Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1891-08-29
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Resculng of Human Lives
the Theme of the Lecture.
There IL Noble Work for Everyone to do
The Man, the Woman nnd the Child
Subjects for Help-liich Re-
wards for the Rescuers.


the aisles was occupied, and the great
Est enthusiasm prevailed. II Is esti-
mated that fully $1,000 persons were
able to hear the doctor, and many
others were deprived OF that privilege
His text was Daniel II, 81: "The peo-
ple that do know their God shall be
strong and do exploits"
Ant.ochus Epiphanes, the old sinner
came down three times with his army
TO desolate the Israelites, advancing
one time with l02 trained elephants,
swinging their trunks this way and that
and g., 900 infantry and 5000 cavalry
troops and they were driven back.
Then. the second time, he advanced
with 10000 armed men end had been
again defeated. But the third time he
laid successful siege until the navy OF
Rome came in with the flash OF their
long banks OF oars and demanded that
the siege be lifted. And Antiochus
Ediphanes said he wanted time TO con-
suit with his friends about 1t, and
Popilius, one OF the Roman embassa-
doris, took staff AID made circle on
the ground around Antiochus Epipha-
mes and compelled him to decide be-
fore he came out OF the circle; where
upon he lifted the siege. Some OF the
Hebrews had submitted to the invader,
but some OF them resisted valorously,
as did Eleazer when he had swines
f,esh forced into his mouth, spit it out,
although he knew he must die for 1t,
and did die for it; and others, as my
text says, did exploits.
An exploit would define to be
heroic act, brave feat, a great achieve
ment. WELL" you say, II admire
such things, but there is no chance for
me. mine is q sort of humdrum life. II
l had an Antiochus Epiphanes to fight,
/ also could do exploits" You are
right, so far as great wars are concern
ed. There will probably be no oppor-
tunity TO distinguish yourself in battle.
The most of the brigadier generals OF
this country would not have been heard
OF had it not been for the war.
Neither will you probably become a
great inventor. Nineteen hundred and
ninety-nine OF the 1000 great inven-
tions found in the patent office at
Washington never yielded their inven-
tors enough money to pay for the eX-
penses OF securing the patent. So you
will probably never be Morse or an
Edison or Humphrey Davy or an FL
Whitney. There is not much pro6abil-
ity that you will be the one out OF the
hundred who achieve extraordinary
success in commercial or legal or medi-
cal or literary spheres. What then?
Can you have no opportunity to
do exploits? | am going to
show that there are three opportunities
open that are grand, thrilling, far
reaching, stupendOus. In one, IL not all
three OF them, you may do exploits.
The three greatest things on earth to
do are to save man, or save woman,
or save child. During the course OF
his life almost every man gets into an
exigency, is caught between two fires,
is ground between two millstones, sits
on the edge of some precipice, or in
some other way comes near demolition.
1t may be a financial, or O moral. or a
domestic, or social, or political ext
gency.
You sometimes see it in court rooms.
A young man had got into bad company
and he has offended the law, and he is
arraigned. All blushing and confused,
he is in the presence of Judge and jury
and LAWYERS. He can be sent right on
in the wrong direction. He is feeling
disgraced, and he Is almost desperate.
Let the district attorney overhaul him
as though he were an old offender, let
the ablest attorneys ut the bar refuse to
saw a word for him. because he cannot
afford considerable fee: let the judge
give no opportunity for presenting the
mitigating circumstance hurry up the
case, ana hustle him up to Auburn or
Sing Sing. II he live seventy years,
for seventy years he will be criminal,
and each decade OF his life will be black
er than its predecessor. In the inter-
regnums Of prison life he can get no
work, and he Is glad to break window
glass, or blow up safe, or play the
highwayman, so as TO get back within
the walls where he can get something
to eat and hide himself from the gaze
OF the world.
WHY doesn't his father come and help
him? His father Is dead. Why
doesn't his mother come and help him?
She is dead. Where are all the amel-
iorating and salutary influences OF So
ciety? They do not touch him. Why
did not some one long ago in the case
understand that there was an opportu-
nifty for the exploit which would be IA
nous in heaven a quadrillion Of years
after the earth has become scattered |
ashes in the last whirlwind? Why did |
not the district attorney take that
young man into his private office and
say: "My son. / see that you are the
victim of circumstances. This is your
first crime. You are sorry. ! will
bring the person you wronged into
YOUR presence and you will apologize
and make all the reparation you can
and / will give you another chance"
So there are commercial exigencies.
A very late spring obliterates the de-