The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1896-10-09

ThLMAGE'S SERMON.


send this out, one of the most unique
sermons DR.. Talmage ever preached.
1t is as novel as wide-sweeping and
practical. His subject is, Divine
Chirography," the text being: Luke,
10: 20: Rejoice because your names
are written in heaven"
Chirography, or the art Of handwrit-
ing, like the science of acoustics. is in a |
very unsatisfactory state. While con-
structing a church, and told by some
architects that the voice would not be |
heard in a building shaped like that
proposed l came in much anxiety TO
this city and consulted with Professor
Joseph Henry, of the Smithsonian IN
stitution, about the law of acoustics.
He said: Go ahead and build your
church in the shape proposed, and
think it will be all right. l have stud
led the laws of sound perhaps more
than any man of my time, and nave
come so far as this: Two auditorlums
may seem to be just exactly alike, anu
in one the acoustics may be good ana
in the other bad" In the same unsat-
isfactory stage is chirography, although
many declare they have reduced IL 10
a science. There are those who say
they can read character by handwrit-
ing. 1t is said that the way one writes
the letter az decides his egotism or
modesty, and the way one writes the
letter 20" decides the height ana
depth of his emotions. 1t is declared
q cramped hand means a cramped ma
ture, and an easy, flowing hand faclle
and liberal spirit; but If there be any
thing in this science, there must De
some rules not yet announced, LOT
some Of the boldest and most agrees
sive men have delicate and small pen
manship, while some of the most tlmld
sign their names with the height and
width and scope of the name OF Jonn
Hancock on the immortal document
Some Of the cleanest in person anu
thought present their blotted and spat-
tered page, and some of the toughest
put before us an immaculate chlros-
raphy. Not our character, but the
copy-plate set before us in our schooi-
boy day. decides the general style OF
our handwriting. So also there is
fashion in penmanship, and for one de-
cade the letters are exaggerated, ana
in the next minified: now erect ana now
aslant. now heavy and now fine. An
autograph album is always surprise
andyou find the penmanship contradlcts
the character of the writers. But while
the chirography of the earth is IN
certain. our blessed Lord in our text
presents Che chirography celestial
When addressing the seventy disciples
standing before him. he said: "ReJolce
because your names are written In
heaven"
When you come up and look for
your name in the mighty tones OF eter-
nity and you are so happy as to IND
il there. you will notice that the pen
manship is Chrlst's, and that the let
ters were written with a trembling
hand. Not trembling with old age, for
he had only passed three decades when
he expired. 1t was soon after the thlr-
tieth anniversary of his birthday. Look
over all the business accounts you KEEP
or the letters you wrote at thirty years
of age, and if you were ordinarily
strong and well. then there was nc
tremor in the chirography. Why the
tremor in the hand that wrote your
name in heaven? Oh, it was com
preesion of more troubles than ever
smote anyone else. and all OF then
troubles assumed for others. Chris
was prematurely old. He had been ex'
posed to all the weathers of Palestine
He had slept out of doors, now in thu
night dew and now in the tempest. H'
had been soaked in the surf of Lake
Galilee. Pillows for others, but he hat
not where to lay his head. Hungry, HI
could not even get fig on which t
breakfast; or have you missed the pa
thos of that verse, I'm the morning, al
he returned to the city, he hungero1
and when he saw fig tree in the way
he came to it and found nothing there
on" Oh, he was hungry Christ, anC
nothing makes the hand trembl'
worse than hunger. for it pulls upoi
the stomach. and the stomach pull
upon the brain, and the brain pull
,lnon the nerves, and the agitate'
nerves make the hand quake. On IN
ton of all this evaporation came abuse
What sober man ever wanted to b
called a drunkard? but Christ wa
called one. What man, careful of tn
company he keeps, wants to be calle'
the associate of profligates? but he wa
so called. What loyal man wants to b
charged with treason? but he wa
charged with it. What man Of devou
speech wants to be called bias
phemer? but he was so termed. VIVA
man of self-respect wants to be struc
in the mouth? but that is where the
struck him. Or TO be the victim
vilest expectoration? but under that h
stopped. Oh, he was a WORKOUT Chris
That is the reason he died so soon uDo
the cross. Many victims of crucifixio
lived day after day upon the cross
but Christ was in the courtroom at !
o'clock of noon and had expired at
o'clock in the afternoon of the sam
day. Subtracting from the three hour
between II and o'clock the time take