Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-03-11
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun.
day Sermon.
Subject: "From Twenty to Seventy"

oSOfS 0ft0 tcbs - osiaA AZ, ~
The SEVENTEEN milestone of life is here
planted as at the end of the journey. A few
20 beyond it, muititudes never reach it. The
Oldest rerson of modern times expired at
169 years. A Greek of the name OF Strava-
ride lived to 1872 years. An Englishman OF
the name Of Thomas Parr livei 152 years.
Before the time of Moses people lived 15)
year,, and il you go far enough back they
lived 500 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. II
the generations had been short lived, the
story would so often have changed lips that
1t might have got all astiay.
But after Moses began to write it down
and par cbment told it IRON century to cens
fury it was not necessary that people live so
long in order to authenticate the events o.
the past II in our time people lived only
twenty-five years, that would not affect his
tory, since it Is put in print AMI is no longer
dependent upon tradition. Whatever your
age, l will tod directly address you, and
l shall speak to those who are in the twens
ties, the thirties, the forties the fifties, the
sixties, and to those who are in the seven.
ties and beyond,
First, then, / accost thoss of you who
are in the twenties. You are full of expec-
tation. You are ambitio1s-that is, il you
amount to anything-for some kind of sue
cess, commerce al or mechanical or profes.
sional or literary or agricultural or social or
moral. II | find some one in the twenties
without any sort of ambition, l feel like
saying: my friend, you have got on the
wrong planet. This is not the world for you
You are going to be in the way. Have you
made your choice OF poorhouses? You will
never be able to pay for your c.adle. VINO
Is going to settle for your board? There is
mistake about the fact that you were born
at all.n
But supposins you have ambition, let me
say to ali the twentie.. Expect everything
through divine manipulation, and then you
will get all you want or something better.
Are you looking for wealth? Well, remen-
Der that God Jntrols the money markets,
the harvests, the droughts the caterpillars,
the locusts the sunshine, the storm, tho
land, the sea, an1 You viii get wealth. Per.
hars not that which is stored IN. n banks, in
safe deposits in United States secur ties, ia
houses and lands, but your clothing an
board and shelter, and that is about all you
can appropriate anyhow. You cost the
Lord a great deal, To feel and clothe and
shelter for lifetime requires big su n of
money and If you get nothing more than
the absolute necessities you get an enormous
amount OF supply.
Expect as much as you will of any kind Of
success; /, you expect it from the Lord, You
are safe. Depend on any other resource AMI
you may be bafly chagrinei, but depend on
God and all will be vel. 1t Is gooi thing
in the crisis of life to have a man of large
means back you up. 1t is great thing to
have a moneyed institution stand benin
you in your undertaking. But it is might
Ter thing to have the God Of heaven and
earth your coadjutor, an you may have
Him. am so glad that meet you while
you are in the twenties, You are laying out
your plans, and all your life in this world
and the next for 500 CO., 900 years of your
existence will be aft 4cted by those plans, 1t
is about o'clock in the morning of yout
life, and you are just starting out. Which
way are you going to start? o., the TWEEN.
tiesl
twenty is a great word in the Bible
Joseph was sold for % pieces of silver. Sam
son judged Israel p years Solom IN gave
Hiram 20 cities. The flying roll that
Zecharian saw was 20 cuoirs. When the
sailors of the ship on which Paul sailed
sounded the Mediterranean SEA, it was -
tathoms What mighty things have oeen
done in the twenties Romulus founded
Rome when he was 90. Keats finished life
at %. lafayette was a world renowned
soldier at %. O5er.in accomplished his
chief work by %. Bonaparte was victor
over Italy at %. Pitt was prime minister
of England at g. CALVIN had competed
his immortal INSTITUTE DT Tile tllilb ne
was 26. Grotius was attorney general at a.
