Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1891-07-25
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun
day Sermon.


TEXT: Thou shalt be missed, Jecaus,
thy seat ,cittbe enptu ri Samuel Xxx. IS
Set on the table the cutlery and the chased
silyerware of the palace, for King Saul viii
give state dinner to-day. A distinguished
place is kept at the table for his son-in-law,
celebrated wsrricr, David by name Tbs
guests, jeweled and plume1, come in and
take their places. Wnen people are invited
to king banquet they are very apt to 90.
But before the covers are lifted from the
feast Saul looks around and finds vacan;
seat at the table. He SAYS within
himself, perhaps audi5ly, What does
this mean? Where is my son-in-law?
Where is David, the great war
rior? invited him. l expected hun What!
a vacant chair at the kings baiiquetp 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 cosxed David 10 go and occupy that
place at the table saying TO David in the
words of my tex, 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 thalr all the occupied caairs at
the banquet
In almost every house the articles Of fur
niture take living personality. That
picture-a stranger would not So anything
remarkable either in its design or execution
but il is more to you than all the pictures OF
the Louvre and the Luxembourg. You re-
meInLe Ell who fought it. AMI who admired
1T, And that hymn book-you re,neirl-
ier who sang out OF it, And that
eradle-you remember who rocked it. And
that Bible-You remember who read
out of It. And that bed-you remember WAC
slept init And that room--you remember
who died in it. But there is nothing in all
your houseso eloquent and so mighty voiced
as the vacant char. l suppose that before
saui and his guests got up from tdis banquet
there was a great Cater of wine pitchers.
but all that racket was drowned Que by the
voice that came up from the vacant chair at
the table.
Millions have gael and wept at John
Quincy AdamSs vacant chair in the house of
representatives, and at Wilson's vacant
char IN the yice-presdency and at Henry
Ciays vacant chair in the American senate.
ana at Prince Aloert's vacant chair in Wind
SCR castle, and Mt Theirs vacant chair in the
councils Oh the French nation. But all these
chars are unimportant 10 you as compared
with the vacant chairs in your own household.
Lave ttese chairs any lesson for us to leaTn2
Are we any better men and women than
when they first addressed Us?
First point cut to you the fathers va
cant char. Cd men always like to at in
They somehow feel more at home, AMI s0me-
times when you are in their place ami they
come into the room you jump up sut-
denly and say. Here. father, here's your
chair" The probability is it is an arm
chair, for he is no5 so strong as he onc9
was, and he needs little upholding. His
har is little frosty his guns little de-
presse J, for in his early days there was not
much dentistry. Perhaps cane chair and
nlf
have suggested some improvem 3nt. father
does not want any Of your nonsense. Grand
father never had mucn admiration for new
tangled notions.
sat at the table Of one of my parshion
ers in 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 SO
happy as when With his eyes closed h. sat
in the armchair in the corner. From
the wrink!ed brow to the lip 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 a little imp3-
tient, and sometimes told the same story
twice; but over that old chair how many
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 50
unwise as TO make over all his property TO
his Children, with the understanding that
they are to take care OF him. l have seen in
such cases children crowd tine old mans
chair to the door, and then crowd it clear
into the street, and then crowd it into tho
Ilfnar
the old man fell out Of it into his grave.
But your fathers chair was a sacred place
The children used to climb up on the rungs
of it for a good night kiss and the longer ne
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 lntiu-
ence in your domestic circle. saw in the
French palace and in the throne room, thu
chair that Napoleon used 10 OCCUPY.
1t was a beautiful chair, but the mos
significant part of it was the letter
~" 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 embrolded INTO the
back of that old chair in purple and gold the
letter IF" Have all ode prayers OF that
old chair been answered. Have all the
counsels of that old CHAIR been practicedl
Speak out old armchair.
History tells us of an old man whose tire
sons were victors in the Olympic games, am
when they came back these three sons, witt
their garlands, put them on the fathers bro v,
and the old man was so reiojcel at the vic
tories of his three children that he fell deal
in their arms. And ara you, On map going IL
bring wreath of joy and Christian usefuine'
and put it on your fathers brow, or on thy
vacant chair, or on the memory of the on
departed? Speak out, old armch1ir! Will
reference to your father, the wor Is oG ms
text have been fulfilled, Thou shalt bt
missed, because thy seat viii be empty"
go a little further on in your hoJs1 ana
| find the mothers chair 1t is very apt t.
tie a rocking chair. She had so many
cares and troubles to soothe that it mus.
have lockers. / remember j. well: it wa,
an old chair, and tho rockers were almost
worn out, for | was the youngest, AMI tbs
chair had rocket the whoe family. 1t
made a creakinc noise as it novel, but
there was music in the sound. 1t was Just
high enough to allow US children to put or
heads into her lap. That was the bank
where we deposited all our hurts ami woc-
rieS. All! what chair tdat was. 1t was
different from the fathers chair; it was en-
tirely different. You ask me how? lean
not tell; but We all felt it was different.
Perhaps there was about this chair more
gentleness more tenderness, mor5 grief
when we had done wrong. When We wer5
hayward father scolde /, but mother criel.
1t was a very wakeful chair. In the
sick days of children other chairs
could not keep awake; that chair always