The morning times., 1896-11-16
|S0WING THE SEED In MANY SORTS OF SOIL
Rev. Dr.. Talmage Talks About
Christian Struggles. :,
THIS TO PREsBYTERIANs
Jacobs WrestIe With the Angel
by the Brook Jabbok His
Picturesque Text.

IT, ~ .ss,
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage preached yes
terday morning at the First Presbyterian
Church. His subjectiwas "a .wrestie with
the supenatural,Hs and the text was
Genesis xxxii:25-2e-f.And when he saw
he prevailed not agaInSt himhe touched the
Jacobs thigh was outiof joint as he wres-
tied with him. And he said, Let me go for
the day breaketh.D
DIR. Talmage inhi9iving notice OF his
sermon on Thanksgiving Day morning said:
You have noticeuthe unique and beau
urul proclamation OF our President, VINO IS
the only one in that high office who has
ever recognized our Divine, Saviour in
public document. Christ is most worship
fully recognized 10 TINS proclamation of
thanksgiving" .,-..- -f=,-
DR.. Talmage said in part:
There is cloud Of dust from travel
Ing herd Of cattle and sheep and goats and
camels. They are the present that Jacob
sends To gain the good VIII Of his offended
brother. That night Jacob halts by the
brook Jabbok. But there Is no rest for the
weary man. No shining ladder to let the
| angels down into his dream; but severe
struggle that lasts until morning with an
unknown visitor. They each try to throw
| the ether. The unknown visitor, to reveal
his superior power, by a touch. wren:hes
Jacobs thighbone from its socket, perhaps
crippling him for life. As on the morning
sky the clusters Of purple cloud begin to
ripen, Jacob sees it is an angel with whom
he has been contending, and not one nf his
brother coadjutors. Let me CO. cries
the angel. lifting himself up into increas-
ing light, the day breaketh'
EVERY CHRISTIAN KNOWS IT.
You SEE. in the first place. that God al
lows good people sometimes to get into a
terrible struggle.
II will go further, and say that every
Christian has his struggle. With finan-
cial misfortune some OF you have had the
midnight wrestlc. Red-hot disasters have
dropped into your store from loft to cellar.
What you bought you could not sell. Whom
you trusted, fled The help you expected
would not come
Some giant panic, with long arms, and
grip like death, took hold OF You In an
awful wrestle, from which YOU have not
yet escaped, and it Is uncertain whether IL
will throw YOU ,'or you Will throw 1t.
From wrestle With habit, have seen
men fall back defeated Calling for no
help, but relying on their own resolutions
they have come into he struggle: and for
n time 1t seemed as If they were getting
the upper hand OF their habit; but that
habit rallied again its internal power, and
lifted the soul from Its standing, and with
a force borrowed from the pit, hurled il
into outer darkness.
But thank God have, often seen better
termination than this. l have seen men
prepare themselves for such wrestling
They laid hold of Gods help as they went
into combat. The giant habit, regaled
by the cup of many designations, came out
strong and defiant. They Clenched There
lrn fh. tlttt and At
fearful struggle. But the old giant began
to waver; and at last, in the midnight,
alone, with none but God to witness, by
the brook JabbOk. the giant fell; and the
triumphant wrestler broke the darkness
with the cry, Thanks be unto God, who
giveth us the yiet9rysthregsh our Lord
Jesus Christ - s.I-.,t-,
THE APPROACH OF DAWN.
There is widows heart, that first
was desolated byibereavemcnt and since,
by the anxieties ana trials S.iat came in
the support Of family. Ii is sad thing
to see man contcDhing for a livelN ood
under disadvantages: but TO see a delicate
woman, with helpless little ones at her
lack, fighting the giants of poverty and
sorrow, is more affecting.
1T was a humble home; and passers-by
knew not that within those four walls
were displays of courage more admirable
| thdH tldt VI tTOsSlIlS Cne AIDS,
or In the pass of Thermopylac, or at Bala-
klava, where into the jaws OF death rode
| the six hundred
Again, We ma take the idea of the text,
and announce the approach of the da " dawn
No one was ever more glad to see the
morning than was Jacob after that night
! Of struggle. 1t is appropriate for pbilan-
| tbropists and Christians to carr out withthis
| angel of the text, The day breaketh.
| n t,-i.
| Superstition has had its strongest props
| knocked out. The tyrants of earth are
| falling flat in the dust The Church of
| Christ S rising up in Its strength to &c
| forth, fair as the morn, clear as the sun
| and terrible as an army with banners Clap
your hands, all ye people, the day break
| eth
| LAS look around me, see many who
| have passed through waves Of trouble that
came up higher than their girdle In God's S
| name l proclaim cessation of hostilities
| You shall not always saddened and heart
broken. God will lift your burden God will
| bring Your dead to life. God will stancb
the hearts bleeding know he will. Like
as father pitieth his children, so the Lord
pties You. The pains of earth will end
| The tomb will burst. The dead will rise
| The morning star trembles on a brighten.
ling sky. The gates of the east begin to
| swing open. The day breaketh'
THE LAST wRESTLE.
| Luther and Melancthon We're talking to-
| gether gloomily about the prospects of the
| Church. They could see no hope of de-
| liverance After a WHILE Luther got UP
| and said to Melancthon, Come, Philip,
let us sing the forty-sixth psalm, .'1od is
our refuge and strength in every time of
| trouble."'
death to many. nay, to all, is struggle
and a wrestle. We have many friends
whom it would be hard to leave, care
not how bright our future hope is 1t is a
bitter thing to look upon this fair world,
and know that we shall never again see its
blossoming spring its autumnal fruits. its
sparkling streams and to say farewell to
| those with whom we played in childhood
I or counselled in manhood. In that night.
like Jacob, we may have to wrestle, but
| God will not leave us unblessed 1t shall
| not be told in heaven that u dying soul
| cried unto God for help, but was not de-
| livered. The lattice may be tu. ned to keep
out the sum- or book set to dim the light
of the midnight taper; or the room may be