The Penn's Grove record., 1893-12-22
REV. Or. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvI MES sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Under Disadvantages"

AAAthsy z0s
The utter demolition of the Assyrian host
1 was here, predicted Not only robust men
should go forth and gather the spoIls OF con-
GUEST. but even men crippled of arm and
81. ppled of foot should go out and capture
mucn that was valuable. Their physical dis
advantages should not hinder their great en-
richment. So 1t has been in the past so it
is now so it will be in the future. So IL is
in all departments. Men laboring under
seemingly great disadvantages and amid the
most u~nfavorable circumstances, yet making
grand achievements, getting great blessing
for themselves. great blessing for the world,
great blessing for the church, and 30 ''the
lame take the prey"
Do you know that the three great poets OF
the world were totally biiDd-Homer, 0s-
sian, John Milton? Do you know that Mr..
Prescott, who wrote that enchanting book,
1.-THE Conquest of Mexico" never saw
Mexico, could not even sec the paper on
which he was writing? A framework across
1.-The sheet, between which, up and down,
went the pen immortal. Do you know that
Gambsssio, the sculptor could not see the
marble before him or the chisel with whi.h
he cut it into shapes bewitching2 Do YOU
know that Alexander Pope, whose poems
will last as long as the English language,
was so much Of an invalid that he had to be
sewed up every morn'nc IN rough canvas in
order to stand on his feet at alp
oO Ou AAOn hlo DAudIAs tho SClVpLalNu
painter, did much OF his wonderful work un-
der the shadow of the dungeon where he had
been unjustly imprisoned for debit Do you,
know that Demosthenes, by almost %superhu-
man exertion, first had to conquer the lisp
of his own speech before he conquered as
semblages with his e~loquence? Do yor know
that Bacon struggled all through innumer-
able sicknesses, and that Lord Byron and Sir
walter Scott went hmping on clubfoot
Through all their life, n that many of the
great poets and painters and orators and his
korians and heroes of the world had tome
thing to keep them back, and pull. them
down, and impede their way, and cripple
their physical or their intellectual move
mene and yet that they pushed on and
pushed up until they reached the spoils of.
worldly success, and amid the huZza of
Nations and centuries ''the lame took the
prey"
You know that a vast multitude of these
men started under the disadvantage OF OBJ
scure parentage-Columbus, the son of the
weaver Ferguson, the astronomer, the son
of the shepherd. America the prey of the
one worlds on worlds the prey OF the other.
But what is true in secular directions is more.
true in spiritual and religious directions and
| proceed to prove 1t.
There are in all communities many inva-
lids. They never know a well day. They.
adhere TO their occupations, but they go
painting along the streets with exhaustlons,
Rnd at eventime they lie down on the lounge
with achings beyond all indictments. They
have tried all prescriptions, they have gone
through all the cures which were proclaimed
infallible, and they have now.eome to sur.
render to perpetual ailments. They con-
slider they are among many disadvantages I;
and when they see those who are buoyant in.
health pass by, they almost envy their robust
frames and easy respiration.
But l have noticed among that invalid
class those who have the greatest knowledge
| of the Bible, who are in nearest intimacy
with Jesus Christ, who have the most glow
ing experiences Of the truth, who have had
the most remarkable answers to prayer, and
| who have most exhilarant antieipations of
heaven. The temptations which weary us
| who are in robust health they have con-
quered.
Many who are alert and athletic and
swarthy loiter in the way-'the lame take
the prey" Robert Hall an invalid, Edward
Payson al invalid, Richard Baxter an inva-
lid, Samuel Rutherford an invalid. This
| morning. when you want to call to MIND
those who are most Christ-like, you think of
some darkened room in you fathers house
| from which there went forth an influence
potent for eternity.
A step farther Through raised letters the
art of printing has been brought to the atten-
ton OF the blind.
You take up the Bible for the blind, and
you close your eyes, and you run your fingers
over the raised letters and you say "Why,
/ never could get any information in this
| way. What a slow, Humorous way of read
ing! God help the blind p
And yet l find among that class of persons.
among the blind, the deaf and the dumb, the
most thorough acquaintance with Gods
word. Shut out from all other sources OF
Information, no sooner does their hand ouch
| the raised letters than they gather a prayer.
I Without aNTac fhav ln0k off TnNn fhA Zinc.
dons of Gods love. Without hearing, they
catch the ministrelsy OF the skies. Dumb,
| yet with pencil, or with irradiated counte-
nance, they declare the glory OF God.
A large audience assembled in New York
at the anniversary Of the Deaf and Dumb
| Asylum, and one of the visitors with chalk
on the blackboard wrote this question to the
pupils, "Do you not hnd it very hard to be
deaf and dumb?" And one of the pupils
| took the chalk and wrote on the blackboard
! this sublime sentence in answer, "When the
song Of the angels shall burst upon our en-
,raptured ear, we will scarce regret that our
ears were never marred with earthly SOUNDS.
| Oh, the bregntest eyes IN hesven will be
those that never saw on earth. The ears
most alert in heaven will be those that in
this world heard neither voice OF friend nor
| thrum of harp, nor carol of bird nor doxoi-
ogy Of congregations.
A lad who had been blind from infancy
was L aO ONulA5l oBtA uIbIl ~
lad and then put a very heavy bandage over
the eyes, and after a few weeks had gone by
the banda2e was removed and the mother
said to her child "Willie, can you see?'
| He said: "Oh. mamma, is this heaven"
The contrast between the darkness before and
the brightness afterward was overwhelming.
End / tell you the glories OF heaven will be a
th~ousandfold brighter for those who never
saw anything on earth. While many with
good vision c Ised their eyes in eternal night.
and many who had n good, artistic and cul-
tured ca. wsnt down into eternal discord,
these afflicted ones cried unto the Lord in
THAR trouble, and he made their sorrows
their advantage, and so ''the lame took the
prey"
In the seventh century there was a lie.
gend OF st. Modobert. 1t was said that his
mother was blind, and one day while look
ing at his mother he felt so sympathetic for
her blindness that he rushed forward and
kissed her blind eyes, and the legend says
her vision came Immediately. That was
only q legend, but it is a truth, a glorius
truth, that the kiss Of Gods eternal love has
brought to many a blind eye eternal illumi-
nation.
A step farther: There are those in all com
m~unities who toll nightly for a livelihood.
They have scant wages. Perhaps they ara
diseased or have physical infirmities, so they
are hindered from doing a continuous days
work. A city missionary fin Is them up the
dark alley, with no fire, with thin clothing,
with very coarse bread. They lever ride in
the street car they cannot afford the five
cents. They never see any pictures save
those in the show window on the street, from
which they are often jostled and looked at by
some one who seems to say in the look
'.Move on What are you doing here look
Ing at pietures?"
Yet many of them live on mountains Of
TRANSPORTATION. At their rough table Hs
who fed the 5000 breaks the bread They
talk often OF the good times that are coming.
This world has no charm for them, but
heaven entrances their spirit. They often
divide their scant crust with some forlorn
wretch who knocks at their door at night.
and on the blast of the night wind, as tho
door opens to let them in is heard the voice
OF Him who said, 81 was hungry, and he fed
Me-" No cohort OF heaven will be too bright
to transport them. BY Gods help they have
yanquished tine A-syr.An host. They have
divided among them the spoils. Lame.
lame, yet they took they prey.
A step farther There are in all communl-
ties many orphans. During our last war and
In the years Immediately following, how
many children at the North and South we
heard SAT- ss0hH mv father WAS KILLED in the