The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-11-19
THE SICK GENERAL.
Rev. Dr.. Talmase'S Sermon Yesterday
Through the Press.


TO Push Us on to Ripper Fruits-The
Finger of Childhood Often Points the
Right Direction to Grown Persons.
Brooklyn, Nov 1S.-Rev. DR.. Talmage
has chosen as the subject of to-day's ser
mon through the press: The Sick Cen
Grail" the text selected being II. Kings
81: He was leper.'
Here We have warrior sick; not with
pleurisies or rheumatisms or consump-
tons but with disease worse than all
these put together. 4 red mark has come
out on the forehead precursor of com
plete Disagreement and dissolution.
have something awful to tell you. Cen
eral Naamau, the commander-in-chief of
all the Syrian forces has the leprosy! It is
on his hands, on hiS face, on his feet, on
his entire person. The Leprosy, Get out
of the way of the pesulence! If his breath
strike you, you are a dead man. The
commander-in-chief Of all the forces of
SYRIA And yet he would be glad to ex-
change conditions with the boy at his
stirrup. or the hostler that blankets his
charger. The news goes like wilddre all
through the realm, and the people are
sympathetic, and they cry out: rs it pos
sible that our hero, who slew Ahab. and
around whom We came with such vocifer-
alton when he returned from victorious
battle-can it be possible that our grand
and glorious Naaman has the leprosy?"
Yes. Everybody has something he wishes
he had not. David, an Absalom to dis
grace him, Paul a thorn to sting him: Job,
carbuncles to plague him; Samson, a
Delilah to shear him; Ahab, a Naboth to
deny him; Hannah, a Mordecai to irritate
him George Washington, chiIdlessness to
afflict him; John Wesley a termagant
wife to poster him; Leah, weak eyes;
Pope, a crooked back; Byron. a club foot.
John Milton, blind eyes; Charles Lamb, an
insane sister; and you, and you, and YOU
and you, something which you never bar
gained for, and would like to get rid of
The reason of this is that God does not
want this world to be too bright; other
wise, we would always want to STAY ard
eat these fruits, and lie on these LOUNGES.
and shake hands in this pleasant society
We are only in the vestibule of a grand
temple. God does not want us to stav on
the doorstep, and, therefore, he sends
aches and annoyances, and sorrows and
bereaVements of all sorts to push us on
and push us up toward ripper fruits and
brighter society and more radiant pros
perities God is only whipping us ahead
The reason that Edward Payson and
Robert Hall had more rapturous views of
heaven than other people had was be-
cause, through their aches and pains
COO pushed them nearer up to it, If God
dashes out one of your pictures. it is
only TO show you a brighter one. If he
sung your foot with govt, your brain
with neuralgia, your tongue with an in
eXtinguishable thirst, it is only because
ne is preparing to substitute a better
BODY than you ever dreamed of when the
mortal shall put on Immortality 1t is to
push you on, and to push you up toward
something grander and better that God
sends upon you, as he did upon Gen Naa-
man, something you do not want. Seated
IN his Syrian manson-all the walls gilt
terlng with the shields which he had can
tured in battle; the corridors crowded
with admiring visitors who just wanted to
see nm once; music and mirth and ban
quoting FILLING all the mansion from tes-
selated floor to pictured ceiling-Naaman
would have forgotten that there was any
thlng better, and would have been glad to
stay there ten thousand years But o.
how the shields dim, and how the visitors
ny the hail, and how the music drops dead
from the string, and how the gates of
Bang, as you read the closing words of the
eulogium He was a leper! He was a
leper!"
Ihere was one person more sympathetic
with Gen. Naaman than any other person.
Naaman's wife walks the floor, wiring
ing her hands, and trying to think what
she can do to alleviate her husbands
suffering. All remedies have failed. The
surgeon-general and the doctors of the
royal stan, have met, and they have
shaken their heads, as much as to saw:
NO cure, no cure" l think that the
office-seekers had folded up their recon-
mendations and gone home Probably
most of the employees of the establishment
had dropped their work and were think
ing of looking for some other situation.
What shall now become of poor Naaman's
wife? She must have sympathy some
where. In her despair she goes to a lit
lie Hebrew captive, a servant girl in her
house, to whom she tells the whole story:
as sometimes, when overborne by the sor-
rows of the world, and finding no sympa-
thy anywhere else, you have gone out
and found in the sympathy of some hum
BILE domestic-Rose, or Dinah, or Bridget
help which the world could not give
you
What a scene it was: one of the grand
est women in all Syria in cabinet council
with waiting maid over the declining
health of the mighty general! Il know
something" says the little captive maid (:
i know some thing" as she bounds to her
bare feet. In the land from which / was
stolen there is q. certain prophet known
by the name of Elisha, who can cure al
most anything, and l shouldn't wonder if
he could cure my master. Send for him
right away" "Oh, hushi" you say. IF the
highest medical talent in all the land can
not cure that leper, there is no need Of
your listening 10 any talk of servant
girl But do not scott do not sheer. The
finger of that little captive maid is
pointing in the right direction. She might
have said. This is a judgment upon
you for stealing me from my native land.
Didn't they snatch me off in the night,
breaking my fathers and mothers heart ?
and many a time ] have lain and cried
all night because 1 was SO homesick."
Then, flushing up into childish indigua-
ton she might have said. Good for
them; I'm glad Naamans got the leprosy:
] wish all the Syrians had the leprosy"
NO. Forgetting her personal sorrows she
symp2thizes with the suffering of her
master and commends him to the famous
Hebrew prophet.
And how often ii is that the finger of
childhood has pointed grown persons in
the right direction. o. Christian soul,