Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-09-25
LIFE'S BRIGHT SIDE.
REV. DR.. TALMAeE's WORDS OF HOPE
AND CHEER.

He Takes "A Rapturous Outlook" For tn,
Subject Of a Sermon That Shows Chris
tian Courage-The Sunlight OF Progress
Is Fast O'crspreading the World.
WASHINGTON, Sept 30. If the clarion
note Of this sermon, delivered at the ma
tional capital, could sound through
Christendom, it woud give everything
good new start. DR.. Talmage's text
was Romans xiii, IL, 1.-THE day is al
hand"
Back from the mountains, and the
seaside, and the springs, and the farm
house, your cheeks bronzed and your
spirits lighted, 1 hail you home again
with the words Of Gehazi to the Shu-
nammite: "Is il we'll with thee? Is it
well with thy husband? Is it well with
the child?" On some faces l see the
mark of recent grief, but all along the
track of tears see the story Of resurreo-
tion and reunion, when all tears are
done; the deep plowing Of the keel, fol-
lowed by the fash Of the phosphores-
cence Now that 1 have asked you in
regard to your welfare you naturally
ask how 1 am. Very well, thank you.
Whether it was the bracing 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 il is
a new appreciation Of the goodness Of
God, cannot tell. 1 simply know am
happy. 1t was said that John Moffatt,
the great Methodist preacher, OCCASION
ally got fast in his sermon, and to ex-
tricate himself would cry "Halleluiah"
| am in no such predicament today, but
| am full of the same rhapsodio ejaoula-
tion.
Starting out this morning on new
ecclesiastical year, want to give you
the keynote Of my next 10 months min
istry. want to set it to the tunes Of
antioch, "Ariel" Coronation. l
want to put a new trumpet stop into
my sermons. We do wrong if we allow
our personal sorrows to interfere with
the glorious fact that the kingdom is
coming. We are wicked If we allow ap-
prehension of national disaster to put
down our faith in God and in the mis-
sion Of our American people. The God
who hath been on the side Of this ma
tion since the 4th of July. 1875. will
see to it that this nation shall not COM
NIT suicide on Nov. 8, 1896. By the
time the unparalleled hsrvests Of this
summer get down TO the seaboard we
shall be standing IN a sunburst Of ma
tional prosperity that will paralyze the
passimists who by their evil prophecies
are disappearing the God who hath
blessed this nation as he hath blessed no
other.
Notes of Gladness.
In all our Christian work you and l
want more Of the element Of gladness.
No man had right to say that Christ
never laughed. Do you suppose that he
was glum at the wedding in Cana Of
Galilee2 Do you suppose that Christ
was unresponsive when the children
clambered over his knee and shoulder
at his own invitationy Do you suppose
that the evangelist meant nothing when
he said Of Christ, He rejoiced in spir-
it?" Do you believe that the divine
Christ who pours all the waters over
the rocks at Vernal falls, Yosemite,
does lot believe in the sparkle and gal
lop and tumultuous JOY and rushing
raptures Of human life? l 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, take a
laugh and tear into an alembic and as
say them and test them and analyze
them, and you will often find as much
of the pure gold Of religion in laugh
as in tear. Deep spiritual JOY always
shows itself in facial illumination.
John Wesley said he was sure of good
religious impression being produced be-
cause of what he calls the great glad
ness he saw among the people. Goddess
merriment is blasphemy anywhere, but
expression Of Christian JOY Is approprl-
ate everywhere.
Moreover, the outlook Of the world
ought to stir us to gladness Astrono-
mers disturbed many people by telling
them that there was danger OF stellar
collision. We were told by these astron-
omers that there are worlds coming very
near together, and that we shall have
pla0ues and wars and tumults and per-
haps the worlds destruction. DO not be
scared. If you have ever stood at rail-
road center where 10 or 20 or 30 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
NAV understand how 80 worlds may
come within AN inch of disaster and
that inch be as good as l, 900, 600 miles.
II a human switch tender can shoot the
trains this way and that without harm,
cannot the hand that for thousands OF
wears has upheld the universe keep our
little world out of harms way1 Chris
tian geologists tell us that this world
was millions of years in building Wen'
now. I do not think God would take
millions of years to build house which
was to last only 5000 years There Is
nothing in the world or outside the
world. terrestrial or astronomical. to ex-
cite dismay. l wish that some stout
gospel breeze might scatter all the ma
laria of human foreboding. The sun rose
this morning at about 6 o'clock and
think that is just about the hour in the
worlds history. 1.-THE day is at hand.
The first ray Of the dawn see IN the
gradual substitution of diplomatic skill
for human butchery. Within the last 20
wears there have been international dif-
ferences which would have brought a
shock of 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 ad-
iusted that no one knows just how 1t is
being settled.
The Alabama question in any other
age of the world would have caused war
between the United States and Eng
land. How was Il settledl By men-of-