The Penn's Grove record., 1896-10-16
REV. DR. TALMAGE
The Eminent niv,ne's Sunday
Discourse,
Subject: "l)ivine Chirngraphy."

I'A
written in heaven" Luke T., 20.
C~hirography, or the ART Of handwriting,
ike the 81, ence Of acoustics, IL in very I'M
satisfactory state While ,;on 'trnetiug q
church, and told by some architects that the
voice would not he heard IN abuilding shaped
like that proposal. l oame In much anxiety
TO this city and consulted with Prof. Joseph
Henry, Of the Smithsonian Institution, about
the law OF acoustics. He said; g ahead
AMI build your church In the shape pro-
posed, and | think 1t will be all right. l
have studied the law OF SCUM | perhaps more
than any man Of my time, an | 1 have come
so far rs this: Two auditorlums may seem to
be rxaetiy alike. AMI In one the acoustics
may be good and IN the other bad. In the
same unsatisfactory stage Is chlr0graphy,
although many declara they have reduced 1t
to n science. There are those who say they
can read character by handwriting. II Is
said that the way one writes the letter "l'
decides his egOtism or modesty, and the way
one writes the letter 30" decides the height
and depth OF his emotions. 1t Is declared a
Gramped hand meansH cramped nature, and
an easy, flowing hand a facile and liberal
spirit; hut If there be anything In this science.
there must be some rules not yet announced,
for snms Of the boldest and most a sgressive
men have II delicate and small pepmanship,
while some of the most timid sign their
names with the height aud width AMI scope
Of the name Of John Hancock on the immor-
tai document. But walle tha chirography
OF the earth is uncer, ain, our blessed Lord
In our text presents the chirography celes-
tia. Wher addressing the seventy disciples
standing before Him. He said: "i;eioice be-
cause your names are written In heaven"
or course, the Bible, for the most part,
when speaking OF the heavenly world, speaks
fi9uraiiveiy while talking about books and
about trumpets, n about wings and about
L. .~3 aI,,,N ,,a1 tnn -, NM nt= and ahnnt
orchards with twelve crops Of fruit-one
crop each month-ani about tho white
horses OF heavens cavalry; but we do well to
follow ont these inspired metaphors and reap
from them courage and sublime expectation,
and consolation and victory. We arc told
that in the heavenly library there Is a Book
of Life. Perhap2 there are many volumes In
1t. When we say Il book, we mean all writ.
ten by the author on that subject. cannoi
tell how large those heavenly volumes are,
nor the splendor Of their binding, nor the
number of their pages. nor whether they are
pictorialized with some exciting scenes Of this
world. ! only know that the words have moi
been impressed by type, but written out by
some hand, and that all those who, like the
seventy disciples 10 whom the text was
spoken, repent and trust the Lord for theiI
eternal salvat on, surely have their names
written in heaven. 1t may not he the SAM
name that we carried on earth. We may
through tbs inconsiderateness of parents
have q name that is u%ncouth, or that wal
aiterwari dishcnored by one after whom W,
were called. l do not know that the seventy
emil OF the names of tine seventy dis
ciples correspond with the record in tht
genealogical table. II may not be the nam'
by which We we're called on earth, but 1t viii
be the name by which heaven will know us
an 1 we will lave 1t announced to us as W
pass in, and we will know 1t so certainly tha'
we will not have to he called twice by 1t, a.
In the Bible times the Lord called some peo
pletwice by name: saul. Saul!' samuel
Samuel" "MarthAi Martial
In examination OF your name 10 tbs
heavenly archives, II you And 1t there at
ali, you will find II written with bold hand
You have seen many a signature that becaus,
of sickness or old age had a tremor In 1t, yet
1t was as bold as the man who wrote it.
