Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1896-08-07
AT THE CLOSE OF DAY
THE GOSPEL OF GOOD CHEER FOR
THE BORROWING.

Rev. DR.. Talmage Draws Vivid Pictures Of
the Lengthening Shadows OF LIfe-when
Time Ends and Eternity Begins-The
Light of Christ.
WASHING Ton, Aug. 2.-Dr. Talmage's
subject today lights up the sorrows Of
this life and sounds tho gospel Of good
cheer for all who will receive it. His text
was Luke xiv, go, "Abide with us, for
1t is toward evening.
Two villagers, having concluded their
erTand in Jerusalem, Lave started out at
the city gate and ARE on their way to En-
maus, the place of their residence They
go with n sad heart. jesus who had been
their admiration and their joy, had been
/ basely massacred and entombcd. As with
sad face and broken heart they pass on
their way, a stranger accosts them They
tell him their anxioties and bitterness of
soul He in turn talks 70 them, nightly
| expounding the Scriptures. He throws
over them the fascination Of intelligent
! conversation. They forget the time and
notice not tho objects they pass and be-
foro they are aware have come up In front
of their house. They pause before the en-
trance and attempt to persuade the stranger
to tarry with them. They press upon him
their hOspitalities Night is coming on,
and he may meet providing wild beast
or DO obliged to lie unsheltered from the
dew. He cannot go much farther now.
! Why not stop there and continue their
pleasant conversation? They take him by
the arm and they insist upon his coming
in, addressing him In the words, abide
with us, for It is toward evening"
The candles are lighted, the table is
spread, pleasant socialities arc enkindled.
They rejoice in the presence OF the stranger
guest He asks blessing upon the bread
they eat ard he hands piece Of 1t to each.
Suddenly and with overw helming power
the thought flashes upon the astonished
people-it is the Lord And as they sit in
breathless wonder, looking upon the resur-
rected body of Jesus, he vanished The in
terview ended He was gone.
Tho Bright Day.
With many of us it is bright, sunshiny
day Of prosperity There is not q cloud in
the sky, not leaf rustling in the forest,
no chill in the air But we.cannOt expect
all this to last. Hc is not an Intelligent
man who expects perpetual daylight Of joy.
The sun will set after awhile near the hori-
zon. The shadows will lcngthen. While
l speak, many of us stand in the very hour
described in the text, "fOr it is toward
evening"" The request of the text is APP
propriate for some before me. For with
them it is toward the evening Of old age
They have passed the meridian of life
They are sometimes startled to think how
old they arc. They do not, however, like
to have others remark upon it, If others
suggest their approximation toward veneer
able appearance, they say, "Why, Pm not
SO old after all " They do, indeed, notice
that they cannot lift qHite so much as once.
They cannot walk quito SO fast. They
cannot read quite so well without spec
tacles. They cannot so easily recover from
a cough or any occasional ailment. They
have lost their taste for lnerrimcnt They
arc surprised at the quick passage of the
year. They say that it only seems little
while ago that they were boys. They are
going n little down hill There is some
thing in their health, something in their
vision, something in their walk, some
thing in their changing associations, some
thing above, something beneath, some
thing within, TO remind them that it is to-
ward evening.
The great want Of all such is to hav'
Jesus abide with them. 1t is dismal
thing to be getting old without the reju-
venating influence Of religion. When we
step on the down grade of life and see that
it dips to the verge of the cold river, we
want to behold some one near who will
help us across it When the sight loses its
power to glance and gather up, we need
the faith that can illumine. When VIC feel
the failure Of the ear, We need the clear
tones of that voice which in olden times
broke up the silence of the deaf with ca
dence of mercy. When the axmen of death
how down whole forests Of strength and
beauty around us and We are left in soil
tude, we need the dove Of divine mercy to
sing in our branches. When the shadows
begin to fall and we feel that the day is |
far spent, we need most of all to supplicate |
the strong, beneflccnt Jesus in the prayer
of the villagers, "Abide with us, for it is |
toward evening"