Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-10-05
HIS UNIQUE SERMON.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE breaches ON
DIVINE Cf-lRoGRAPHY

Character IN Ea1jIvr.ting-A Letter From
Home-Names Writer In the Book of
Eternal Life-Inlz E-ado From the Cal.
vary Sacrifice.
WASHINGTON: Oct I've send out
this, one Of the most unique sermons
DE-. Talmage ever preached. It is as
novel as wide sweeping and practical.
His subject is ''Divine Chirography, .
the text being Luke Z, 20. "Rejoice
because your names are written in
heaven. -
Chirography. or the art Of handwrit-
ing, like the science Of acoustics, is in
very unsatisfactory state. While con-
EtTucting church. and told by some
architects that the voice would not be
heard in q building shaped like that
proposed, I came in much anxiety to
this city and consulted with Professor
Joseph Henry Of the Smithsonian insti-
tuition about the law Of acoustics. He
said: GO ahead and build your church
in the shape proposed. and 7 think it
viii be all right. I have studied the
laws Of sound perhaps more than any
man Of my time, and have come so far
as this: Two auditoriums may seem to
be exactly alike and il enc the acoustics
may be good and il the other bad
In the same unsatisfactory stage is
chirography, although many declare
they have reduced it to a science. There
are those who say they can read cbarac-
ter by handwriting It is said that the
way one writes the letter o. decides
his egotism or modesty, and the way
IL
height and depth Of his emotions It is
declared q cramped hand means g
cramped nature, and an easy, flowing
hand a faciie and liberal spirit. But if
there be anything in this science, there
must be some rules not yet announced,
for some of the boldest and most ag-
gressive men have q delicate and small
penmanship, while some of the most
timid sign their names with the height
and width and scope Of the name OF
John Hancock on the immortal docu-
ment. Some Of the cleanest in person
and thought present their blotted and
spattered page, and some of the rough
est put before rs an immaculate ehirog-
raphy. Not our character, but the copy
plate set before Us in our schoolboy day
decides the general style of cur hand
writing. So also there is q fashion in
penmanship, and for one decade the let
tiers are exaggerated and i'll the next
minifed, now erect and now aslant,
now heavy and now fine. An autograph
album is always a surprise, and you
find the penmanship cOntradicts the
character OF the writer's. But while the
chirography Of the earth is uncertain,
our blessed Lord in our text presents
the chirography celestial When adj
dressing the 70 disciples standing before
him, he said, Rejoice because your
names are written in heaven. -
The Book Of Life.
OF course the Bible, for the most
part. when speaking Of the heavenly
world. speaks figuratively while talk
ing about book, and about trumpets, and
about wings, and about gates. and
about golden pavements, and about
orchards with Is crops Of fruit-one
crop each m0nth-aId about the white
horses of heavens cavalry. But we do
well to follow cut these inspired II eta
phors and reap from Ghem courage and
sublime expectation and consolation and
victory. We are told that in the heaven
ly library there is q book Of life. Per
haps there are many volumes in it.
When we say q book, we mean all writ
ten By the author on that subject. I
cannot tell how large those heavenly
volumes are, nor the splend0r Of their
binding, nor the number OF their pages, !
nor whether they are piot0rialized with
some exciting Ecenes Of this world. [
only know tha6 the words have not been
impressed by type, bat written out by
some hand, and that al those who, like |
the 20 disciples to whom Sic text was
spoken, Eepen5 and trust the Lord for
their eternal salvation surely have |
their names written in heaven. Tt may
not be the same name that we carried |
on earth. We may, through the incon- /
siderateness q parents, have 9 name |
that is uncoEtl, or that was afterWard /
dishonored by one after whom we were /
called. J do not know that the 20 en-
frances Of the names Of the 10 disciples
correspond with the record in the genoa /
logical table. It may not be the name
by which VIC were called on earth, but
1t Will be the name by which heaven |
Will know Us, and We viii have it an
nOUDced to Us as we pass in, and we /
viii know It so certainly that we viii /
not have to be called twice by It, as in
the Bible times the Lord called some /
people twice by name: Saul, 6aul!i |
Samuel, Samuel!'' Martha, Martial"
When you come mp and look for your
name in the mighty tones Of eternity
and you are 80 happy as to find It there,
you viii notice that the penmanship is
Christ's. and that the letters were writ
ten with a trembling hand-not trem-
bling with CID age. for he had only /
passed three decades when he expired.
It was soon after the thirtieth anniver- /
ce7rv IF his fl1rtr7ov T,0oTr over eII 4I20