The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1889-09-11
THE DAY IS AT HAND.
Sermon by Rev. T. De Witt Tai
mage, D. D.


COnBreBhuou III Oho oEVVhAJh AauShhuOiO'
The subject Of his discourse was: "The
Sunrise" and his text: 1.-THE day is at
hand.n Following Is the sermon:
Back from the mountains and the seaside,
and the springs, and the farmhouse your
cheek bronzed and your spirit lighted, hail
you home again with the words Of Gehazi
to the Shunamite: SIS 1t well with theei
ID 1t well with thy husbandi is 1t well with
the childi' On some faces see the mark
Of recent grief, but all along the track Of
tears see the story Of resurrection and re-
union when all tears are done; the deep
plowing Of the keel, followed by the fash Of
the phosphoresence. gBh ~
Now that have asked you In regard TO
your welfare, you naturally ask how / am.
Very well, thank you. Whether 1t was the
bracing air Of the Colorado mountains
twelve thousand feet above the level of the
sea, or the Tonic atmosphere Of the Pacific
Coast, or bath In the surf Of Long Island
beach, or whether 1t is the Joy Of standing
in this great group Of warm hearted friends,
or whether II Is a new appreciation Of the
goodness Of God / lean not tell. Isimply know
I am grandly and gloriously and inexpressi-
bly, happy. Il was said that John Moffat,
the great Methodist preacher, occasionally
got fast In his sermon, and 10 extricate him
self would cry "Hallelujahl" / am in no
such predicament to-day, but am full Of
the same rhapsodic ejaculation. Starting
out this morning on new ecclesiastical
year, want TO give you the key note Of my
NEXT twelve months ministry. / want TO
set II the tune Of Antioch, Ariel and Coro-
nation. Some time ago we had a new stop
put In this organ-a new trumpet stop-and
/ want To put q new trumpet stop into my
sermons.
In all our Christian work you and want
more Of the element Of gladness. That
man has no right TO say that Christ never
laughed. Do you suppose thas he was glum
at the wedding in Cana OF Galileei Do you
suppose Christ was unresponsive when
the children clambered over His knee and
shoulder at His own invitationl Do you
suppose that the evangelist meant nothing
when he said of Christ: HE reioiced in
spiritp Do you believe that the Divine
Christ who pours all the water over the
rocks at vernal Falls, Yosemite, does not
believe In the sparkle and gallop and tumul.
tuous Joy and rushing raptures OF human
lifel believe not only that the morning
laughs, and that the mountains laugh, and
that the seas laugh, and that the cascades
laugh, but that Christ laughed. Moreover,
take laugh and tear into an alembic, and
assay them, and test them, and analyze
them, and you will often find as much Of
the pure gold Of religion In laugh as In
tear. Deep spiritual Joy always shows
itself In facial illumination. John Wesley
said he was sure Of good religious i'm
preston being produced because Of what he
calls the great laughter he saw among the
people. Goddess merriment is blasphemy
anywhere, but expression OF Christian Joy
Is appropriate everywhere
Moreover, the outlook Of the world ought
10 stir US TO gladness Astronomers recent
ly disturbed many people by telling them
that there is danger Of stellar collision. We
have been told through the papers by these
astronomers that there are worlds coming
very near together, and that we shall have
plaques and wars and tumults and perhaps
the worlds destruction. Do not be scared.
II you have ever stood at railroad center,
where ten or twenty or thirty rail tracks
cross each other, and seen that by the
movement Of the switch one or two inches
the train shoots this way and that, without
colliding, then you may understand how
fifty worlds may come within an inch Of
disaster, and that inch be as good as a
million miles. II human switchtender
shoot the trains this way and that without
harm, can not the hand that for thousands
Of years has upheld the universe keep our
little world out Of harms wayl Christian
geologists tell us that this world was
millions Of years In building. Well, now, /
do not think God would take millions Of
years 10 build house which was 70 last
only 5000 years, There Is nothing In the
world or outside the world! terrestrial or
astronomical, TO excite dismay,. Iwish that
some stout gospel breeze might scatter all
the malaria Of human foreboding, The sun
rose this morning &C about half past Eve,
and think that Is Just about the hour IN
the worlds history. "rhe day Is at hand. !"
The first ray Of the dawn, I see in the
gradual substitution Of diplomatic skill for
human butchery. Within the last twenty
five years there have been international
differences which would have brought a
shock Of arms In any other day, but which
were peacefully adjusted, the pen taking
the place Of the sword.
That Alabama question in any other age
OF the world would have cansed war be-
! tween the United States and England. How
was n settledf By men-of- war on the Mar
rows, or on the Merseyi BY the Gulf
Stream Of the ocean crossed by gulf
stream Of human bloodi By the pathwayof
nations incarnadinedi No. A few wise men
70 into q quiet room at Geneva, talk the
matter over, and telegraph 70 Washington
and TO London: "All settled Peace
Peace. England pays 10 the United States
the amount awarded pays really more than
she ought 70 have paid. But still, all that
Alabama broil Is settled-settled forever
Arbitration instead Of battle.
sothe quarrel eight or nine years ago about
the Canadian fisheries In any other age
would have caused war between the United
States and England. England said: .Psy
me for the invasion OF my Canadian Ash.
eries.p The United States said: 81 will not
pay anything Well, the two nations said:
81 guess we Mad better leave thewhole mat.
ter 70 commission. The commission is ap-
pointed, and the commission examines the
affair, and the commission reports, and pay
we ought, pay we must, and pay we do. Not
pound Of powder burned, not O cartridge
bitten on, no one hurt 90 much as by the
scratch Of pin. Arbitration instead Of
battle. N
So the Samoan costroyersy in auy other
age would have brought Germany and the
United States into bloody collision. But all
IN settled. Arbitration instead OF battle.