Some OF the mightiest things for Col an
eternity have been done in the twenties. As
long as you can put the fl cure '2' before the
other figure that helps describs your age
have high hopes about you. LboG out for
that figure %" Watch its continu4nc,
with as much earnestness as you ever
watched anything that prom sai your saliva
ton or threatene you demolltlon. Wn1r
- A.. .tzA
tinue you decide your occu patton an tls
principles by which you will be guided. You
make your most abiding fren tships. Iou
arrange your hone life. You fix your
habits. Lord Col Almighty, for Jesus
Chrst's SAKE, have mercy on all the men
and women in the twenties.
Next accost those in the tnirties. You
are at an age waen YOU find what a tough
thing 1t is to get recO 5nizs1 and established
in your occupation or profession. Ten years
ago you thought all that was nee essary for
success was to put on your shutter the sign
of physician or dentist, or attorney or broker
or agent, and you wouIi have plenty of bust
ness. How many hours you sat AMI waite
for business and waited in vain three per-
sons only know-foj, your wife AMI
yourself. In commercial life you have not
had the promotion an the increase in salary
You anticipated, or the plaza you expected
to occupy in the firm has not been vacated.
The produce Of the farm, with which you
expected to support yourself and those de-
peni NJ on you, ami TO pay the interest on
the mortgage, has been far less than you
anticipated, or the pr IS vera down, o. spa
cial expenses for sickness male drafts on
your resources that you could not have ex-
pected.
In some respects the hariest decade of
life is the thirties, because the results ara
oanaraliv far habint tho anticin n If
is very rare indeed that a young man does
as did the young man last Sunday night,
when he came to me and saidi II have bsel
SO marvelously prospsre sncs | came to
this country that l feel, as matter of
gratitude, that | ought to dedicate myself
to Col" Nine-tenths OF the poetry Of life
has been knocked out of you since you came
into the thirties. Men in the diff erent pro-
LESSONS and occupations saw that you were
rising and they must put an estoppel or you
or you might somehow stani in the way.
They think you must be suppressed.
From 30 to ~ it is an especially hard time
for young doctors, young lawyers, young
merchants, young farmers, young mechan-
les, young ministers The struggle of the
thirties is for honest aui helpful and re-
munerative recognition. But few old pee
pie know how to treat young people without
patroniztng them on the one hani or suub-
Joseph stood bstore Pnaraol at 81. Dlvii
was 80 years old when he b,gan to reign.
The height of Solomon's temple was 80 Gu
bits Christ entered upon His active ministry
at 80 years Of age. Ju las sol hims,lf for
81 pieces OF silver.
Oh, the thirtiesi What a word SUI ggesti7s
of triumph or disasterl Your decade is the
one that will probably afforl the great est
opportunity for victory, because there is
fha U1.aa tast OapassitU Str rlo Rood
the worlds history AM know what ara the
thirt'es for gooi or bad, Alexander the
Great closed his career at 81, Frederick the
Great made Europe tremble with his armies
at 35, Cortes conquered Mexico at 80.
Grant fought Shiloh AID Donelson when 9S.
Raphael died at 81. Luther was the hero
of the reformation at 50. Sir Pnilip Sydney
got through by 81.
The greatest deeds for God and against
Him were done within the thirties, and your
greatest battles are now and between the
time when you cease expressing your age by
putting n ST ngure ~ ana tue time VII
you will cease expressing it by putting first
flgurs '3.H As it is the greatest time OF
the struggle. adjure you, in Gods name
and by Gods grace, make it the greatest
achievement Ny prayer is for all those in
the tremen ious crises of tho tiirt:eS The
fact is that by the way you decide the pres.
emit decade OF your history you decide ali the
following deca les.
When was in Russia was disappointe |
in not seeing the battlefield Of Boro limo
Why was there fought such battle at that
small viIlage' It was 20 miles from Mo.c wv.
Why that desperate struggle in which l25
wv Frenchmen erAp2lad with l6l 900 Ru.-
SLAMS and 5000 dead Frenchmsn and 81, O0l
dead Russians were left on the field? l.
was because the fate of Moscow, the sacred
city of Russia, was decided thsre--decidei
30 miles away. Aud let me tell you, people
OF the thirties. you are now at the Boro limo,
whence will resound its successes or its moral