The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-04
OPPORTUNITIES OF A LIFE.
REV. TALsIAeE breaches TO A
IMMENSE AUDIENCE.

The Real significance OF the word
Opportunity First Impressed on
the Preacher as lie Faced an I'M
mense Audience NJ Denver-N cry
swift in It's Motions-Never Comes
Back-Danger of Making Light Of
RevivaIs.
New York. Feb. 3.-Rev. Dr.. Tai
mage again found himself facing vast
audience at the Academy Of Music this az
ternoon, while thousands surged around
the entrances, unable TO gain admission.
The academy was crowded shortly after
O'Clock and the preliminary service OF
song was participated in 10y the throngs
that filled the corridors and by many OF
those at the doors on both Irving place
and Fourteenth street as we'll The dis
tinguished divine took for his subject:
Opportunity" the text selected being.
Gal 6. 10. las we have therefore or
portunity, let US 90 good
At Denver. Colorado. years ago. an
audience had assembled for divine wor-
ship. The pastor Of the church for whom
I was 10 preach that night. interested in
the seating Of the people. stood in the
pulpit looking from side 10 side, and
when no more people could be crowded
within the walls. he turned to me and
said. with startling emphasis: what am
opportunity" Immediately that word be-
gan 10 enlarge. and while q hymn was be
ing sung. at every stanza the word "op
portunity'' swiftly and nightly unfolded.
and while the opening prayer was being
made. the word piled up into Alps and
Himalayas Of meaning and spread out
into other ATTITUDES and longitudes of sig
nificance until it became hemisphere. and
it still grew in altitude and circumference
until It encircied other worlds. and swept
out. and on, and around until it was as
big as eternity. Never since have i read
or heard that word without being thrilled
with its magnitude and momentum. OPP
portunity! Although in the text 10 some
II may seem mild and quiet note. in the
great gospel harmony 10 Is a staccatO pas
sage. II Is one of the lovehest and aw-
fullest words in our language of more than
one hundred thousand words OF English
vocabulary. LAS we have opportunity,
let Us do good"
What is an opportunity The Iexico-
grapher would coolly tell you it is a con-
junction of favorable circumstances for
accomplishing a purpose but words
cannot tell what il is Take a thousand
years to manufacture a definition, and
you could not successfully describe IL. OPP
portunityl The measuring rod with which
the Angel of the Apocalypse measured
heaven could not measure this pivotal
word of my text Stand on the edge OF
the precipice Of all time and let down
the fathoming line hand under hand,
and lower down and lower down. and for
quintlllion of years let 10 sink. and the
lead will not strike bottom. Opportunity!
But while l do not attempt to measure
or define the word. I will, God helping me,
take the responsibility of telling you some
thing about opportunity.
First, il Is very swift in it's motions
Sometimes within one minute it starts
from the throne of God, sweeps around
the earth, and re-ascends the throne
from which II started. Within less than
sixty seconds 1t has fulfilled its mission.
In the second place, opportunity never
comes back. Perhaps an opportunity very
much like It may arrive, but that one
never. Naturalsts tell us Of insects which
are born, fulfil their mission and expire
in an hour; but many opportunities die
so soon after they are born that their
brevity Of life is incalculable What most
amazes me is that opportunities do such
over-shadowing, far-reaching and tremen-
AQUS WI n III sum aAlUl AAhlN dlOW~
ance. You are a business man Of large
experience. The past eighteen months
have been hard on business men. A young
merchant at his wits end came into your
office or your house and you said: Times
are hard now, but better days win come. /
have seen things as bad or worse but
we got out, and we viii get out of this.
The brightest days that this country ever
saw are yet to come" The young man
to whom you said that was ready for
suicide, or something worse namely,
fraudulent turn, to get out of his de-
spairful position. Your hopefulness IN
Spired him for all time, and thirty years
after you are dead he viii be reaping
the advantage of your optimism Your
opportunity TO do that one thing for that
young man was not half so long as the
time have taken TO ehearse it.
In yonder third gallery you sit, a man
Of the world, but you wish everybody
well. While the clerks are standing round
in your store, or the men in your factory
are taking their noon spell, some one
says, "Have you heard that one of our
men has been converted at the revival
meeting in the Methodist church," While
1t is being talked over YOU say, well. I
do not believe in revivals. Those things
do not last. People get excited, and Join
the church, and are no better than they
were before. I wish our men would keep
away from those meetings" Do you
know, on man, what you did in that min
ute Of depreciation? There were two
young men in that group who that night
would have gone to those meetings and
been saved for this world and the next,
but you decided them not to go They
are social natures. They already drink
more than Is good for them, and are dis
posed TO be wild. From the time they
heard you say that, they accelerated their
steps on the downward road. In ten years
they win be through with their dissipa-
tons, and passed into the great beyond.
That little talk of yours decided their
destiny for this world and the next.
You had an opportunity that you mis-
improved, and how will you feel when
you confront those two immortals in the
last judgment and they tell you Of the
unfortunate talk of yours that flung
them over the precipice? Oh. mon Of the
world, why did you not say IN that noon
spell Of conversation. Good! l am glad
that man has got religion. wish I had il
myself. Let US all go tonight. Come on;
I will meet you at the church door at
s O'clock" You see, you would have
taken them all to heaven, and YOU would
have got there yourself. Opportunity for