The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1897-03-18
"HARBOR OF HOME"
Rev. DR.. Talmage Discourses Upon
the Earthly Home.
I: 10 What Man Makes 1t, Either q Type
of the Glorious Home Hereafter,
or the Reverse-Tho Homea
Test OF Character.

Inc 1OilOWln6 discourse Dy rev. 1.
Dewitt Talmage was on the subject:
"Harbor of Home" being based on the
text:
go home to thy friends, and tell them how
great things the Lord hath done for thee
Mark v, 10.
There are great many people long
ing for some grand sphere in which to
serve God. They admire Luther at the
diet of Worms, and only wish that
they had some such great opportunity
in which to display their Christian
Felix tremble. and they only wish
that they had some such grand occa-
sion in which to preach righteousness,
temperance and judgment to come.
All they want is an opportunity to ex-
hibit their Christian heroism. Now
the apostle comes to us and he prac-
tically says, II will show you a place
where you can exhibit all that is
grand and beautiful and glorious in
pomestic circle"
If one is not faithful in an insignifi-
cant sphere he will not be faithful in
resounding sphere. If Peter will
not help the cripple at the gate of the
temple, he will not be able to preach
8, 200 souls into the kingdom at the
Pentecost. If Paul will not take
pains to instruct in the way of saliva
tion the sheriff of the Philippian dun
geon, he will never make Felix trcm-
BILE. He who is not faithful in skir-
mish would not be faithful in an Ar
mageddon. The fact is, we are all
placed in just the position in which
we can most faithfully serve God, and
we ought not to be chiefly thoughtful
about some sphere of usefulness which
we may after awhile gain, but the all
absorbing question with you and with
me ought to be: Lord, what wilt
Thou have me (now and here) to do?"
There is one word in my text around
to-day revolve. That word is home.
Ask ten different men the meaning Of
that word and they will give you ten
different definitions. To one it means
love at the hearth, it means plenty at
the table, industry at the workstand,
intelligence at the books, devotion at
the altar. To him it means greeting
at the door and smile at the chair.
Peace lowering like wings. Joy clap
ping it's hands with laughter. Life a
tranquil lake. Pillowed ON the ripples
sleep the shadows.
Ask another man what home is, and
he Will tell y ou it is want, looking out
of cheerless fire CRATE and kneading
hunger in an empty bread tray. The
damp air shivering with curses. No
Bible on the shelf. Children, robbers
and murderers in embryo. Vile songs
their lullaby. Every face picture of
ruin. Want in the background and
sin staring from the front. No Sab
bath wave rolling over that doorsill.
Vestibule of the pit. Shadow of in
fernal walls. Furnace for forging
everlasting chains. Faggots for an
unending funeral pile. Awful word!
1t is spelled with curses, it weeps with
ruin, it chokes with woe, it sweats
with the death agony of despair.
The word "home" in the one case
means everything bright The word
home" in the other case means every
thing terrific
shall speak to you of home as a test
of character, home as refuge. home
bs political safeguard, home as a
school and home as type of Heaven.
And in the first place l remark that
home is powerful test of character.
The disposition in public may be in
gay costume, while in private it is in
deshabille. As play actors may ap-
pear in one way on the stage and may
appear in another way behind the
scenes, SO private character may be
very different from pu bile character.
Private character is often public char
acter turned wrong side out. A man
may receive you into his parlor as
| though he were distillation of smiles.
| and yet his heart may be a swamp OF
nettles. There are business men who
all day long are mild and courteous
and genial and good natured to com.
mercial life, keeping back their irrita'
bility and their petulance and their
discomfort; but at nightfall the dam
breaks, and scolding pours forth in
foods and freshets.
| Reputation Is the only shadow OF
| character, and very small house
sometimes will cast very long shadow,
The lips may seem to drop myrrh and
cassia, and the disposition to be a.
bright and warm as sheaf of sun
beams. and yet they may only be &
| magnificent show window to a wretch
ed stock of goods. There is many {
man who is affable in public life ant
amid commercial spheres, who, in 3;
cowardly way, takes his anger ant
petulance home and drops them in th'
domestic circle.
The reason men do not display thei
bad tember in public is because the,
do not want to be knocked down
There are men who hide their petu
lance and their irrita ability just TO
the same reason that they do not IL
their notes 60 to protests it does no
pay. Or for the same reason that the
do not want a man in their stock cou
pany to sell his stock at less than tn
right price, lest 1t depreciate the value
As at sunset the wind rises, so afts
sunshiny day there may be ten
! psstuous night There are peopl