Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-08-23
A DIVINE COMFORTER
GOD WIPES AWAY THE TEARS OF
THE AFFLICTED CHRISTIAN.

GOD WIPES AWAY THE TEARS OF
THE AFFLICTED CHRISTIAN.
DIR. Talmage breaches on the Uses of Be-
reavement as a Preparation For the Flu
ture Life-God's Loving Kindness and
Tender Sympathy.
NEW YORK, Aug. 1S.-Rev. DR.. Tai
mage could not have selected more ap-
propriate subject than the one of today,
considering the bereavement that has
come upon him and his household. he
had already prepared his sermon for to-
day, selecting as a topic Comfort, "
and taking as his text, "And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes, ,"
Revelation vii, H.
Riding across a western prairie, wild
flowers up to the hub Of the carriage
wheel, and while long distance from
any shelter, there came a sudden shower,
and while the rain was falling in tor
rents, the sun was shining as brightly
as I ever saw it shine, and I thought
what beautiful spectacle this is Sc
the tears Of the Bible are not midnight
storm, but rain on pansied pralrleS IN
Gods sweet and golden sunlight. You
remember that bottle which David Ia
beled as containing tears, and Mary S
tears, and Pauls tears, and Christ's
tears, and the harvest Of joy that is to-
spring from the sowing Of tears. God
mixes them. God rounds them. God
shows them where to fall. God exhales
them. A census is taken Of them, and
there is a record as to the moment when
they are born and as to the place OF
their grave.
Tears Of bad men are not kept. Alex
ander in his sorrow had the hair clip
ned from his horses and mules and
made a great ado about his grief, but in
all the vases Of heaven there is not one
of Alexander's tears. 1 speak Of the
tears of Gods children. Alas, me, they
are falling all the time In summer you
sometimes hear the growing thunder
and you see there is a storm miles away,
but you know from the drift Of the
clouds that it will not come anywhere
near you So, though it may be all
bright around about you, there is a
shower of trouble somewhere all the
time. Tears Tears
Tears and Laughter.
What is the use Of them anyhow!
Why not substitute laughterI Why not
make this a world where all the people
are we'll and eternal strangers to pain
and aches? What is the use Of an east
ern storm when we might have a per
petual nor 'wester? Why, when family
is put together, not have them all stay,
or if they must be transplanted to make
other homes, then have them all live
the family record telling a story OF mar
riages and births, but Of no deathG Why
not have the haryests chase each other
without fatiguing toil2 Why the hard
pillow, the hard crust, the hard strug-
gle? 1t is easy enough to explain
smile, or a success, or a congratulatlon,
but come now and bring all your die
tionaries, and all your PHILOSOPHERS, and
all your religions, and help me explain
a tear. A chemist will tell You that 1t
is made up of salt and lime and other
component parts, but be misses the cher
ingredients-the acid Of a soured life,
the viperine sting Of bitter memory.
the fragments Of broken heart. Will
tell you what a tear is. 1t is agony IN
solution. Hear, then, while l discourse
Of the uses Of trouble;
First, it is the design Of trouble to
keep this world from being too attract
i've Something must be done to make
Ms willing to quit this existence If 1t
were not for trouble, this world would
be a good enough heaven for me. You
and would be willing TO take lease
of this life for 1000, 600 years If
there were no trouble. The earth cush-
ioned and upholstered and pillared and
cbandeliered with such expense, no
story Of other worlds could enchant US.
We would say: LET we'll enough
alone. II you want to die and have your
body disintegrated in the dust and your
soul 20 ont on a celestial adventure,
then you can go, but this world is good
enough for mel" You might as we'll go
TO a man who has just entered the
Louvre at Paris and tell him to hasten
of to the picture galleries Of Venice or
Florence. "Why, he would say, "What
is the use Of my going theref There are
Rembrandts and Rubenses and Raphaels
here that haven't looked at yet. " No
man wants to go out Of this world, OF
out Of any house, until no has better
house. To cure this wish to stay here
God must somehow create disgust for
our surroundings How shall he do it2
He cannot afford to deface his horizon,
or TO tear off fiery panel from the sun
set. or to subtract an anther from the
water lily, OF to Danish the pungent
aroma from the mignonette, or to drag
the robes Of the morning in mire You
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