Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1895-02-09
BE ON THE LOOKOUT.
SERMON OH OPPORTUNITY sY REV.
Or. TAlmAGE ~ NEW YORK.


Things Fha, 10 Snt LATHE Lesson n
the Farm Wagon Opportunities THAT
Made aie- Famous The Great chaus- Of
Au-Its T-niis.
Nrw YORK. reb s.-Rev Dr Tai.
mage again found himself facing vas.
audience a. the Academy Of Music this
afternoon. while thousands surged
around the entrances unable 70 gain ad-
mission The Academy was crowded
shortly after 2 O'Clock. and tho prelim-
mary service Of song was participated
IN hy tho throngs that filled the corri-
dors and BY many Of those at the doors
ou both Irving place and Fourteenth
street Is we'll The distinguished divine
took FOR his subject Opportunity.
the text selected being Galatians vi, 10.
As we have therefore opportunity. let
us do good -
At Denver years ago an audience had
assembled for divine worship. The pas
tor Of the church for whom l was 20
Ircach that night. interested in the
eating 81 the people. stood in the pull
pit looking from side 10 side, and when
no moro people could bo crowded within
tho walls he turned 90 me and said,
with startling emphasis. What an OPP
poriuuitv," Immediately that word Re-
gan 90 enlarge. and while a hymn was
being sung ut every stanza the word
opportunity" swiftly and nightly
unfoldcd, and while the opening prayer
was being made the word piled up into
Alps and Himalayas of meaning and
spread ont into other latitudes aud
longitudes Of significance until il be-
came hemisphere, and it still grew in
altitude and circumference until il en-
circled other words and swept ont and
un and around until it was as big as
eternity. Never since have l read or
heard that word without being thrilled
with its magnitude and momentum.
Opportunity Although in the text 10
some it may seem mild and quiet
note. in tho great gospel harmony il is
\ staccato passage. IL is one Of the love-
lest and awfulest words in our Ian
guage Of more than 100. 600 words of
English vocabulary. AS we have op-
portunity. let us do good. l."
Opportunity Defined.
What is an opportunity? The lexi-
cographer would coolly tell You il is
conjunction Of favorable circumstances
for accomplishing purpose, but words
cannot toll what il is Take 200 years
TO manufacture a definition, and you
could not successfully describe il. OPP
portunityl The measuring rod with
which the angel Of the Apocalypse mea-
sured heaven could not measure this
pivotal word Of my text. Stand on the
edge Of tho precipice Of all time and let
down the fathoming line hand under
hand and lower down and lower down
and for quintillion Of years let il sink,
and tho lead will not strike bottom.
Opportunity But while do not Mt.
'empt 10 measure or define the word |
will. God helping me. take the respon-
sibility ~ telling you something about
opportunity.
First. il is very swift in its motions.
Sometimes within ono minute il starts
from the throne of God, sweeps around
the earth and reascends the throne from
which it started. Within less than GO
r'AhAN~ ~ iullllltW us lIlhSlOus
In tho second place. opportunity
never comes back. Perhaps an oppor-
tunity very much like il may arrive,
hut that one never Naturalists tell MS
~ insects which arc born, fulfill 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 overshadow.
ing, far reaching and tremendous work
m such short earthly allowance You
are = business man Of large experience.
The past IS months have been hard on
business men. AyounS merchant at his
wits end came into your Office or your
house, and you said: Times are hard
now. but better days will come have
seen things as bad or worse, but we got
ont. and we will get out Of this The
brightest days that this country ever
saw arc yet 90 come A" Tho young man
90 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.
spircd him for all time. and 30 years
after You are dead no will be reaping
tho advantage Of your optimism Your
opportunity to do that one thing for
that young man was not half as long
ms tho time have taken to rehearse it,
Little Things That Decide Destiny.
In yonder third gallery you sit. man
Of the world, bnt 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 az the re-
yival meeting in the Methodist church,"
While it il being talked over yon say:
We'll. | 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 wish
our men would keep away from those
meetings. Do You know. o man,
what you did in that minute Of depre-
citation. There We're two young men in
that group who that night would have
gone 70 those meetings and been saved
for this world and the next. but you
decided them not 90 60. They are social
natures. They already drink more than
j. EpfA lot thtih ana are ulsIOseu 10 DE
Wild. From the time they heard you
say that they accelerated their steps on
the downward road. In ten years they
Will b. through with their designations
and pass into the great beyond. That
little talk Of yours decided their desti
ny for this world and the next You
had an opportunity that You misim-
proved. and how Will you feel when
You confront those two immortals IN the
last judgment and they tell you OF that
unfortunate talk Of yours that flung
them over the precipice, o man OF
tho world why did you not say in that
noon spell II conversation: Good /
am glad that man has got religion.
wish had IL myself Let us all go To-
night Come ON. Twill meet You at the
church door az : o'clock You see, Won
would have taken them all 10 heaven,
and you would have got there yourself.
Opportunity lost,
Tho day left our country home TO
lo0l, after myself we rode across tho
country. and my father was driving.
OF course ! said nothing that implied
how felt But there are hundreds Of
m,n hero who from their own experience