The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1896-11-14
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Diyine's Sermon De.
livered in Washington.
Subject: "The Day is at Hand"

TEXT: sThe day is at hand."-Romans
KILL, ~.
Back from the mountains and the seaside.
and the springs, and the farmhouse, your
cheeks bronzed and your spirits lighted, l
hail you home again with the words Of
Gehazi to the Shunammite: els 1t well with
thee2 Is II well with thy husband? Is it
well with the child?" On some faces see
the mark of recent grief, but oil along the
track of tears see the story OF resurrection
and reunion when all tears are done: the
deep blowing of the keel. followed by the
flash Of the pDosphorescence. Now that
have aske1 you in regard to your welfare,
you naturally ask how / am. Very well,
thank you. Whether it was the Tracing air
OF the mountains, or a bath in the surf of
Long Island beach, or whether it is the Joy
OF standing in this great group Of warm
hearted friends, or whether ii Is new ap-
probation OF the goodness of God, can not
tell. l simply know l am happy.
1t was said that John MofYatt, the great
Methodist preacher, occasionally got fast in
his sermon. and to extricate himself would
cry "Halelujah!" am in no such predica-
ment to-day, but am full Of the same rhap-
sodic ejaculation. Starting out this morn
| ing on a new ecclesiastical year, want to
give you the keynote OF my next twelve
months ministry. | want to set 1t to the
tunes of "Anliocb," "Arlel" and "Corona-
| tlon." / want to put new trumpet stop
into my sermons. We do wrong il we allow
our personal SORROWS to interfere with the
| glorious fact that the Kingdom is coming.
| We are wicked ii we allow apprehension OF
| National disaster to put down our faith in
| God and the mission OF our American peo-
| pie. The God who hath been on the side of
| this Nation since the 4th Of July, 1776, will
| SEQ to Ii that this Nation shall not commit
MI 10 an, bar q Nv INN
| the unparalleled harvests of this summer get
| down to the sea-board, we shall be standing
| In sunburst OF National prosperity that will
| paralyze the pessimists, who by their evil
| prophesies are disappearing the God who
| hath blest this Nation as He hath blest no
| other.
! In all our Chris tian work you and want
| more of the element Of gladness. No man
| had q right to say that Christ never laughed.
Do you suppose that He was glum at the
| wedding in Cana OF Galilee? Do you sup
| pose that Christ was unresponsive when the
children c.ambered over His knee and
shoulder at His own invitation? Do you
| suppose that the Evangelist meant nothing
| when he said OF Christ. she rejoiced in
| spirit?" Do you believe that the Divine
| Christ who pours all the waters over the
rocks at Vernal Falls, Yosemite, does not
believe In tie sparkle and gallop and tumul-
| tuous Joy and rushing raptures of human
| life? believe not only that the morning
| laughs, and that the mountains laugh, and
that the seas laugh, and that the cascades
| laugh, but that Christ laughed. Moreover,
the outlook of the world ought to stir US to
| gladness.
Astronomers disturbed many people by tell
| ing them that there was danger Of stellar
collision. We were told by these astrono
mers that there are worlds coming very near
together, and that we shall have plaques and
wars and tumults and perhaps the worlds
| destruction. Do not be scared. Ii you have
ever stood at railroad centre, where ten or
twenty or thirty rail tracks cross each other,
and seen that by the movement OF the switch
one or two inches, the train shoots this way
| and that, without colliding, then you may
understand how fifiy worlds may come with
in an inch of disaster, and that inch be
as good as million miles. If
| a human swtch-tender can shoot the trains
this way and that without harm. cannot the
hand that for thousands of years has upheld
| the universe, keep our little world out OF
harms way2 Christian biologists tell US
| that this world was millions of years in
| building. Well, now, do not think God
would take millions of years to build house
There Is nothing in the world or outside the
world, terrestrial or astronomical, to ex-
| cite djsmay. / wish that some Stout
Gospel breeze might scatter all the malaria
Of human foreboding.
The sun rose this morning at about
o'clock, and think that is just about the
hour in the worlds history. 'sfhe day is at
hand" The first ray of the dawn see in
| the gradual substitution of diplomatic skill
for human bufchery. Within the asttwenty-
| FIVE years there have been International dif-
! ferences which would have brought q shock
o. arms In any other day, but which were
peacefully adjusted. the pen taking the place
of the sword. The Venezuelan controversy
| in any other age OF the world would have
brought shock OF arms, but now is being SO
| quietly adjusted that no one knows just how
| it is being settled.
The Alabama question in any other age OF
| the world would have caused war between
the United States and England. How was
it settled? By men-of-war Off the Nsrrows,
or Off the Mersey2 No. few wise men got
into quiet room at Geneva, talked the
matter over, and teleglaphed to Washington
aad London, "All settled" Peace! Peacel
England pays to the United States the
amount awarGed-pays really more than she
| ought to have paid. But still, all that Ala.
bama broil is sett.ed-settled for forever.
Arbitration instead of battle.
SO the quarrel about the Canadian fish
| cries in any other age would have caused
war between thu United States and England
| so the Samoan controversy in any other age
would have brought Germany and the
| United States into bloody collision. But
| all Is settled. Arbitration instead of battle.
| France will never again, think, through
| the peccadillo of an Ambassador, bring on a
battle with other Nations. She sees that
| God, In punishment at Sedan, blotted out
the French Empire, and the only aspirant
for that throne who had any right Of ex-
| Pectation dies in war that has not even the
dignity of being respectable. What is the
| leaf that England would like to tear out
OF her history The Zulu war. Down with
the sword and up with the treaty.
| We in this country might better have set
tied our sectional difficulties by arbitration
than by the trial of the sword. Philan-
i thropy said to the North: "Pay down a GER
tain amount OF money for the purchase of
| the slaves, and let all those born after a GER
tain time be born free" Philanthropy said
to the South: "You sell your slaves, and get
rid ofthis great National contest and trou-
ble." The North replied: 81 won't pay a
cent" The South replied: ~ won't sell. :"
War! War! A million dead men, and Ma
tional debt which might have ground this
Nation to powder. Why did we not let
William II. Seward, of New York, and Alex
ander H. Stephens, of Georgia, go out and
spend a few days under the trees on the
banks OF the Potomac and talk the matter
over and settle il, as settle 1t they could,
rather than the North pay in cost of war
four billion seven hundred million dollars,
and the South pay four billion seven hun
bred and fifty million dollars, the destroying
angel leaving the first-born dead In so many
houses all the way from thePenobseot 20 the
Alabama. Ye aged men whose sons fell in
the strife, do you not think that would have
been better? Oh, yes! We have come to be-
lieve. l think, in this country, that arbitra-
t. ~kl Al k.kx