The Dickinson press., 1893-03-18
TIE PERIODS OF LIFE.
A SERMON FOR YOUNG. MIDDLE
AGED AND OLD FOLKS.
The Plans of the Twenties, the Dis
appointments of the Thirties,
the Discoveries of the For
ties, and the Harvest
Of the Fifties.

Seventy The text selected was Psalm
NC. 10: THE days Of our years are
three score and ten"
The SEVENTEEN milestone of life is
here planted as at the end of the jour
neN. n few 20 beyond it: multitudcS
never reach it. The oldest person OF
modern tunes expired at 1863 years.
\ Greek. by the name of Stravarndc.
by the name of Thomas Parr lived
1:2 years. Before the time of Moses
people lived 100 years. AMI il YOU go
FAR enough back they lived 800 years.
Well, that Was necessary. because the
story of the world must come down
by tradition, and it needed long life
safely To transmit the news of the
past. IL the generations had been
short lived. tn" story would so often
have changed lips that it might have
got al astlay. But after Moses began
To write it down. and the parchment
told it from century to century, it was
no necessary that people live so long
i'll order to authenticate the events of
the past. If. in IL time. people lived
only twenty-five years. that would not
affect history, since it is put in print
and Is no longer dependent on tradi-
ton. Whatever your age, ! will to-
day directly address YOU, and l shall
speak to those who are i'll tho twentirS,
the thirtics. the fortieS. the %tifties, the
sixties. and to those who are i'll the
seventies and beyond.
First, then. ! accost those of you who
are in the twenties. You are full of
expectation. You are ambitiouS--that
Is. II You amount to anything = for
some kind of success. commercial. or
mechanical. or professional. or lite
rary, or agricultural. or social. or
moral. If l find some one in the twcn-
ties without any sort of ambition. /
feel like saying: My friend. YOU have
got OH the wrong planet. This is not
the world for you. You are going to
he i'll the way. Have YOU made your
choice of poor houses? You will never
he b to pay for your cradle. Who
is going to settle for Your board? There
is IL mistake about the fact that you
were born at ALL" But supposing Won
have ambition. let me say to all the
twenties. expect everything through
divine manipulation. and then you will
get all You want or something better.
Are you looking for wealth? Well. re-
markets. the harvest. the drolths. the
c%aterpillars. the locusis. the sunshine,
the storm, the land. the sea. and you
will get wealth. Perhaps not that
which is stored up in banks. in safe
deposits. III United States securities,
i'll houses and lands. but your clothing
and board and shelter, and that is
about all You can appropriate. anyhow.
You cost the lord Il great deal. To
feed and clothn and shelter you for 4
lifetime requires Il big sum of money.
and if You get nothing more than the
absolute necessities YOU get an cnor-
nous amount of supply. Expect as
much as you will of any kind of Sic
cess. if YOU expect it from the Lord
you are safe. Depend on any other
resource and YOU may be badly chag-
lined. hut depend on God and all will
be We'll. 1t is IL good thing in the crisis
of life to have Il man of large means
back YOU UP. 1t is Il good thing to
have Il moncy"d institution stand be-
hind You i'll You undertaking. But it
is Il mightier thing to have tho God of
YOU may may have him. am SO glad
that | meet YOU While you are in the
twcnti"S. You are laying out your
plans and all your life i'll this world
and the next for 300, 100000 years Of
your existence will be affected by those
plans. 1t is about s o'clock in the
morning of your life. and You are just
starting out. Which way are you go
ing to start? Oh. tho twcntics!
"Twenty' is q great word in the
Bible. Joseph WAS sold for twenty
pieces of silver. Samson Judged Israel
twenty years. Solomon gave Hiram
twenty cities. The flying roll that
Iechariah saw was twenty cubits.
When the sailors of the ship on which
Paul sailed sounded the Mediterranean
sea it was twenty fathoms. What
mighty things have been done in the
twentics! tomu!us founded Rome
when he was twenty. Keats finished
life at twenty-five. Lafayette was a
world renowned soldier at twenty
three. Oberlin accomplished his chief
work by tWenty-seven. Bonaparte was
victor over Italy at twenty-siX. Pitt
was prime minister of England Mt
twenty-five. Calvin had completed his
immortal institutes" by the time he
was twcnty-siX. Grotius was attorney
general at twcnty-four. Some of the
mighticst things for God and eternity
have been done in the twcnties. AS
long as you Gun put the figure so" be
fore the other figure that helps to de.
scribe your age. ] have high hopes
about you. Look out for that figure
80" Watch its continuance with as
much ealncstnesS as you ever watched
anything that promised You salvation
or threatened you demolition. What :
critical time, the twentieS. While they
continue you decide your Occupation
and the principles by which you are
guided You make your most abiding
friendships. You arrange your homo
1;fn No,, Ey vnr,. Iolit, o,,l NO,
Almighty, for Jesus ChriSt'S sake. hay,
} mercy on all the men and women il
the twcntieS!
Next l accost those in the thirties
: You are at an age when you finl wha
! Il tough thing it is to get recognizes
: and established in your occupation o
profession. Tel years ago YOU though
all that was necessary for success
was to put on your shutter the sig
| of physician or dentist or attorney o
broker or agent. and you would hav
plenty of business. How many hour
l you sat and waited for business an
5 waited in vain. three persons onl
know-God. your Wife and yoursel.
In commercial life you have not la
e the promotion.and the increase in sa
1 airy you anticipated, or the place 70
9 expected to occupy in the firm has nc
heen Vacated. Tie u OIL III
farm, with which you expected to SUI
h port yourself and those depending O
you, and to pay the interest on til
e mortgage, has been far less than 20
- anticipated, or the prices were dow
or special expenses for sickness mad
~ draughts or your that yo
q could not have expected. In some r
20 Spects the hardest decade of life is
~ the thirties, because the results al
~ generally so far behind the anticip;
o. tons. 1t is very rare indeed that
. young man does as did the young ma
20 last Sunday night when he came
n me and said, II have been so marve
L. ously prospered since 1 came to til
s, country that l feel, as Il matter
gratitude, that ought to dedicate m
h. self to God" Nine-tenthS of the poet
8, of life has been knocked ont of "
Il. since YOU came into the 1hirtieS. NJ