Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1888-05-04
TALMAGES SERMON.
Tee Weakly Discourse Of the Great
Brooklyn Preacher.
Subject: ssThe Star Worm
wood, or Brilliant Bit
terness.O

TEXT; There fell great star from
heaven, burning as 10 tUere a lamp, aud Il
fell upon a third part of the rirers and
upon the fountains of IUdterS, and the name
of the star is called WormWood.n Revela.
hons viii, l0-ll.
Patrick and Lowth, Thomas Scott, Mat
thew Henry, Albert Barnes and all the other
commentators agree in saying that the Star
Norwood of my text was Attila, King of
the Huns. He was so called because he was
brilliant as a star, and, like NORWOOD, he
embittered everything he touched We have
studied the Star of Bethlehem, and the Morn
ing Star of the Revelation, and the Star of
Peace, but my subject this hour calls us to
gaze at the Star Norwood, and my theme
might be called Brilliant Bitterness.
A more extraordinary character history
does not furnish than this man referred to
in my text, Attila, the king Of the Huns.
One day wounded heifer came limplng
along through the fields, and u herdsinan
followed its bloody track on the grass to see
where the heifer was wounded, and went on
back, further and further, until he came to
sword fast in the earth, the point downward
as though it had dropped from the heavens,
and against the edges of this sword the
heifer had been cut. The herdsman pulled
up that sword and presented it to Attila.
Attila said that sword must have dropped
from the heavens from the grasp of the god
Mars, and its being given to him meant
that Attila should conquer and govern
the whole earth. Other mighty men
have been delighted at be called
hberators or the merciful or the good,
but Attiia called himself and de-
manded that others call him the SOURCE of
God. At the head of 700, 900 troops, mounted
on Cappadocian horses, he swept everything
from the Adriatic to the Black sea. He put
his iron heel on Macedonia and Greece and
Ihrace. He made Milan and Pavia and
Padua and Verona beg for mercy, which he
bestowed not. The Byzantine castles to
meet his ruinous levy, put up at auction
massive silver tables and vases of solid cold.
A city captured by him, the inhabitants
were brought out and put into three classes.
The first class, those who could bear arms.
who must Immediately enlist under Attila or
be butchered; the second class, the beautiful
women, who were made captives to the
Huns; the third class, the aged men and
women, who were robbed of everything and
let go back to the city to pay heavy tax.
1t was common saying that the grass
never grew again where the hoof of Attila,s
horse had trod. His armies Redeemed the
waters of the Seine and the Moselle and the
Rhine with carnage, and fought on the Cat
alonian plains the fiercest battle since the
world stood, 100000 dead left on the field.
On and on until all those who could not op-
pose him with arms lay PROSTATE on their
faces in prayer; and, a cloud of dust seen in
the distance, bishop cried: at is the aid
of God" and all the people took up the cry:
ut is the aid of God" AS the cloud of dust
was blown aside the banners of reinforcing
armies marched in to help against Attila,
the scourge of God. The most unimportant
occurrences he used as a supernatural re-
source and after three months of failure Go
capture the city of Aquileia and his army
had given up the siege, the fight of stork
and her young from the tower of the city
NUoc fob hyyl C,a. 1. -
capture the city, and his army inspired with
the same occurrence resumed the siege and
took the walls at point from which the
stork had emerged. So brilliant was the
conqueror in attire that his enemies could
not look at him. but shaded their eyes or
turned their heads
Slain on the evening of his marriage by
his bride lldico, who was hired for the as
sasSination, his followers bewaied him not
with tears but with BLOOD cutting themselves
with knives and lances. He was put into
three cof1ins-the first of iron, the second of
silver, and the third of gold He was buried
at night, and into his grave were poured the
most valuable coin and precious stones,
amounting to the wealth of a Kingdom The
grave diggers and all those who assisted at
the burial were massacred so that it would
never be known where so much wealth was
entombed. The Roman Empire conquered
the world, but Attlla conquered the Roman
Empire. He was right in calling himself a
scourge, but instead of being the scourge Of
God he was the scourge of he'll. Because Of
his brilliancy and bitterness the commenta.
tors were right in believing him to be the,
star NORWOOD OF the text As the regions
he devastated were parts most opulent with
fountains and streams and rivers, YOU see
how graphic my text is "There fell great
star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp,
and it fell upon the third part of the rivers,
fn INC Nf 1tnK, 1
name of the star is called Norwood
Have you ever thought how many embit-
tered lives there are about us, misanthropic,
morbid acrid, saturnine9 The European
plant from which NORWOOD is extracted
artemisia absinthium, is a perennial plant
and all the year round it is ready to exude
its oil. And in many human lives there is a
perennial distillation of acrid experiences
Yes, there are some whose whole work is to
shed baleful influence on others There are
Attllas of the home, or Attilas of the social
circle, or Attilas of the church, or Attilas of
the state, and one-third of the waters of all
the world, if not two-thirds the waters are
poisoned by the falling of the star Worm
wood. 1t is not complimentary to human
nature that most men, as soon as they get
great power, become overbearing The more
power men have the better. if their power be
used for good. The less power men have the
better if they use it for evil,
Birds circle round and round and round
before they swoop upon that which they are
aiming for. And if my discourse so far has
been swinging round and round, this moment
1t drops straight ON your heart and asks the
question: Is your life to others a benedic.
tlon or an enlightenment, a blessing or q
curse, balsam or NORWOOD!
Some of you, know, are morning stars,
and you are making the dawning life of your
children bright with gracious influences, and
n ham ~.
prlses OF phllanthropic and Christian en-
deavor, and you are heralds of that day of
gospellzation which will yet flood the noun
Jams and valleys of our sin cursed earth.
Hail, morning starr Keep on shining with
encouragement and Christian hope
Some of you are evening stars, and you
are cheering the last days Of old people, and
though cloud sometimes comes over you
through the querulousness or unreasonable
ness OF your old father and mother it is only
for moment, and the star soon comes out
clear again and is seen from all the balconies
of the neighborhood. The old people will
forgive your occasional shortcomings, for
they themselves several times lost their
patience with you when you were young and J
slapped you when you did not deserve it, /
Hail, evening star! Hang ON the darkening
sky your diamond coronet.
But are any of you the star Wormwoodl
Do you scold and growl from the thrones
paternal or maternal! Are your children
everlastingly pecked at! Are you always
crying, "Hush" to the merry voices and
swift feet and their laughter, which occa-
sionally trictles through at wrong times and
is suppressed by them until they can hold it
no longer and all barriers burst into I'M
limited guffaw and cachinnation, as in high
weather the water has trickled through
slight opening in the mill dam, but afterward
makes wider and wider breach until it car
rinc all bafnra IL wit igt; No
not be too much offended at the noise your
children now make. 1t will be still enough
when one of them is dead Then you would
give your right hand to hear one shout
from their silent voices or one step from
the still foot. You will not any of you
have to wait very long before your house is
stiller than you want it. Alas! that there