Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1891-07-31
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUM-
DAY SERMON.
SUBJECr: 1.-THE VACANT CHAIR"

TEXT: Thou shalt be missed, because
Thy seat t0ilI be empty. II Samuel x1.. Is.
Set on the table the cutlery and the chased
silverware 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. The
guests, jeweled and plume1, come in aud
take their places. When people are invited
% kings banquet they are very apt to co.
But before tho covers are lifted from tho
feast Saul looks around and finds vacant
seat at the table. He says within
himself, perhaps audibly, What does
this mean? Where is my son-in-l lawi
Where is David, the great war
riorT invited him. expected hun. Whati
a vacant chair at the king banquetF The
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 coaIed 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
plcture-a stranger would not see anything
remarkable either IN its design or execution
but II IS more to you than all the pictures OF
the Louvre and tho Luxembourg. You re-
member who bought it. AMI 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 Blhle-yuu remember who read
out of 1t. And that bed-you remember VINO
slept nit. And that room-you remember
who died in 1t. But there is nothing IN all
your house 50 eloquent and SO mighty voiced
as the vacant chair. suppose that before
saul and his guests got up from this banquet
there was great cattcr OF wine pitchers,
but all that racket was drowned out by tn,
voice that came up from the vacant chair at
the table
Millions have Gazed and wept at John
Quincy Adams's vacant chair in tho house OF
representatives and Mt Wilson's vacant
chair in the vice-presidency, and at Henry
Ciays vacant chair in ths American senate,
ana ut Prince Alurrts 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 lcarny
Are we any better men and women than
when they first addreSselus'
First 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
times when you are in their place and they
come into the room you Jump up sud-
denly and say. Here. father, here's your
chair The probability is it is IN arm
chair, for he Is not 50 strong as he once
was, and he needs little upholdnE. His
hair is n little frosty, his gums a little de-
preset, for in his early days there was not
much dentistry. Perhaps canc chair and
old fashioned apparel, for though you may
have suggested some Improvement, father
does not want any OF vour nonsense. Grand
father never had much admiration for new
tangled notions
sat Mt 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 try now to
show Off 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 50
happy ~ when with his eyes closed, he sat
in tho armchair in the corner. From
the wrlnkled 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 little impl.
tient and sometimes told the same story
twice; but over that old chair how many
blessed memories hover! | hope you did
not crowd that old chair and that it did not
get very much in the way.
| Sometimes the old mans chair gets very
much in the way, especially il 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 clefr
into the street, and then crowd it into the
| POOR housn, aud keep on crowding it until
the old man fell out Of it into his grave.
But your father S chair was u sacred place.
| The children used to climb up on the rungs
OF it for good night kiss, and the longer ~
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 1t is throne of infiu-
ence in your domestic circle. saw in the
French palace and in the throne room, the
chair that Napoleon used TO occupy
| 1t was beautiful chair, but the mos
| significant part of it was the letteI
"Nn embroidered into the bacS of the chair
| in purple and gold. AMI your fathers old
chair sits in the throne room Of your heart
| and your affections have embroided into tn,
| back OF that old chalr i'll purple and gold the
letter IF" Have all the prayers OF thai
| Old chair been answered? Have all thu
counsels of that old chair been practiced
| Speak out Old armchair.
History tells us OF an Old man whose re
sons were victors in the Olympic games, and
| when they came back these three sons, with
their garlauds, put them on the fathers brow,
| and the old man was so rejoice1 at the vic
tories Of his three children that hs fell dead
| in their arms. And arc you, oh man, going Ia
bring n wreath OF JOY and Christian usefulnes
| and put it on your fathers brow, or on the
| vacant chair or on the memory of the one
| departed? Speak out, old armchalrl With
reference to your father, the words OF my
text have been fulfilled. Thou shalt bt
missed, because thy seat will be empty"
go a little further on in your house and
find the mothers chair. 1t is very apt TO
rocking chair, She had so many
| cares and troubles to soothe that 1t must
have lockers. | remember 1t well; 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 n creaking noise as 1t moved; but
| there was music in the sound. 1t was just
! high enough to allow us children to put our
heads into her lap. That was the bank
where We deposited all our hurts and wor
ries. Ali what a chair that was. 1t was
different from the fathers chair; it was Ell
tirely different. You ask me howf | can
not tell; but we all felt it. was different
| Perhaps there was about this chair more
when we had done wrong. When we were
wayward father scoldei, but mother cried.
1t was a very wakeful chair. In the
SICK days of children other chair
could not keep awake; that chair Away
kept awake-kept easily awake. The chall
knew all the old lullabies and all those
wordess songs which mothers sing to their
sick children-songs in which all pity anc
compassion and sympathetic influence ar
combined.
That old chair has stopped rocking for
good many years. 1t may be set up in tn
loft or the garrett but it holds queenl,
power yet. When at midnight you wen
into that grog shop to get the intoxicating
draught, did you not hear voice that said
MY son, why go in thereY' Aud loude
than tho bosterous encore OF toe place o
sinful amusement voice saying, IN
son, what do you do hereF' And whe
YOU went into the house OF abandonment