Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1890-05-31
THE TALMAGE SERMON.
What the Brooklyn Divine Has to Say
About Humans Downfall.
When the Heart is Wrong Things Very
Insignificant VIII Destroy Our
Comfort.


eat."-Esther vii, 10.
Here is an Oriental courtier about the
most offensive man in Hebrew history,
Haman by name. He plotted for the de-
struction OF the Israelitisb nation and
wonder not that in some of the Hebrew
synagogues to this day, wnea Humans
name is mentioned, the congregation ciinca
their fists, and stamp their feet and cry:
LET his name be blotted outm Haman
was prime minister in the magnificent
court of Persia. Thoroughly apprecistive
or the honor conferred, he expects every
body that he passes to be obsequious Com
ing in one day at the gate of the palace the
servants drop their heads in honor Of his
Office, but a Hebrew. namei Mordecai,
gazes upon the passing dignitary without
bending his head or taking off his hat. He
vas good man, and would not have been
Negligent OF the ordinary courtesies of life
out he felt no respect either for Haman or
the nation from which ne had come. But
ne could not be hypocriticai and while oth-
ers made oriental salaana getting clear down
DeIore this prime minister when he passed
Mordecai, the Hebrew, relaxed not a muscle
OF his neck, and kept his chin clear up. Be-
cause OF that affront Hamau gets decres
from Ahasuerus, the dastardly King, for
the massacre of al the IsraeIites and that,
of course, will include Mordecai
10 make a long story short, through
Queen Esther this whole plot was revealed to
her husband, Ahasuerus. One night Alias
uerus, who was afflicted with insomnia. in
his sleepess hours calls for his secretary to
read to him few passages of Persian his
tory, and SO while away the night In the
book read that night to the King sn account
was gwen OF conspiracy, from which
Mordecai, the Hebrew had saved the
Kings life, and for which kindness
Mordecai had never received any reward,
daman, who had been fixing up a nice gal
lows to hang Mordecai on, was walking out
side the door of the Kings sleeping apart
ment and was called in. The King toll min !
That he had Just had read to him the account
Of some one who had saved his, the Kings
life, and he asked what reward ought to be
given to such a one. Self-concsitsd Haman
supposing that he himself was 20 get the
honor and not imagining for moment
that the deliverer OF the Kings life was
Mordecdi, says why your ma iesty ought
to make a triumph for him AMI put
crown on him, and set him on
splendid horse, high stepping and full bloc L
ed, and then have one of your princes
lead the horse through the streets crying:
Bow the knee, here comes a man who has
saved the Kings life" Then said Alias
uerus in severe tones to Haman ~ know
all about your scoundrelism Now Won go
out and make triumph for Mor1ecai, the
Hebrew, whom you hate Put the best
saddle on tho finest horse, and YOU. the
prince, hold the stirrup while Mordecai
gets Oh and then lead his horse through the
street. Make hastem
what spectacle. A comedy and tragedy
at one and the same time There they got
Mordecai, VINO hal been despisel now
starred and robsd, in tine stirtups. Haman.
the chancellor, afoot, holding the prancing,
rearing, champing stallion Mordecai bends
his neck at last, but it is to looz down at the
degraded prime minister walking beneath
for sIa.,a A I.,rE L..
