The Monitor-register., 1896-09-25
LIES BRIGHT SIDE.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE'S WORDS OF HOPE
AND CHEER.

tional capital, could Sounu tnrouSn
Christendom, it would give everything
good a new start. DR.. Talmage's text
was Romans xiii, ~, 1.-THE day is at
hand"
Back from the mountains, and the
seaside, and the springs, and the farm
house, your cheeks bronzed and your
spirits lighted, I hail you home again
with the words Of Geha1i to the Shu-
nammite: SIS it we'll with thee? Is it
we'll with thy husband? Is it we'll with
the child?'' On some faces l see the
mark of recent grief, but all along the
track of tears l see the story of resurreo-
ton and reunion, when all tears are
done; the deep blowing of the keel, fol-
lowed by the flash of the p~hosphores-
cence. Now that 1 have asked you IN
regard to your welfare you naturally
ask how l 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 1t 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. l simply know l am
happy. 1t was said that John Mofatt,
the great Methodist preacher, OCCASION
allv got fast in his sermon, and TO eX-
trioate himself would cry 'Hallelu1ah!'
I am in no such predicament today, but
7 am full of the same rhapsodlc eJacula-
ton.
Starting out this morning on a new
ecclesiastical year, | want to give you
the keynote of my next II months min
istry. l want to set it to the tunes OF
s'Antioch, " ''Ariel" Coronation. L
want to put a new trumpet stop into
my ermous 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-
n~rehension 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, 1776, will
see to it that this nation shall not COM
NIT suicide on Nov. s., 1896. By the
time the unparalleled harvests of this
SIMMER get down to the seaboard we
shall be standing in a sunburst of ma
tional prosperity that will paralyze the
pessimists who by their evil prophecies
are DISAPPOINTING the God who hath
blessed this nation as he hath blessed no
other.
Notes of Gladness.
In all our Christian work you and I
want more of the element of gladness.
No man had a right to say that Christ
never laughed. Do you suppose that he
was glum at the wedding in Cana of
Galilee? Do you suppose that Christ
was ~unresponsive when the children
clambered over his knee and shoulder
at his W invitation? 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 not believe in the sparkle and gal
lop and tumultuous joy and rushing
raptures of human life? I 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 q 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 a laugh
as in a tear. Deep spiritual joy always
shows itself in facial illumination.
John Wesley said he was sure of a 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
plaques and wars and tumults and per-
haps the worlds destruction. Do not be
scared. If you have ever stood at a rail
road center where 10 OF 20 or 30 rail
tracks cross each other and seen that
BY the movement of the switch Il OF
two inches the train shoots this way
and that without colliding, then you
may understand how so worlds may
come within an inch Of disaster and
that inch be as good as !, 900, 900 miles.
If q human switch tender a shoot the
trains this way and that without harm,
cannot the hand that for thousands OF
years has upheld the universe keep oul
t:LLI. .-z.1l 500, &c Ho-po'c xyau9 chris.
tian biologists tell US that this world
was millions of years in building. Well,
now, l do not think God would take
millions of years to build a house which
was to last only 6, 900 years. There Is
nothing in the world Of outside the
world, terrestrial or astronomical, to ex-
cite dismay. l wish that some stout
gospel breeze might scatter all the ma
laria Of hlman ~foreboding. The sun rose
this morning at about 6 O'Clock, and
think that is just about the hour in the
worlds history. "The day is at hand. >
The first ray Of the dawn l see in the
gradual substitution of diplomatic skill
for human butchery. Within the last 2t
years there have been international diff
ACANhSCS III WOulu AoNO OAOo5Ao I
shock of arms in any other day, bu'
which were peacefully adjusted, the per
taking the place of the sword. Tht
Venezuelan controversy in any other agt
of the world would have brought shocf
of arms. but now is being SO quietly ad
justed that no one knows just how it il
being settled.
The Alabama question in any othel
age of the world would have caused wa
between the United States and Eng.
land. How was it settled? By men-of.
war off the Narrows or off the Merseyi
By the gulf stream of the ocean crossed
by a gulf stream of human blood? BY
the pathway of nations incarnadined'
No. A few wise men go into a quiet
room at Geneva, talk the matter I'VE
and telegraph to Washington and te
London, "All settled" Peace, peace
England pays to the United States the
amount awarded-pays really more
than she ought to have paid. But still,
ell that Alabama broil is settled-settled
forever. Arbitration instead Of battle.
So the quarrel about the Canadian
fisheries in any other age would have
caused war between the United States
and England. England said, "Pay mt
for the invasion of my Canadian fisher
les" The United States said, 81 vii
not pay anything" Well, the two ma
lions say, 81 guess we had better leave
the whole matter to a commission.
The commission is appointed, and thu
commission examines the affair, and thu
commission reports, and pay we ought
pay we must, pay we Go. Not a pound
of powder burned, no II hurt SO muci
as by the scratch of a pin. Arbitration
instead of battle.
So the Samoan controversy in any
other age would have brought Germany