Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-07-24
"THE VACANT CHAIR"
DR.. TALMAGE breaches IN
LAKESIDE. OHIO.
Multitudes Gather 10 Hear His
Thrilling Sermon Taken from the
Text-Thou Shalt Ise Missed BE
cause Thy Seat Will be Empty.


this delightful place To a vast multitude.
His subject was the Vacant Chair"
and his text, Samuel 90, Is: "Thou
shalt be missed, because thy seat will
be empty"
Set on the table the cutlery and the
chased silver-ware 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, a cele-
brated warrior, David by name. The
guests, jeweled and plumed, come in
and take their places. When people
are invited TO "A kings banquet, they
are very apt to go. But before the
covers are lifted from the feast, Saul
looks around and finds vacant seat at
the table. lie says within himself,per-
haps audibly, "What does this mean?
Where is my son-in-law? Where is
David the great warrior? l invited
him. | expected him. What! a vacant
chair at the Kings banquet" The
fact was that David, the warrior,
had been seated for the last
time at his father In laws
table. The day before Jonathan had
coaxed David To go and occupy that
place at the table, saying to David in
the words of my text, Thou shalt be
|
empty" The prediction was fulfilled.
David was missed. HIS seat was empty.
Chat one vacant chair spoke louder
chan all the occupied chairs at the ban
auet.
But your fathers chair was sacred
place The children used to climb up
ON the rungs of it for goodnight
Kiss, and the longer he stayed
she 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 ii is throne of influence in
your domestic circle. / saw in the
French palace, and in the throne room,
the chair that Napoleon used to oc-
cupy. 1t was beautiful chair, but
the most significant part of it was
! the letter ''N' 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 embroidered into
the back of that chair in purple and
gold the letter "F." Have all the pray
ers of that old chair been answered?
Have all the counsels of that old chair
been practiCed? Speak out! old arm
chair. History tells us of an old man
whose three sons were victors
in the Olympic games, and when
they came back, these three
sons, with their garlands, put
them on the fathers brow, and the old
man was so rejoiced at the victories of
his three children that he fell dead in
their arms. And are you, oh man,
going 20 bring a wreath of joy and
| Christian usefulness and put it on your
fathers brow, or the vacant chair, or
on the memory of the one departed?
Speak out old armchair. With refer
ence TO your father, the words of my
text have been fulfilled: Thou shalt
be missed, because thy seat will be
empty"
20 little further on in your house,
! and find the mothers chair. 1t is
very apt TO be roclxing-chair. She
had SO many cares and troubles TO
soothe that it must have rockers. L
remember it well. 1t was an old chair,
and the rockers were almost worn out,
for was the youngest, and the chair
had rocked the whole family. 1t made
creaking noise as it moved;
but there was music in the sound.
That old chair has stopped rocking for
good many years. 1t may be set up
in the loft or the garnet, but it holds "a
queenly power yet. When at midnight
you went into that grog-shop to get the
Intoxicating draught, did you not hear
voice that said: My son, why go in
there?" And louder than the bolster
Gus encore of the place of sinful amuse-
ment, voice saying, My son, what
do you do here?' And when you
went into the house of aban-
donment, voice saying, "What would
your mother do if she knew you were
here?" And you were provoked with
yourself, and you charged yourself
with superstition and fanaticism and
your head got hot with your own
thoughts, and you went home and you
went to bed, and no sooner had you
touched the bed than a voice said:
"What prayerless pillow? Man
what is the matter? This: You are
too near your mothers rocking-chair.
"Oh, pshaw!' you say. There S
nothing in that; I'm five hundred miles
off from where L was born; I'm three
thousand miles off from the churc n
whose bell was the first music ever
heard" i cannot help that: you are
too near your mother rocking-chair.
"Oh," you say. there can't be any
thing in that; that chair has been va
| CAM IL Nnllt. CdIHOJ
that: it is all the mightier for that; it i
omnipotent, that vacant mot ler's
chair. 1t whispers; it speaks
1t weeps; it carols; it prays; il
thunders. a young man went off, and
broke his mothers heart, and while he
} was away from home his mother died
and the telegraph brought the son, and
he came into the room where she lay
and looked upon her face, and he cried
out: ''Oh, mother! mother! what your
life could not do your death shall
effect. This moment / give my heart
TO God" And he kept his promise
Another victory for n vacant chair
} With reference TO your mother, the
words of my text were fulfilled: "Thou
shalt be missed, because they seat will
be empty
l go on a little further, and | come
60 the invalid's chair. What! How
long have you been sick? "Ol | hay,
been sick ten, twenty, thirty years" /,
l it possible? What a story of endur
: ancc. There are in many of the fami
lies of my congregation these invalic