The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-09-09
AT THE TABERNACLE.
DR.. TALMAGE SPEAKS OF THE USES
OF ADVERSELY.

A Consoiing Interpretation of the Psalm
lists Words, "Put Thou My Tears Into
Thy Bottle''-God's Acquaintance with
Our Griefs-Comfort For the Afflicted.
BROOKLYN, Aug. 27.--Rev. r. De Witt
Talmage chose unique theme ms his sub
feet for today-viz, "a Bottle of Tears"
the text selected being Psalms lvi, s, Put
thou my tears into thy bottle"
Hardly mail has come to me for 20 years
that has not contained letters saying that
my sermons have comforted the writers of
those letters. have not this summer nor
for 20 years spoken on thAplatform of any
outdoor meeting, but coming down / have
been told by hundreds of people the same
thing. So think l will keep on trying to
be "son of consolation"
The prayer of my text was pressed out of
David's soul by innumerable calamities,
but it is just as appropriate for the dis
tressed of all ages Within the past cen
fury travellers and antiquarians have ex-
plored the ruins of many of the ancient
cities, and from the very heart of those
buried splendors of other days have been
brought up evidences of customs that long
ago vanished from the world. From among
lachrymatories, or lachrymals, which are
walls made of earthenware. 1t was the Gus
tom for the ancients to catch the tears that
they wept over their dead in n bottle, and
to place that bottle in the graves of the de-
parted, and we have many specimens of the
ancient lachrymatories, or tear bottle, in
our museums.
When on the way from the Holy Land
our ship touched at Cyprus we went back
into the hills of that island and bought
tear bottles which the natives had dug out
of the ruins of the old city. There is moth
ing more suggestive to me than the tear
bottles which l brought home and put
among my curiosities. That was the kind
of bottle that my text alludes to when Da-
vid cries, Put thou my tears into thy bot
tie"
GOD KNOWS OUR GRIEFs.
The text intimates that God has an init
mate acquaintance and perpetual remem-
brance of all our griefs, and vial, or lach-
rymatory, or bottle, in which he catches
and saves our tears, and l bring to you the
coincidence of this Christian sentiment.
Why talk about griefS Alas, the world
has its pangs, and now, while speak, there
are thick darknesses of soul that need to be
lifted. There are many who are about to
break under the assault of temptation, and
perchance, if no words appropriate to their
case be uttered, their perish. l come on no
FOOLS errand. Put upon your wounds no
salve compounded by human quackery;
but, pressing straight to the mark, hail
you as a vessel midsea cries to a passing
craft, "Ship ahoyr' and invite you on
board vessel which has faith for a rud-
der, and prayer for sails and Christ for
+a,, Il fop MN nj arhp
Catherine Rheinfeldt, Prussian, keeps
a boat with which she rescues the drown
ing. When a storm comes on the coast,
and other people go to their beds to rest,
she puts out in her boat for the relief of the
distressed, and hundreds of the drowning
has she brought safely to the beach. In
this lifeboat of the gospel put out today
hoping, by Gods help, to bring ashore al
least one soul that may now be sinking in
the pillows of temptation and trouble. The
tears that were once caught in the lachry
matories brought up from Herculaneum
and Pompeii are all gone, and the bottle il
as dry as the scoria of the volcano that sub
merged them, but not so with the bottle
in which God gathers all our tears.
First, remark that God keeps perpetu
ally the tears of repentance. Many MAJ
has awakened in the morning so wretcheC
from the nights debauch that he ha
sobbed and wept. Pains in the head ach
ing in the eyes, sick at heart and unfit t.
step into the light. He grieves, not abou
his misdoing, but only about its conse
Quences. God makes no record of sucl
weeping. OF all the million tears that have
gushed as the result of such misdemeanor
not one ever got into Gods bottle. They
dried on the fevered cheek, or were dashet
down by the bloated hand, or fell into tn,
red wine cup as it came again to the lip
foaming with still worse lntoXication.
But when man is sorry for his past an(
tries to do better-when he mourns hi
wasted advantages and bemoans his re
lection of Gods mercy and cries amid thu
decorations of an aroused conscience for hell
out of his terrible predicament-then Goo
listens; then heaven bows down; then scep
tiers of pardon are extended from the throne
q. then his crying rends the heart of heavenl.
compassion, then his tears are caught il
Gods bottle.
You know the story of paradise and tn
peri. think it might be put to highe
adaptation. An angel starts from tn
throne of God to find what thing it can Oh
the earth worthy of being carried back t.
heaven. 1t goes down through the gol,
and silver mines of EARTH but finds moth
ing worthy of transportation to the celes
tial city. 1t goes down through tn
depths of the sea, where the pearls lie, AM
finds nothing worthy of taking back +
heaven But coming to the foot Of a noun
tain it sees wanderer weeping over hi
evil ways The tears of the prodigal start
but do not fall to the ground, for tn
angels wing catches them, and with tina
treasure speeds back to heaven. God see
the angel coming and says, Behold tn
brightest gem of earth and the brightes
Jewel of heaven-the tear of a sinners RI
pentance.
Oh! when | see the heavenly Shepher
bringing lamb from the Wilderness; whe
hear the quick tread of the prodigal has
ening home to find his father; when see
sailor boy coming on the wharf and hurry
ing away to beg his mothers pardon fo
long neglect and unkindness; when l st
the houseless coming to God for shelter
and the wretched, and the vile, and the 81
burned, and the passion blasted appealin
for mercy to a compassionate God, e.
claim in ecstacy and triumph, More teal
for Gods bottlep
BODILY AFFLICTIONs
Again, God keeps tender remembrance
of all your sicknesses. How many of yo
are thoroughly sound in bodyS Not one OF
of tenl do not eXaggerate. The vast mi
jority of the race are constant subjects
ailments. There is some one form of di
ease that you are particularly subject T.
You have weak side or back, or are SUI
ject to headaches or faintnesses or lunl
easily distressed 1t would not take a vel
strong blow to shiver the golden bowl
life or break the pitcher at the fountain
Many of you have kept on in life throuq