The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1889-05-25
JOYS OF RELIGION.
DR.. Talmage on the Future Life Of
Christians.
Worldly Success without Religion Brings
Little True Happiness-The Christian
Always Observation-Disclosures of
Heaven Depicted.

springs of water. And he gave her the
upper springs and the neither springs."-
Joshua XIV. 19. The preacher said:
The city of Debir was the Boston of an
tiquity-a great place for brain and books.
Caleb wanted il, and he offered his
daughter Achsah as a prize to any one
who would capture that city. 1t was a
strange thing for Caleb to do; mi yet the
man who could take the city would have,
at any rEte, two elements of manhood
bravery and patriotism. With Caleb's
daughter as a prize to fight for, General
Othniel rode into the battle. The gates of
Debir were Numbered into the dust and
the city of books lay at the feet of the
conquerors. The work was done, Othnie1
comes back to claim his bride. Having
conquered the city, it is no great job for
him to conquer the girls heart; for how
ever faint hearted a woman herself may
be, she always loves courage In a man. l
never saw an exception to that. TIL
wedding festivity having gone by, Othniel
and Achsah are about to go to their new
home. However loudly the GYM
balls may clash and the laughter ring
parents are always sad when a
fondly cherished daughter goes off to
stay; and Achsah, the daughter Of Caleb,
knows that now is the time to ask almost
any thing she wants of her father. 1t
seems that Caleb, the good old a had
given as u wedding present to his daugh-
ter a piece of land that was mountainous,
and sloping southwark toward the deserts
of Arabia, swept with some very hot
winds. 1t was called "a south land"
But Achsah wants an addition of prop
erty; she wants a piece of land that Is
well watered and fertile. Now 1t is no
wonder that Caleb, standing amidst the
party, his ey IS SO full of tears be-
sause she was going away that he could
hardly see her at all, gives her more than
she asks. She said to him: Thou hast
given me a south land; give me also
springs of water. And he gave her the
upper springs and the neither springs"
What a suggestive passagel The fact
10 hat as Caleb, the father. gave Achsah,
the daughter, a south land SO God gives
to US His world. l am very thankful He
has given it to US. Blu / am like Achsah
in the fact that l want a larger portion.
Trees, and flowers, and grass, and blue
skies are very well in their places; but he
who has nothing but this world for a por-
tion has no portion at all. 1t is q mount
ainous land. sloping of toward the desert
OF sorrow, swept by fiery siroccos; 1t is
"a south land" a poor portion for any
man that tries to put his trust in 1t. What
has been your experience! What has been
the experience of every man, Of every
woman that has tried this world
for a portion? Queen Elizabeth, amidst
the surroundings of pomp, is unhappy be-
cause the painter sketches too minutely
the wrinkles on her face, and she indig-
nantly cries out: you must strike Off my
AsxA ate A,rN m ~ 80 A. ha vi HAVnrf
at the very height of his artistic triumph,
10 stung almost to death with chagrin be-
cause the painting he had dedicated to the
King does not seem to be acceptable; for
George II. cried out: "Who is this Ho-
garth? Take his trumpery out of my pres
ence." Brinsley Sheridan thrilled the
earth with his eloquence, but had for his
last words, 81 am absolutely undone."
Walter Scott, fumbling around the ink
stand, trying to write, says to his dau gh-
ter: 20, take me back to my room; there
is no rest for Sir Walter but in the grave"
Stephen Girard, the wealthiest man in his
day, or, at any rate. only second in
wealth, says: II live the life of a galley
slave; when ! arise In the morning my
effort Is to work so hard that / can
sleep when it gets to be night" Charles
Lamb, applauded of all the world, in the
very midst of his literary triumph says:
"Do you remember, Bridget, when we
used to laugh from the shilling gallery at
the play? There are now no good plays to
laugh at from the boxes" But why go so
far as that? used to go no further than
your street to find Illustration of what l
am saying.
Pick me out ten successful wordlings-
without any religion, and you know what
I mean by successful wordlings-pick me
out ten successful workings, and you can
not find more than one that looks happy.
Care drags him across the bridge; care
drags him back. Take your stand at two
O'Clock at the corner of Nassau and Wall
street. or at the corner of Canal street and
Broadway and see the ~agonized physiog-
Monies. Your bankers, your insurance
men, your importers, your wholesalers
and your retailers as a class-as a class,
are they happy? No. Care dogs their
steps, and making no appeal to God for
help or comfort, they are tossed every
whittier. How has 1t been with you, my
hearer? Are o more contented in the
house Of fourteen rooms than you were in
the two rooms you a in house when you
startedf Have you not had more care and
worriment since you won that 800, 600 than
you did before? Some of the poorest
men / have ever known have been
those of great fortune. A man of small
may be put in great business
straits, but the ghastliest of all embar-
easements is that of the man who has
large estates. The men who commit sui
cid because of monetary losses are those
who can not bear the burden any more
because they have only a hundred thou
sand left.
On Bowling Green, New York, there is
a house where Tnlleyrand used to GO. He
was a favorite man. All the world knew
him and he had wealth almost unlimited;
yet at the close of his life he says: Be
hold, eighty-three years have passed
without any practical result, save fatigu4
of body and fatigue of mind, great dis
for the future and great dis
gust for the past" Oh, my friends, this
is "a south land" and it slopes off toward
deserts of sorrows; and the prayer which
Achsah made to her father, Caleb, we
make his day to ourfatber, God: Thou
hast given me a south land, give me also
of water And he gave them the
upper springs and the neither springs"
Blessed be Godi We nave more ad-
vantages given us thar we can really
We have spiritual blessings
OF cred u in tn word which ! shalt call
tho neither springs and glories in the
world to come which l shall call the upper
springs.
Where shall I find words enough thread
with light to set forth the pleasure of
religion. David, unable to describe 1t in
words, played 1t on a harp. Mrs. Hemans,
not finding enough power in prose, sings
that praise in a canto. Christopher Wren,
unable to describe 1t in language, sprung
It into the arches Of st. Paul's. John
Bunyan, unable to present it in ordinary
phraseology, takes all the fascination OF
allegory. Handel. with ordinary music
unable to reach the height Of the theme,
It up in an oratorio. o, there is nc
life on earth so happy as a really Chris
tian life. ! do not mean a sham Christian
life, but a real Christian life. Where
there is a thorn there is a whole garland
OF roses. Where there is one groan there
are three doxologies. Where there Is
day of cloud there is a whole season OF
sunshine. Take the humblest Christian
that you ~know-angels of God cano-
Ply him with their white wings; the light
nings Of heaven are his armed allies; the
Lord Is his Shepherd, picking out for him
green pastures by still waters; II he walk
forth Heaven is his bodyguard; if he sit
down to food his plain table blooms into
the Kings banquet. Men say "Look at
that old fellow with the worn-out coat;"
the angels of God cry: Lift up your
heads, ye everlasting gates, and let him
come imp Fastidious people cry: "Get
my front steps;" the doorkeepers of
Heaven cry: "Come, you blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdoml" When he
comes to die, though he m a be carried
out in a pine box 10 the p~otter's field, to
that potter's field the chariots of Christ
will come down and the cavalcade will