The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-09-02
! REV.. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINES sun.
| DAY SERMON.
Subjects "The Sin of Borrowing
Trouble"

SuUtClSUC ltHLO te uuy 10 tte
seril lthereof"-Matthew vi, 81.
; The life of every man, woman and child is
as closely under the divine care as though
such person were the only man, woman or
child. There are no accidents. AS there Is
a law of storms in the natural world, so
there IS a law of trouble, law Of disaster,
a law of misfortune; but the majority of the
troubles Of life are imaginary, and the most
of those anticipated never come. At any
rate, there is no cause Of complaint against
God. See how much He hath done to make
thee happy; His sunshine filling the earth
with glory, making rainbow for the storm
and halo for the mountain, greenness for the
moss, saffron for the cloud and crystal for
the hillow, and procession OF hammered flame
through the opening gates OF the morning,
chafinches to sing. rivers to glitter, seas to
chant and springs to blossom, and over
towering all other sounds with its song, and
.overarching all other splendor with its tri-
umph, covering up all other beauty with its
garlands, and outfashins all other thrones
with its Observation-Disclosures for lost
world through the Great Redeemer.
discourse Of the sin of borrowing trouble.
+! First, such habit of mind and heart is
wrong, because it puts one into despon-
dency that i'll fits him for duty. planted
two rose bushes in my garden. The one
thrived beautifully, the other perished. l
found the dead one on the shady side of the
house. Our dispositions like our plants need
sunshine Expectancy of repulse is the cause
of many secular and religious failures. Fear
of bankruptcy has uptorn many tine busl-
ness and sent the man dodgipg among the
note shavers. Fear of SANDER and abuse has
often invited all the long beaked vultures OF
scorn and backbiting. Many Of the misfor-
tunes Of life, like hyepas flee if you courage
pusly meet them.
t How poorly prepared for religious duty is
4 man who sits down under the gloom of ex-
pected misfortune! If he pray, he says II
do not think shall be answered" 1t he
give he says, II expect they will steal the
money" Helen Chalmers told me that her
father. Thomas Chalmers, in the darkest
hour Of the history OF the Free Church OF
Scotland, and when the woes Of the land
seemed to weigh upon his heart, said to the
children, "Come, let US 90 out and play ball
or fly kite" and the only difficulty in the
play was that the children could not keep up
with their father. The McCheynes and the
Summerfelds Of the church who did the
most good, cultivated sunlight. Away with
che horrors! they distill poison; they dig
graves, and if they could climb so high, they
would drown the rejoicings of heaven with
sobs and wailing.
You win have nothing but misfortune in
the future if you sedulously watch for it.
How shall man catch the right kind Of fish
IL he arranges his line and hook aud bait to
catch lizards and water serpents? Hunt for
oats and hawks and bats and hawks you will
find. Hunt for robin redbreasts and you will
6nd robin redbreasts- One night an eagle
and an owl got into fierce battle; the eagle
amused to the night was no match for an
owl, which is most at home in the darkness,
and the king Of the air fell helpless; but the
morning rose, and with it rose the eagle; and
the owls and the night hawks and the hats
came q second time to the combat; now, the
eagle, in the sunlight, with a stroke OF his
talons and great cry, cleared the air, and
bis enemies, with torn feathers and splashed
with blood, tumbled into the thickets. Ye are
the children Of light In the night Of de-
Bpondency you will have no chauce against
your enemies that flock up from beneath,
but, trusting in Col and stan ling in the sun
shine OF the promises, you shall "renew your
youth like the eagla"
Again, the habit Of borrowing trouble is
wrong because it has a tendency to make US
overlook present blessing. To slake mans
thirst, the rock is clett, and cool waters leap
into his briulming cup. To feed his hunger
the fields bow down with bending wheat
and the cattle come down with full udders
from the clover pastures to give him milk,
and the orchards yellow and ripen, casting
their juicy fruits into his lap. Alas! that
amid such exuberance Of blessing man
should growl as though he were soldier on
half rations OF a sailor on short allowance;
that a man should stand neck deep in har-
vests looking forward to famine; that one
should feel the strong pulses Of health march
ing with regular tread through all the ave
nues Of life and yet uremble at the expected
assault Of sickness; that a man should sit in
his pleasant home, fearful that ruthless want
will some day rattle the broken window sash
with tempest, and sweep the Goals from
the hearth. and pour hunger into
the bread tray; that a man fed by
Him who cwns all the harvests should eH-
pect to starve; that one whom God loves
and surrounds with benediction, and attends
with angelic escort, and hovers over with
more than motherly fondreSs, should be
looking for a heritage of tears!
Has God been hard with thee that thou
shouldst be foreboding? Has He stinted thy
board? Has He covered tnee with rags: Has
He spread traps for thy feet, and CALLED thy
cup, and rasped thy soul, and wrecked thee
with storm, and thundered upon thee with
life full of calamity? If your father or
brother come into your bank where gold and
silver are lying about you do not watch
them, for you know they are honest. but II
an entire stranger come by the safe you
keep your eye on him. for you do not know
bis designs. So some men treat God; not as
a Father, but a stranger, and act suspic-
iously toward Him, as though they were
afraid He would steal something.
It is high time you began to thank God
for your present blessing. Thank Him for
your children, happy, buoyant and bound
ing. Praise Him for your home. with its
fountain of song and laughter. Adore Him
for morning light and evening shadow.
Praise Him for fresh, cool water bubbling
from the rock, leaping in the cascade, soar
ing in the mist, falling in the shower, DASH
ing against the rock and clapping its hands
in the tempest. Love Him for the grass
that cushions the earth, and the clouds that
c1rtaiu the sky, and the foliage that waves
in the forest. Thank Him for BILE to
read. and cross to gaze upon, and Saviour
to deliv
Many Christians think it bad sign to be
jubilant, and their work of self-examination
is hewing down Of their brighter expert
enceS. Like q boy with new jacksnife,
hacking everything he comes across SO their
self-examination is a religious cutting to
pieces Of the greenest things they can lay
their hands on. They imagine thsy are DO
ing Gods service when they are going about
borrowing trouble, and borrowing it at
thirty per cent, whica is always sure pre-
cursor Of bankruptcy.
Again, Tue haoiC OF oorroWln5 trOuoie Is
wrong because the present is sufficiently
taxed with trial. God sees that we all need
a certain amount of trouble, and so He ap-
portions it for ali the days and years of our
life Alas for the policy of gathering it al
up for one day or year! Cruel thing to put
upon the back Of one camel all the cargo in
tended for the entire caravan. I never look
at my memorandum oooS TO see what en-
gagements and duties are far ahead. Let
hao r. h,,r3
The shadows of to-day are thick enough.
why i'm Mora thu nrasanno Of nthar chadnpxSS