The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-03
THE GLOW OF THE SUNSET
THE THOUGHT PRESENTED BY DIR.
TALMAGE YESTERDAY.


erythinE Goes Right-It il Neces-
znry 20 GrappIe with Temptation
Washington. Aug. DIR. Talma@e's sub
5ect to-day lights Up the sorrows OF thi'
life and sounds the Gospel OF good cneei
for all who viii receive 10. HIS text was
Luke a: %: Abide with as. for 10 is To-
ward evening"
Two villagers. having concluded their
errand in Jerusalem. have started Out al
the city gate and are on their way 20 I'm
maus. the place Of their residence. They
20 with a sad heart. Jesus who had been
their admiration and their JOY had been
basely ulassacred and eutombed. As with
sad face and broken heart they pass on
their way. stranger accosts them. They
tell him their anXieties and bitterness Of
soul He In turn talks to them, nightly
expounding the Scriptures. lie throws
over them the fascination Of intelligent
conversation. They forget the time. and
notice not the objects they pass. and be
fore they are aware, have come up in
front Of their house. They pause before
the entrance and attempt to persuade the
stranger 10 tarry with them. They press
upon him their Inequalities. Night is COM
ing on, and he may meet proving wild
beast or be obliged 10 lie unsheltered
from the dew. He cannot go much further
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 I'm the words
abide with us. for IL is toward evening"
The candles are lighted the table is
spread, pleasant socialties are enkindled.
They rejoice in the presence OF the
stranger guest. He asks a blessing upon
the bread they eat, and he hands a piece
OF 1t TO each. Suddenly and with over
whelming power the thought flashes upon
the astonished peOple-it is the Lord And
as they sit in breathless wonder looking
upon the resurrected body Of Jesus, he
vanished. The interview ended. He was
gone.
with many of us It is a bright, sun
shiny day of prosperity. There is not a
cloud in the sky, not a leaf rustling In
the forest. No chill in the air But we
cannot expect all this to last. He is not
an intelligent man who expects perpetual
daylight of Joy. The sun will after awhile
near the horizon. The shadows will
lengthen. While I speak, many of us
stand in the very hour described in the
text. FOR II Is toward evening" The re-
quest for Hhe text is appropriate for some
before me. For with them ~ is toward
the evening of old age They have passed
the meridian OF life They are sometimes
startled to think how old they are. They
do not, however, like to have others re-
mark upon it. If others suggest their
approximation toward VeneraD bic appear
ance, they say, why, I'm not so old.
after ALL" They do, indeed, notice that
they cannot lift quite so much as once.
They cannot walk quite 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 merriment.
They are surprised at the quick passage
of the year. They say that II only seems
a little while ago that they were boys.
They are going a little down hill There
is something in their health, something
in their vision, something IN their walk,
something In their changing associations,
something above, something beneath,
something within, to remind them that II
is toward evening.
The great want of all such is to have
Jesus abide with them. 1t is a dismal
thing to be getting old without the rejuv-
enating influence of religion. When We
step on the down grade of life and see that
IL dips to the verge of the cold river, we
want to behold some one near who VIII help
us across it, When the sight loses its
power TO glance and gather up, we need
the faith that can illumine. When we 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
dences of mercy. When the aX-men of
death hew down whole forests of strength
and beauty around us and we are left in
solitude, we need the dove Of divine mercy
TO sing in our branches. When the shad-
ows begin to fall and we feel that the day
is far spent, we need most of all to suppli-
cate the strong, benehcent Jesus in the
prayer of the villagers, abide with us,
for it is toward evening"
The request of the text is an appropriate
exclamation for all those who are ap-
preached in the gloomy hour of tempta-
tion. There is nothing easier than to be
good-natured when everything peases, or
TO be humble when there is nothing to OPP
pose us, or forgiNing when we have not
been assailed, or honest when we have no
Involvement to fraud. But you have felt
the grapple of some temptation. Your ma
ture at some time quaked and groaned I'M
der the Internal force. You felt that the
devil was after you. You saw your
Christian graces retreating. You feared
that you would fall in the awful wrestle
with sin and be thrown into the dust The
gloom thickened The first indications of
the night were seen in all the trembling
of your SOUL in all the internal sugges lions
of satan, in all the surging up of tumultu-
Gus passions and eXcitements, you felt
with awful emphasis that II was toward
evening. In the tempted hour you need
TO ask Jesus to abide with you. You can
beat back the monster that would devour
you. You can unhorse the sin that would
ride you down. You can sharpen the bat
tle-ax with which you split the head of
helmeted abominationl Who helped Pau
shake the hrazen-gated heart of Felix ?
crew howled in the Mediterranean ship
wreck? Who helped the martyrs to be
firm when one word of recantation would
have unfastened the withes of the stake
and put out the kindling fire? When the
night of the soul came on and all the deni-
zens of darkness came riding upon the
winds of perdition-who gave strength to
the soul? Who gave calmness to the
heart? Who broke the spell of infernaI
enchantment? He who heard the request
of the villagers. abide with us, for 1t Is
toward evening"
One of the forts OF France was attacked
and the outworks were taken before night.
The beseiging army lay down, thinking
there was but little TO do in the mornias,
and that the soldiery in the fort could be
easily made to surrender. But during the
night. through back stairs, they escaped
unto the country. In the morning the be-
seging army sprang upon the battle
ments, but found that their prey was gone.
So, when we are assaulted in temptation,
there is always some secret stair by which
we might get or. God will not allow Us
to be tempted above what we are abe,
but with every temptation will bring a
way of escape that we may be able to
bear it.
The prayer of the text is appropriate for
all who are anticipating sorrow. The
greatest folly that ever grew on this plan
ct is the tendency 10 borrow trouble; but