The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-11-08
TALMAGE's SERMON.
A Discourse on ssThe Three Great
est Things to Do"
The Exigencies of Life and the Way to
Meet DEMONSTRATION Must Come
In Gods Own Way, Not by
the Ways of Man.

Kew. I. DeW1tt Talmage delivered the
following sermon at the Brooklyn Taber
nacle, taking for his subject: ''The Thr ee
Greatest Things to Dor His text was:
The people that do know their God shall be
strong and do exploits. Daniel. XII, 80.
Antiochus Epiphanes, the old sinner,
came down three times with his army
to desolate the Jews, advancing one time
with one-hundred and two trained ele-
plants. swinging their trunks this way
and that, and sixty-two thousand in
fantry, and six thousand cavalry troops,
and they were driven back. Then, the
second time, lie advanced with seventy
thous and armed men. and had been
again defeated. But the third time he
laid successful siege until the navy of
Rome came in with the flash of their long
banks of oars, and demanded that the
siege be lifted. And Antiochus Epip-
hanes said he wanted time to consult
with his friends about 1t, and Popillus,
one of the Roman ambassadors,
took a staff and made a circle on the
ground around Antiocus Epiphanes, and
compelled him to decide before he came
out of that circle, whereupon he lifted
the siege. Some of the Jews had SUBJ
mitted to the invader, but some of them
he had swine's flesh forced into his
mouth, spit it out although he knew he
must die for 1t, and did die for it, and
others, as my text shows, were enabled to
do exploits.
During the course of his life almost
every man gets into an exigency, is
caught between two fires. is ground be-
tween two millstones, sits on the edge of
tyaia in, oft
comes near demolition. 1t may be fin
anciaL or moral or domestic, or a.
social, or political exigency. You sonnet
times see it in court rooms. A young man
has got into bad company and he has Of
Tended the law, and he is arraigned. All
blushing and confused he is In the pres
ence Of Judge and jury and lawyers. He
can be sent right on in the wrong direc-
ton. He is feeling disgraced, and he is
almost desperate. Let the district attor-
ney overhaul him as though he were an
old offender, let the ablest attorneys ct
the bar refuse to say q word for him be-
cause he can not afford a considerable
fee, let the Judge give no opportunity for
presenting the mitigating circum-
hustle him up to Auburn or Sing Sing.
still be criminal, and each decade of
his life will be blacker than its predeces-
sor. In the interregnums of prison life
he can get no work, and he is glad to
break a window glass, or blow up safe.
or play the highwayman. so as to get back
again within the walls where he can get
something to eat and hide himself from
the cruel gaze of the world. Why don't
nd hall
father is dead. Why dou't his mother
come and help him? She is dead Where
are all the ameliorating aud salutary in
fluences of society? They do not touch
him. Why did not some one long ago
in the case understand that there was an
opportunity for the exploit, which would
be famous IN Heaven a quadrillion of
years after the earth has become
scattered ashes in the last whirl-
wind? Why did not the district attor-
ney take that young man into his private
office and say: my son, | see tn at
you are the victim of circumstances. This
Is your first crime. You are sorry. l will
bring the person you wronged into your
presence and you will apologize and ma ke
all the PREPARATION you can, aud will give
you another chance" or that young man
Is presented in the court room and he b as
no friends present, and the Judge SAYS;
wi no is your counselor Aud he answers:
II have none." Aud The judge saws:
'Who will take this young mans case?n
And there is dead halt, and no one
offers, and after awhile the Judge turns
TO some attorney who never had a good
case IN all his lite and never will, and
whose advocacy would be enough to Sc
cure the condemnation of innocence
Itself. Aud ths professional incompetent
crawls up beside the prisoner, helpless
ness 10 rescue despair when there ought
10 be struggle among all the best men
OF the profession as to who should have
the honor of trying to help that un-
fortunate. How much would such an at
torney have received as his fee for such
an advocacy? Nothing in dollars.
out much every way in happy con-
seriousness that would make lis own life
brighter, and his own dying pillow sweet
or, and his own Heaven brighter-tbe
consciousness that he had saved man.
so there are commercial exigencies. A
very late spring obliterates the demand
Tor spring overcoats and spring hats and
spring apparel of all sorts. Hundreds of
thousands OF people say: sit seems we
are gong to have no spring and we shall
20 straight out of winter into warm
weather, and we can get along without the
us ual spring attire" Or there is no an
tumn weather, the heat plunging into the
cold, and the usual clothing, which is a
compromise between summer and winter.
is not required. 1t makes a difference in
the sale of millions and millions of dol
lars OF goods, and some oyer.sanpu;na
Young merchant is caught with a vast i
amount OF unstable goods that never will
De salable again except at prices ruinouslv
reduced. That young merchant with a
somewhat limited capital is in pre- d1ca-
ment What shall the old merchants do |
as they see that young man in this awful
crisis? Rub their hands, and laugh. and
say; Good for him; he might have known
better. When he has been in business as |
long as we have he will not load his
sneives In that way. Ha! ha! He will
burst up before long. He had no business
20 open his store SO near to ours any, |
how" Sherlf's salel Red flag in the |
window: "How much is bid for these ont. |
Of the-fashion spring overcoats and |
spring hats, or fall clothing ont of date2 |
w hat do hear in the way of a bid ., |
"Four dollars ssAbsurd. / can nor tal,a
that bid Of four dollars apiece. WIN
these coats when first put upon the mar. |
ket were offered at fifteen della.