Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1896-08-13
GLOW OF SUNSET.
II" TALMAGE's SUNDAY THEME
many of Us it is a Bright sunsh,nx
lay OF Prosperity, But W. Cannot
expect all This to Lat.


nwo villagers, having concluded their
e.Iaho In Jerusalem, have started out at the
CITY gate and are On their wav IN rrmaus
= pace oil their residence. They 90 with a
say neart. Jesus, who had been their adj
mlratlon and their Joy. had been baselv
m una andentombed. As. with sad face
60 broken heart, they pass ON their way a
granger accosts them. They tell Him their
an1ietles and bitterness Of soul. He in turn
.alks 10 them, nightly e%xponnding the
captures. lie throws over them the fascina-
.lon OF intelligent conversation. They for
get the time and notice not the Objects they
Pa0e' anu before they are aware have come
up In front Of their house. They pause be-
.ofe the entrance aud attempt to persuade
.he stranger 10 tarry with them. They Dress
upon HIN their hospitalities. Night is cons..
On, ana he may meet a prowIing Wild beast
VI De blige to lie unsheltered from the
uow. he cannot 60 much farther now. Why
'1ot sop there and continue their pleasant
oohNer7atlonI They take Him by the arm.
ana they insist upon His coming in. address.
my him In the words, "Abide with us. for it
is toward evening"
The cand cs are lighted; thetable isspread:
Pi-aaAnt nocialities are enkindled. They re-
}9lce IN me presence OF the stranger guest.
ne asks a blPssing upon the bread they eat.
anu he hands a piece Of it to each. Suddenly
ana with overwhelming power the thought
nasheS npon the astOnished pcOple-it is the
!1ord! And AS they sit in breathie+s wonder,
looking upon the resurrected body Of Jesus,
Ile vanished. The Interview ended. He was
gone.
With many Of US it is a bright, sunshiny
gay OF prosperity. There j. not 4. cloud in
tnesky; not a leaf ru-tliny in the forest: no
chill III 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 alter awhile near the horizon. The
shadows will lengthen. While Ispeak man.
OF US stand in the very hour described in the
text, Tor 1T IS toward evening" The re-
guest or the text is appropriate for some be-
lore me, for with them it istoward the even
ing 81 Old age. They have paSseiths meridian
OF lie. They are sometimes startled to think
how dthey are. They donot, however, liketo
nave others remark upon it. If others sug-
gest their approximation toward venerable
appearance, 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 we'll without spectacles. 1hev
cannot SO easily recover from a cough or
any occasional ailment. They have lost
their taste for merriment. They are sur
prised at the quick passage of the year.
They say that it only seems IL 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 1t 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 rejuvenating inHu-
ence of religion. When we step on the down
grade of life and see that it dips to the verge
OF the cold river, we want to behold some
one near who will help us across it. When
the sight loses its power TO glance and gather
up, we need the faith that can illuminate.
When we feel the failure Of the ear, we neeu
vhe clear tones OF that voice which in Older
: times broke up the silence of the deaf with
cadence of mercy. When the axmen O.
death hew down whole forests OF strength
and beauty around us and we are left in soil
rude, we need the dove of divine mercy t
sing in our branches. When the shadow:
begin to fall and we feel that the day is ia
spent, we need most of all to supplIcate tn,
strong bene1cent Jesus in the prayer Of tn
-illagers, abide with US, for it is towart
evening"
The request Of the text is an appropriate
exclamation for all those wno.-a approached
Ia the gloomy hour Of temptation. There !
nothing easier than to be good nat1lred whel
everything pleases, or to be humble whel
there Is nothing to oppose us. or forgivine
when we have not been aSSailed, or homes
when we have no inducement to fraud. Blu
you have felt the grapple OF some tempta
ton. Your nature at some time Quaked an
0foaned under the Internal force. You fel
e4at the devil was after you. You saw YOU
christian graces rctreating. You feare,
nat you would fall. in the awful wrpstle witt
I'm and be thrown into the dust. The gloon
hickened. The first indications Of the nigh
were seen in all the trembling of Your soul
IN all the Internal suggestions Of Satan. j
all the surging up of tumultuous passion
and eXcitements. You felt with awful en-
phasis that it was toward evening. In tn
tempted hour you need to ask Jesus t
abide with you. You can beat back the mon
ster that woul devour you. You can III
horse the sin that would ride YOU dowr
You can sharpen the battleax with whic
split the head of helmeted abomination
Who helped Paul shake the brazen gate,
heart of Felix? Who acted ikea good sale
when all the crew howled in tie MNiter
ranean shipwreck? Who helped the marty VI
to be firm when one word of recanta
ton wouli have unfastened the wi,hes {
the stake And put out the kindling firei Whe
the night OF the soul came on ami ali III
denizenS pf darkness came riding upon tt
winds ofSperdltion who gave strength to I'll
soul? Who gave calmness to the heart
Who bkOke the spell of internal enchan
ment? AHe who heard the request of the vi
layers abide With US. for II Is t-yart aver
ing.
on Of the forts Of France vas attacke,
and the outwOrkS We're taken before nigh
THE besieging army lay down. thinking the
fWaS OUT little 10 10 In the morning.. and thi
the ~soldiery in the fort could be easily ma.
to surrender. But during the night, throug
a back stairs. they escaped into the counts,
In the morning the hesieginS army sprar
upon the battlements, but found that the
prey was gone. SO. when we are assault,
in temptation. there is always some seer
stair by which we might get of. God W
not allow Us to be tempted above what /,
are able. but with every temptation "
bring a way Of escape that We may be able
bear il.
The prayer Of the text IL appropriate I
all who are anticipating sorrow. The Srej
est folly that ever grew on this planet i I
tendency 10 borrow trouble. but there a
times when approaching sorrow is 50 evide
that we need - be making special prepar
ton for its coming.
One of your children has lately become
favorite. The cry Of that child strikes de.
er into the heart than the crv of all the o'
r, ers. You think more abouttt. You give
more attention. not because II i any more
a treasure than the Others. out because il
becoming fraii. There i, something IN I
cheek, in the eye and in I = wa < that NAL
YOU quite sure that the caves Of the flow
are going 10 be scattered. 1he utmost nu
ing and medical attendance ARE i~ueffcctu
The pulse becomes feeble. the ccmr!exl
li~}tar tho Stan weaker INA nam III FAINT