But what pity to have the gallows recently
built entirely wasted! 1t is fifty loics high,
and built with care. And Hamsn had
erected 1t for Moriecai by whose strrups hs
now walks as groom. Stranger and more
startling than any romance, there 20 up tda
steps OF the scaffolding, side By side, tho
hangman aud Hanan the ex-chanesllor So
they hange1 Haman on the gallows that hs
had prepared for Mordecai"
Although so many years havs passed
since cowardly Ahasuerus reignsd, and thu
beautiful Esther answered TO his wnims AMI
Persia perisael yet from the life ami death
OF Haman We may draw living lessons OF
warning and instruction AMI first. we
come to the practical suggestion tllt,
when the heart is wrong, things very in
significant will destroy our comfort
Who would haYe thought that a gral5
prime minister admired AMI appiauiet BIZ
mlilons OF PerSianS, would have been 50
What more could the great dignitary have
wanted than his caarotS aud attendant,
and palaces and banquets? If affiuence of
circumstances can make man contented
and happy, surely Haman should have been
contented and happy. No; Mordecsi's re-
tusal OF bow takes the glitter from the
gold, and the richness from the purple, AMI
the speed from the chariots With heart
pulled up with every imitation of vanity ami
revenge, 1t was impossible for him to be
happy. The silence of Mordecai at the gate
was louder than the braying of trumpets in
the palace. Thus shall it always be if the
heart is not right. Circumstances the most
trivial viii disturb the spirit
1t is not the great calamities OF life that
create the most worriment. | have seen men,
felled byrepeated blows of misfortune, arising
from the dust, never despondIng. But the
most of the disquiet which men suffer is
from Insignificant causes as a lion attacked
by some beast of prey turns easily around
and Stays him, yet runs roaringly through
the forest at the alighting on his brawny
neck of a few insects. You meet some great
loss in business with comparative composure,
but you can think of petty tricSeres in
tictedupon you which rouse all your ca
pacity for wrath, and remain i'll your heart
an unbearable annoyance. Ii you look back
upon your life you will find that most of
the yexations au6 disturbances of
spirit which you felt were produced
by circumstances that were not
worthy of notice If you want to be happy
you must not care for tribes. Do not be too
minute in your inspection of the treatment
you receive from others. Who cares whether
Mordecai bows when you pass, or stands
erect and stiff as cedar? Tnat woo1man
would not make much clearing in the forest
who should stop to bind up every little bruise
and scratch he received in the thicket; nor
VIII that man accomplish much for the world
or the church who is too watchful and appre-
clatlve of petty annoyances. There are null
tltudes of people in the world constantly har-
rowed because they pass their lives, not in
searching out those things which attrac-
tive and deserving, but in spyiug out with all
their powers of vision to see whether they
cannot find Mordecai.
Again | learn from the life of the man
under our notice that worldly vanity and
sin are very anxious to have piety bow be-
fore them. Haman was a fair emblem of
entire worldliness, and Mordeca the repre-
sentative of unfinching godlineSS. Such
were the usages of society in ancient times
that had this Israelite bowed to the prime
minister it would have been an acknowledge
ment of respect for his character and nation.
Mordecai would, therefore, have sinnei
against his religion had he made any obeis-
ance or dropped his chin half inca
before Hannah. When, therefore proud
Hannah ATTEMPTED to Compel an hom-
age which was not felt, he only did
what the world ever since has triel to do,
when it would force our holy religion in any
way to yield to its dictates. Daniel if he had
been a man of religious compromises, would
never have been thrown into the den OF
lions He might have made some arrange
| ment with King Darius whereby he could
| have retained part of his form of religion
without making himself 50 completely Oh
| noxious to the idolaterS. Paul might have
! retained the favor of his rulers and escaped
| martyrdom if he had only been willing to
mix up his Christian faith with few errors.
! His unbending Christian character was
taken an insult.
Fsgot and rack and halter, in all ages
have been only the different ways in which
| the world has demanded obeisance. 1t was
once, away up on the top of the temple, that
Satan commanded the Holy One of Nazareth
to kneel before him. But it is not now so
much on the top of churches as down i'll the
aisle and the pew and the pulpit that Satan
| tempts the espousers of the Christian faith to
! kneel before him WHY was it that the PIa-
tonic philosophers of early times, as well as
Toland, Spinoza and Bolingbroke OF
latter days, were 50 madly opposed
to Christianity Certainly not because
| it favored immoralities, or arrested
civilization, or dwarfed the intellect. The
| genuine reason, whether admitted or not, was
because the religion of Christ paid no respect
| to their intellectual vanities Blount and
Boyle and the host of inides Matched out by
] the vile reign of Charles II as reptiles crawl
out of 2 marsh of slime, could not keep their
/ patience because, as they passed along, there
| were sitting in the gate Of the church such
men as Matthew and Marx, an Luke, AMI
| John, VINO would not bend an inch in respect
to their PHILOSOPHERS.
Satan told our first parents that they