The Grenada sentinel., 1889-03-02
TALMAGEHS SERMON.
The impossible, the Unfathomable,
the Insurmountable.
Questions Which Neither Science Nor Dis
cusslon Can Answer, But All Will
BeMade Clear Amid the Beau
tiful Music of Heaven.

Harp his text was:
wI open my dark sayings on harp
Psalm xix, 4.
TIE world IS full of the inexplicable, the
impassable, the unfathomable, the lnsuf-
mauntable. We can not go three steps IN
any direction without coming up agalnsta
hard wall of mystery, riddles, paradoxes,
profunditles, labyrinths, problems that
we can not solve, hieroglyphics that we
can not decipher. anagrams we can hot
smell out, sphnxes that will not speak.
For that reason, David in my text pro-
noses to take up some of these somoer
and dark things, and try to set them TO
sweet music: II will open my dark say
ings On d harp"
So ! look of upon society, and find peo-
ple in unhappy conjunction OF clrcum-
stances, and they do not know what 1t
means and they have right to ask: why
is this and why is that! And think
will be doing a good work bytrying to ex-
pIaiI some of these strange things, ana
make you more content with your iot;
and shall only be answering questlons
that have often been asked me, or that we
have all asked ourselves, while Try 10
set these mysteries TO music and open my
dark sayings on q harp,
Interrogation the first: Why does God
rake oat of this world those who are use
fui and whom we can not spare ana leave
alive and in good health so many who are
only nuisance or positive INJURY 10 1ne
worlds thought would begin with the
yerv toughest Of all the seeming lnscru-
fables, Many Of the most useful men and
women die at thirty or forty years OF age,
while YOU often find useless people alive
at sixty and seventy and eighty. Johh
Careless wrote to Bradford, who was soon
to he nut to death, saying: "Why dotn
to live that can do nothing but consdlhe
the aims Of the church, and take away
so many worthy workmen IN the
Lords vineyard?" Similar questions are
often asked. Here are two men. The one
is a noble character and Christian man;
he chooses for lifetime companion one
who has been tenderly reared, and she ls
worthy Of him and he is worthy of her; as
merchant, or farmer, or professional man
or mechanic. or artists, he tolls to educate
and rear his children; he is succeeding, bu
he has not established for his family
cOmuetencv: he seems absolutely 1ndls'
pensable TO that household, but one day
before he has paid off the mortgage OF
his house, he is coming home through {
strong northeast wind. and a chill strikes
through him, and four days Of pneumon1f
end his earthly career, and the wife anC
children 20 into a struggle for shelter anC
food. His next-doOr neighbor is a MAI
who, though strong and we'll, let's his wife
support him; he is round at the grocer!
store or some general loahng place in tht
evenings while his wife sews; his boy
are initiating his example, and lounge
and swagger, and swear; all the US
that man is in the house is to rave be
cause the coffee is cold when he comes t.
a late breakfast. or to say cutting thing
about his wife'S looks when he furnlshe
nothing for her wardrobe. The best thln
that could happen to that family would b
that mans funeral: but he declines t
die: he lives on and on, and on. So W
have all noticed that many Of the usetu
are early cut off while the parasites OF so
Cicty have great vital tenacity.
take mp this dark saying on my har
and give three or four thrums on tn
str.a.e IN the way Of surmising and hope
full guessing. Perhaps the useful ma
was .uk4u ont Of the world because he an
his family we're so constructed that the
CDuItt ttb HIVE tLllNI GU SbLiV - AS"' Ht ''
perity tia. might have been just aheat
and they altogether might have gone dow
in the vortex Of worldliness which ever
wear swallows up ten thousand house
holds. And so he went, while he wa
humble and cOnseCrated, and they wer
bv the seventies Of life kept close
Christ and fitted for usefulness here an
high seats in Heaven, and when they met
at last before the throne, they Will az
knowledge that, though the furnace wa
hot. il purified them, and prepared the1
for an eternal career Of glory and rewar
for which no other kind of life could hav
fitted them. On the other hand the ust
less man lived to fifty, or sixty, or sever
tv wears, because all the ease he ever ca
have he must have in this world, and yC
ought not, therefore, begrudge him h
earthly longevity. In all the ages thel
has not a single loafer entered Heave
There is no place for him there to han
around, Not in the temples, for they a
full of the most vigorous, alert and ra
turous worship. Not on the river ban
for that is the place where the conquero
recline Not in the gates because the
are mnltItudes entering and we are to
that at each of the twelve gates there
an angel, and that celestial guard wou
not allow the place to be blacked up wi
idlers. If the good and useful go ear
rejoice for them that they have so so
got through with human life, which
best is n struggle. And If the usele
and the bad stay, rejoice that they N
be ont in the worlds fresh air go
many years before their final incarcel
ton.
Interrogation the second; Why do
many good people have so much trouD
sickness, bankruptcy, persecution,
three black vultures sometimes puttl
their fierce beaks into one set OF Jang
nerves? | think now Of good frlent
once had. He was a consecrated Christ
man. an elder in the church and as p
ished q Christian gentleman as g
walked Broadway. First his gene
health gave out and he hobbled around
a cane. an old man at forty. After awt
OaraIysis struck him. Having by p
health been compelled suddenly to &
business, he lost what property he h
Then his beautiful daughter died. The
son became hopelessly demented.
other son, splendid Of mind and ct
manding Of presence, resolved that
would take care of his fathers househ
but under the swoop of yellow fevei
Ferpandina, Fla he suddenly exp
So you know good men and women
have had enough troubles, you think
crush fifty people. No worldly phliosc