The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-02-20
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
SUNDAYS SERMON in THE NEW
YORK ACADEMY OF MUSIC.
Subject: "Opportunity."

sy. let US do good. "-Galatians VI, 10.
At Denver years ago an audience had as
aembled for divine worship. The pastor o
the church for whom was to preach thai
night. interested in the seating Of the peo
pie. stood in the pulpit looking from side tc
side. and when no more people could be
crowded within the walls he turned to me
and said. with startling emphasis. What an
.opportunity" Immediately tina tword began
t. enlarge, and while hymn was being sung
at every stanza the word opportunity
swiftly and nightly unfolded and while the
opening prayer was being made the word
piled up into Alps and Himalayas OF mean.
dug and spread out into other latitudes and
lonSitudes OF significance until it became
hemisphere, and it still grew in altitude and
circumference until it encircled other words
aud swept out and on and around until It
was az big as eternity. Never since have
read or heard that word without being
thrilled with it's magnitude and momentum.
Opportunity! Although in the text to some
it may seem mild and quiet note, in the
great gospel harmony it Is staccato pas
sage. 1T is one OF the loveliest and awfulest
words in ou., language of more than 100000
words of English vocabulary. Gas we have
opportunity, let us do good"
What Is an opportunity? The photographer
would coo!ly tell you it is a conjunction OF
favorable circumstances for accomplishing a
purpose. but words cannot tell what 1t is.
Take 1000 years to manufacture definition,
and you could not successfully describe 1t.
Opportunity! 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 a quintillion Of years let 1t
sink. and the lead will not strike bottom. OPP
portunity! But while I do not attempt to
measure or define the word will, God help
ing me, take the responsibility Of telling you
something about opportunity.
First, it is very swift in its motions. Some
times within one minute 1t starts from the
throne Of God. sweeps around the earth and
reascends the throne from which it started.
Within less than sixty seconds it fulfilled its
mission.
In the second place, opportunity never
comes back. Perhaps an opportunity very
much like it may arrive, but that one never.
Naturalists tell us Of insects which are born,
fulfill their mission and expire in an hour,
but many opportunities die so soon after
thAy are born that their brevity of life Is in
calculable. What most amazes me is that op-
portunities do such overshadowing, for
reaching and tremendous work in such short
earthly allowance. You are business man
of large eX erience. 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:
i''Times are hard now, but better days will
come. have seen things as bad or worse,
but we got out, and we will 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 some
thing worse-nameiy, fraudulent turn to
get out of his despairful position. Your
hopefulness inspired him for all time, and
thirty years after you are dead he Will be
reaping the advantage OF your optimism.
Your opportunity to do that one thing for
That young man was not half rs long as the
lime have taken to rehearse it.
.. In yonder third gallery you sit, man OF
the world, but you wish everybody we'll.
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 con-
verted at the revival meeting in the
Methodist Church," While it Is being talked
over you say: "Well, do not believe In re-
Sivals. 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, o man, what you did In that
minute 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 60. They are
social natures. They already drink more
than is good for them and are disposed to be
wild. From the time they heard you say
that they accelerated their steps on the down.
ward road. In ten years they will be through
with their designations and pass into the
great beyond. That little talk Of yours de-
;cided 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 that unfortu-
precipice2 o man Of the world, why did you
not say In that noon spell Of conversation:
"Goodl I am glad that man has got re-
iigion. Iwish I had it myself. Let us all 60
tonight. Come on. Twill meet you at the
church door at 8 o'clook?" You see, you
would have taken them all to heaven, and
you would have got there yourself Oppor-
tunity lost!
The day left our country home to look
after myself we rode across the country, and
my father was driving. OF course said
are hundreds Of men here who from their
own experience know how I felt. At such a
time young man must be hopeful and even
impatient to get into the battle VI life for
himself. but to leave the homestead where
everything has been done for you, your father
or older brothers taking your part when you
were imposed on by larger boys, and your
mother always around when you got the cold
with mustard applications for the chest or
herb tea to make you sweat of the fever and
sweet mixtures In the cup by the bed to stop
the cough. taking sometimes too mnch of It
because 1t was pleasant to take. and then to
so out, with no one to stand between you
and the world, gives one choking sensation
at the throat and home sickness before you
have got three miles away from the old folks.
There was on the day spoke OF silence for
a long while. and then my father began to
tell how good the Lord had been to him in
sickness and in health, and when times Of
hardship came how Providence had always
provided the means Of livelihood for the
large household, and he wound up by say
ing, 'De Witt, have always found 1t safe to
trust the Lord" My father has been dead
thirty years, but in all the crises OF my life
and there have been many of them-I have
felt the mighty boost Of that lesson in the
farm wagon, "De Witt, have always found
1t safe to trust the Lord" The feet was my
father saw that was his opportunity, and he
improved it.
LIS 10 ouo IedoOu Nuy dlu Gil eutuuSlltS-
tic friend Of all Young Mems Christian As
sociations. They get hold OF so many young
men Just arriving in the city and while they
are very impressionable, and it is the best OPP
portunity. Why, how big the houses looked
to us as we first entered the great city, and so
many people! 1t seemed some meeting must
have just closed to fill the streets in that way,
and then the big placards announcing oil
styles Of amusements and so mnuy Of them on
<bae iObf p1 ivht oft hou
hood had been spent in regions whore only
once or twice In whole year thero had been
an entertainment In school-house or church.
That il the oppOrtunity Start that innocent