The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-08-05
tREV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINES SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "The Vacant Chair"

TEXT: "Thou shalt De missed, because
+thy seat ,oiu be emptu."-I Samuel Xxx. Is.
Set on the table the cutlery and the chased
.slverware of the palace, for King Saul will
give state dinner to-day. A distinguished
place is kept at the table for his son-in-law,
q celebrated warrior, David by name: Inc
guests, jeweled ard plumed, come in and
take their places. When people are invited
to kings banquet they are very. apt to go.
But before the covers are lifted from the
feast Saul looks around and finds a vacant
seat at the table. He says within
himself. perhaps audibly, "What does
this mean? Where is my son-in-law?
Where is David, the great war
~riors invited him. expected him. What!
fact was that David, the warrior, had
been seated for the last time at his father
in-law's table. The day before Jonathan
had coaxed David to go and occupy that
place at the table, saying to David In the
words Of nv text, Thou shalt be missed,
because thy seat will be empty" The pre-
-diction was fulfilled. David was missed.
His seat was empty. That one vacant chair
spoke louder than all the occupied chairs at
the banquet.
In almost every house the articles Of fur
-niture take living personality. That
picture-a stranger would not see anything
remarkable either in its design or execution,
but it is more to you than all the pictures OF
the Louvre and the Luxembourg. You re-
member who bought it and who admired
It. And that hymn book-you remem-
Der who sang out Of it. And that
.cradle-you remember who rocked it. And
that Bible-you remember who read
out of it. And that bed-you remember who
slept in it. And that room-you remember
who died in it. But there is nothing in all
your house so eloquent and so mighty voiced
AS the vacant chair. I suppose that before
Saul and his guests got up from this banquet
there was great clatter of wine pitchers
but all that racket was drowned out By the
voice that came up from the vacant chair at
the table.
Millions have gazed and wept at John
Quincy Adams's vacant chair in the house OF
representatives, and at Wilson's !cant
chair in the vice-presidency, and at Henry
Clay's vacant chair in the American senate,
and at Prince Albert's vacant chair in Wind
sor castle, and at Theirs vacant chair in the
councils of the French nation. But all these
chairs are unimportant to you as compared
with the vacant chairs in your own household.
Have these chairs any lesson for us to learn?
Are we any better men and women than
when they first addressed US?
First I point out to you the fathers va
cant chair. Old men always like to sit in
the same place and in the same chair.
They somehow feel more at home, and some
come into the room you jump up sud-
denly and say, Here. father, here's your
chair" The probability is it is an arm
chair, for he is not so strong as ne once
was and he needs little upholding. his
hair is little frosty, his gums little de-
pressed, for in his early days there was not
much dentistry. Perhaps cane chair and
old fashioned apparel, for though you may
have suggested some improvement. father
does not want any Of your nonsense. Grand
father never had much admiration for new
tangled notions.
I sat at the table of one of my parishion-
ers in a former congregation; an aged man
was at the table, and the son was presiding.
and the father somewhat abruptly addressed
the son and said, my son, don't trr now 70
show of because the minister Is here"
Your father never liked any new customs
or manners, he preferred the old way OF
doing things, and he never looked SO
happy as when with his eyes closed, ne sat
in the armchair in the corner. From
the wrinkled brow to the tip of the slippers,
what placidity! The wave of the past years
of his life broke at the foot of that chair.
Perhaps sometimes he was O little lmpa-
tient, and sometimes told the same story
twice; but over that old chair how many
blessed memories hover: l hope you dd
not crowd that old chair, and that 1t did not
get very much in the way.
Sometimes the old mans chair gets very
much in the way, especially II he has been SO
unwise as to make over all his property TO
his children, with the understanding that
they are to take care Of him. have seen in
such cases children crowd the old mans
chair to the door, and then. crowd it clear
into the street, and then crowd into the
DOOR house. and keep on crowdins it until
the old man fell out of it into his grave.
But your fathers chair wasa sacred place.
The children used to climb up on the rungs
Of 1t for good night kiss, and the longer he
stayed the better you liked it. But that
chair has been vacant now for some time.
The furniture dealer would not give you
fifty cents for it, but it is throne Of influ-
ence in your domestic circle. l saw IN the
French palace, and in the throne room, the
chair that Napoleon used to occupy.
Tt was a beautiful chair, but the most
significant part OF it was the letter
ssNn embroidered into the back Of the chair
in purple and gold. And your fathers old
chair sits in the throne room of your heart
and your affections have enbroided into the
back Of that old chair in purple and gold the
old chair been answered? Have all the
SAS No~~~~
Speak out! old armchair.
History tells us OF all old man whose tare'
sons were victors in the Olympic games, anC
when t1t came back these three Sous, will
their gar .auds, put them on the fathers brow
and the old man was 80 rejoiced at the vic
tories Of his three children that he fell deac
In their arms. And are you, oh msu, going te
and put 1t on your fathers brow, or on tht
vocopf cboiy or IN tho yuorporu Nf tho OpI
departed? Speak out, old armchairl Witt
reference to your father, the words Of my
text have been fulfilled, Thou shalt b,
missed, because thy seat will be empty"
I 20 little further on in your house and
I find the mothers chair. It is very apt TO
be q rocking chair. She had so many
cares and troubles to soothe that it must
have lockers. / remember it we'll; it wa!
an old chair, and the rockers were almost
worn out for was the youngest and the
chair had rocked the whole family. II
made q creaking noise as it moved; but
there was music in the sound. 1t was just
hign enough to allow us children to put our
heads into her lap. That was the bank
where we deposited ell our hurts AMI wor.
ries. All! what a chair that was. 1t was
different from the fathers chair; it was en-
tirely different. You ask me how! can
not tell; but we all felt it was different.
Perhaps there was about this chair more
gentleness, mora tenderness, more grief
when we had done wrong. When We were
wayward father scolded, but mother criei.
1t was a very wakeful chair. In the
sick days of children other chairs
could not keep awake: that chair always
kept awake-Gept easily awake. The chair
knew all the old lullabies and all thoss
wordIess songs which mothers sing to their
sick children-songs in which all pity an !
compassion and sympathetic influence are
combined.
That old chair has stopped rocking for a
good many years. 1t may be set up in the