Many an order written on the battlefield and
amid the thunder Of tho ~cannonsde has had
evidence of excitement in every word Rnt
every letter and In the speed with which II
was folded and banded to the officer as he
put his foot In the swift stirrups, and ye
tn At commander, Notwithstanding his trem
bling hand, gives a boldness of order thai
shows itself In every word written. You dc
not need to be told that a trembling hand
does not always mean a cowardly hand. J.
was with a very trembling hand Charles
Carroll, of C~arrollton, signed his name to
the Declaration Of American Independence,
but no signer had more courage and when
some one said, There are many Charles
CAROLS, and It will not be known which one
II Is, he resumed the Pen and wrote Charles
Carroll OF Csrrollton. Trembling hand no
sign OF timidity. The daring and defiance
seen in the way your name ia written in
heaven is a challenge to all earth and hell to
come on # they can to defeat your ransomed
soul.
Again, II according to the promise OF the
text, you are permitted to LOOK into the
volumes OF eternity and see your name there,
you will ind 1t written 10 lines, in words, in
letters unmistaksble. Some people have
come to consider indistinct and almost IN
readable p~enmshship q mark OF genius, and
30 they affect 1t. Because every paragraph
that Thomas Chalmers, and Dean Stanley,
and Lord Byron, and Rufus Choate and
other potent men wrote was a puzzle, imtta-
tors make their penmanship o puzzle. Alex
ander Dumas says that plain penmanship Is
the brevet Of incapacity. Then there are
some who. through too much demand upon
the capacity Of making the pen Ineligible.
and much OF the writing of this world Is In
decipherabls. We have seen piles Of inex-
plicabie chirography, and we ourselves have
helped augment the magnitude. We have
not been sure Of the name signed, or the
sentiment expressed, or whether the reply
was affirmative or negative Through In
ments have been defeated, widows and
orphans robbed of their inheritance, railroad
trains brought Into collision through the
dim words of q telegram put into the hand
OF a conductor. and regiments, In this wise,
~mlstaking their instructions, have been
sacrificed in battle. asked Bishop
Cowie, In Auckland, New Zealand, the
ltahAn haxfna haan In MANY IF fk,a urora
what Tennyson, in his Immortal poem.
THE Charge Of the Light Brigade"
meant by the words, "Some one had
blundered," and the Bishop said that
the awful carnage at Balaklave was the
result of an indistinctly-written and
wrongly-read military order. "soms n
had olundered; But your name. once
SO unmistskable that all heaven can readit
at the first glance. 1t will not be taken for
the name Of some other, so that In regard to
It there shall come to be disputation. Not
one of the millions and billions and quad
t~rlliions Of the finally saved will doubt that
It means you and only you. oh, the
glorious, the rapturous gertrude of that
Entrance on the heavenly roll. Not saved ii
a promiscuous way. Not put into a
slorifed mob. No, mol Though you cam
up. the worst sinner that was ever saved,
and somebody who kne you In this world
at one time as absolutely abandoned and
dissoiute should say. 81 never heard OF
YOU conversion and / do not believe you
have a right to be here" you could just
laugh a laugh Of triumph, and, turning over
the leaves containing the names Of the re-
deemed, say Read 1t for yourself. That
is my name, written out in full, and do you
recognize the handwriting2 No young
scribe Of eaven entered that. No annony-
NOUS writer put 1t there. Do you not see
the tremor in the lines2 Do you not also see
the boldness Of the letters2 Is 1t not as plain
yonder throne, as plain as yonder gate7
Is 1t not the name unmistakable and the
unmistakable7 The crurifed
Lord wrots 1t there the day 1 repented and
Hear it! Hear. Ill Ny name is
written there! Therel'
There is not on earth an autograph letter
or signature OF Christ. The only time He
wrotc out a word on earth. though He knew
60 we'll how to write, He wrote with refer
sncs to having il soon shvmsd by human
foot, the time that he stopped down and
with His finger wrote IN the ground the
hypocrisy Of the Pharisees- But when 10
writes your am In the heavenly archives
as ! believe He has, or hope He may, It Is to
stay there nom age to age, from cycle to
cycle, from eaon to eaon. INK 90 for all you
Christian people I do what John 9. Whittier.
the diving poet, said he wanted done IN his
home. Lovely man he wasl ! sat With him