little ones the
pure life of Jesus; let that name be the word
that shall exercise evil from their hearts
Give to your instruction all the fascination
of music, morning, noon and night; let it be
Jesus, the cradle song. This is important if
your children grow up, but perhaps they
may not. Their pathway may be short
Jesus may be wanting that child. Then
there will be a soundless step in the dwelling,
to flutter, and little hands will be
lifted for help. You can not help.
And a great agony will pinch at
your heart and the cradle will be empty, and
the nursery viii be empty, and the world
will be empty, and your soul will be empty.
No little feet standing on the stairs. No toys
scattered on the carpet. No quick following
from room to room. No strange and wonder
ing questions, No upturned face, with laugh
ing blue eyes, come for a kiss; but only a
grave, and a wreath of white blossoms on the
top Of it; and bitter desolation, and a signing
at nightfall with no one to put to bed, and a
wet pillow, and a grave, and a wreath Of white
blossoms on the top Of it. The heavenly
Shepherd will take that lamb safely anyhow,
whether you have been faithful or unfaith-
full; but would it not have been pleasanter if
you could have heard from those lips the
praises Of Christi 1 never read anything
more beautiful than this about a child's de
parture The account said, "She folded her
hands, kissed her mother good-by, sang her
hymn, turned her face to the wall, said her
little prayer, and then diedn
Oh, if / could gather up in one paragraph
the last words Of the little ones who have
gone out from all these Christian circles, and
/ could picture the calm looks, and the folded
hands, and sweet departure, methinls it
would be grand and beautiful as one Of heav-
ans great doxologiesl
next speak Of Christ as the old man
song. Quick mnsic loses its charm for the
aged ear. The school girl asks for schot-
tisch or a glee; but her grandmother aska
for "Balerman or the Portuguese Hymn
Fifty years Of trouble have tanned the spirit,
and the keys of the music board must have
a solemn tread. Though the voice may be
tremulous, so that grandfather will not trust
it in church, still he has the psalm.book open
before him, and he sings with his soul He
huns his grandchild asleep with the same
tune he sang forty years ago in the old coun-
try meeting house. Some day the choir sings
a tune so old that the young people do not
know it; but it starts the tears down the
cheek Of the aged mau, for it reminds him Of
the revival scene in which he participated,