Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1897-02-12
SERMON
INTERESTING THEME BY THE
WASHINGTON PREACHER
Subject; "Harbor of Home"

some grand sphere In which 20 serve God.
They imtre Luther nj the diet OF worms,
and only wish that they had some such great
opportunity Ia which TO display their Chris
tian pro Sess. They admire Paul making
Felix trembie. aud they only wish that they
had some such grand occasion In which To
preach righteousness. temperance aud lndg-
ment 10 come. All they want Is an Oppor-
tunity to exhibit their Christian herOism.
Now the apostle comes TO u. ani h. prdc-
tically says, II will show you a place where
YOU can exhibit all that is grand aud beauti-
full and glorious in Christian character, and
that is the domestic circle"
II one Is not faithful in an Insignificant
sphere, he will not be faithful IN a resOund-
ing sphere. II Peter will not help the Grip
pile nj the gate OF the temple, he will never
he able 20 preach 5000 souls iuto the king.
dom at the Pentecost. II Paul did not take
pains to Instruct in the way Of salvation the
sheriff OF the Philippian dungeon, he will
never make Felix trsmble. He who is not
faithful in skrnish would not be faithful
in an Armageidon. The fact is. We are all
placed in just the position in which We can
most grandly serve God, aud 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
aui with me ought TO be, lord. what wilt
thou have me NOV and here) to do?"
There is one word in my teXt around
which the most of our thoughts will to-day
revolve That word is home. Ask ten diff
ferent men the meaning of that word aud
they will give You ten different definitions.
To one it means love at the hearth. it means
plenty at the table. in lustry at the work
stand, intelligence at thu books, devotion at
the altar. To him it means greeting at the
doorand a smile at the chair. Peace no YER
ing like wings. JOY clapping its hands with
Laughter. Life tranquil lake. Plllowed
on the rippes sleep the shadows.
Ask another man what home is and he will
tell you ii is want looking out OF Il cherries
fire CRATE and kneadinC hunger in an empty
bread tray. The damp air shivering with
curses No Bible on the shelf Children,
robbers aud murderers in embryo. Vile songs
their lullaby. Every face Il picture OF ruin.
Want in the background and sin staring
from the front. No Sabbath wave rolling
over that doorSill. VestibuIe OF the pit
Shadow of Internal walls. Furnace for forg-
ing everlasting chains. Faggots for an un-
ending 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 everything terrific.
shall speak TO you of home as a test OF
character, home us refuge, home as poll
teal safeguard, home rs IL school and home
as a type of heaven.
Aud in the first place l remark that home
is powerful test of character. The dispose
ton in public may be in gay costume, while
! in private it is in dishabile. As play actors
! may appear in one way on he stage and may
app ar in another way behind the scenes, so
! private character may be very different from
! public character. Private character is often
| public character turned wrong side out. A
man may receive you into his paror as
] hA yrrarA left - ~ nf mill m
yet his heart may be n swamp OF nettlea.
| There are business men who all day long are
mild and courteous ant genial and good
! natured in commercial life, keeping back
their irrtabiIity, and their petulance, and
their discomfort, but at nightfa the dam
breaks and scolding pours forth in floods
and freshets.
Reputation is only the shadow OF charac-
ter, and a very small house sometimes will
cast q very long shadow The lips may seem
to drop myrrh and cassa, and the DISPOSE
ton to be as bright and warm as a sheat OF
sunbeams and yet they may only be mag
niacent show window to n wretched stock
of goods. There is many man who is
affabein public life and amid commercial
spheres who, in "A cowardy way, takes his
anger and his petulance home and drops
them in the domestic circle.
The reason men do not display their bad
temper in public is because they do not want
10 be knocked down. There are men who
hide their petulance and their irrltqbility
Just for the same reason that they do not lei
their notes so to protest-it does not pay.
Or for the same reason that they do not want
a man in their stock company to sell his
stock at less than the right price, lest it de-
preciate the value. As at sunset the WIND
rises, so after a sunshiny day there may be
II tempestuOus night. There are people who
In public act the philanthropist who at home
ne he yyi n
and their gowns.
Audubon, the great ornithologist, with
gun and pencil went through the forests Of
America to bring down and to sketch the
beautiful birds. and after years Of toll anC
exposure CON pleted his manuscript and pu
it in trunk in Philadelphia for few days o
recreation and rest and came back anC
; found that the rats had utterly destroyed
the manuscript. but without any discom
posure and without any fret or bad temper
J he again picked up his gun and pencil an,
visited again all the great forests Of America
and reproduced his immortal work. Ant
| yet there are people with the ten-thouSandth
part of that loss who are utterly irrecon
: ciable, who at the loss OF a pencil or al
article of raiment, will blow as long anC
sharp as northeast storm.
Now, that man who is afable In public
and who is irritable in private is making a
fraudulent overissue of stock. and he Is as
c | DHl dS II Duuh that might nave VtUU,Uuu VI
u $500 900 of bills in circulation with no specie
!; in the vault. Let us learn ito show pety al
u home" II we have it not there we have il
not anywhere. II we have not genuine
2 grace in the family circle, all our outward
and public plausibilty merely springs from
fear of the world or from the Shiny putrld
pool of our own selfishness. tell you the
home is mighty test of character. Wha
you are at home you are everywhere, wheth
er YOU demonstrate IL or not.
Again. remark that home is refuge
Life is the United States army on the ma
tonal road to Mexico, a long march, will
- !, ever and anon a skirmish and a battle. A
: eventide we pitch our tent and stack on
arms. We hang up the war cap and lay on
head on the knapsack. We sleep until tn
morning bugIe calls us to marching and &C
ton. How pleasant is it to rehearse the vic
tories and the surprises and the attacks o
the day seated by the still campfire of tn
home circle!
Yea, life is a stormy sea. With shiveret
masts and torn sails and hulk aeak, we pu
into the harbor of home Blessed harbor
: There we 60 for repairs in the drydock o
II quiet life. The candle in the window is t
:. the toling man the lighthouse guiding hin
- into port. Children go forth to meet thei
fathers as pilots at the Narrows taketh han
of ships The doorsil of the home is tn
wharf where heavy life is unladen.
There is the place where we may talk c
what we have done without being charge
with self aduIation. There is the place wher
we may lounge without being thought ur
graceful. There is the place where we may 1
press affection without being thought silly
There is the place where we may forget on
annoyances and exasperations and troubles
Forlorn earth Pilgrim No home? Then dit
= That Is better. The grave is brighter an
grander and more glorious than this worlC
with no tent from marchings, with no harbc
from the storm, with no place to rest fro
this scene Of greed and gouge and loss an
rnin. God pit the man woman who b: