Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1897-06-04
THE CONTRARY WIND
DIR. TALMAee's SERMON OF ENCOUR-
AGEMENT TO STRUGGLING SOULS.

AGEMENT TO STRUGGLING SOULS.
The Disciples on the Lake of Galilee-A
Draft Of Discouragement-The Disad-
vantage of an Unfortunate Name-Early
Mistakes That Cloud the Life.
WASHINGTON, May 3O.--Dr. Tai
mage's sermon this week is one Of good
cheer. 1t will give encouragement to
many struggling souls. The subject is
CONTRARY Winds, " and the text Mathew
xiv, "a, "The wind was contrary. "
As 1 we'll know by experience on
Lake Galilee, one hour all may be calm
and the next hour the winds and waves
will be so boisterous that you are in
doubt as to whether you will land on
the shore or Oh the bottom Of the deep.
The disciples in the text were caught in
such a stress Of weather and the sails
bent and the ship plunged, for the
wind was contrary" There is III one OF
the European straits a place where
whichever way you sail, the winds are
opposing. There are people who all
their life seem sailing in the teeth Of
the wind. All things seem against
them 1t may be said of their condition
as of that Of the disciples in my text
"tbe wind was contrary.
A great multitude Of people are un-
der seeming disadvantage, and l will
today. in the swarthiest Anglo-Saxon
that can manage, treat their eases not
as nur.e counts out eight or ten drops
of prescription and stirs them III a
half glass Of water, but as when a man
has by a mistake taken large amount
Of strychnine or paris green or bella
donna, and the patient is walked rapid
" round the room and shaken up until
he gets wide awake. Many Of you have
taken a large draught Of the poison Of
discouragement, and l come out by the
order Of the Divine Physician to rouse
you out of that lCth.rgy.
Handicapped by "A Name.
First, many people are under the dis
advantage Of an unfortunate name given
them by parents who thought they
were doing a good thing. Sometimes at
the baptism of children while l have
held up one hand in prayer | have held
ND the other hand in amazement that
parents should have weighted the babe
with such dissonant and repulsiye
nomenclature. | have not so much won
dered that some children should cry out
at the christening font as that others
with such smiling face should take Il IL
tie that will be the burden Of their life
tine. 1t is outrageous to aifiict children
with an undesirable name because 1t
happened TO be possessed by parent or
a rich uncle FROM whom fayors are eX-
pected or some prominent man Of the
dav who may end his life in disgrace
1t is no excuse. because they are Scrip
ture names, to call child Jehoiakim
or Tiglath-Pilcser / baptized one by
the name Bathsheba. Why, under all
the circumambicnt heaven, any parent
should want TO give to a child the name
of that loose creature Of Scripture times
| cannot imagine. | have often felt at
the baptismal altar, when names were
announced to me, like saying, a. did the
Rev. DR.. Richards Of Morristown, y.
J.. when a child was handed him for
baptism and the name given, Hadn {
Won better call it something clse:'
Impose not upon that babe name
suggestive Of fippancy or meanness.
There is no excuse for such assault and
battery on the cradle when our Ian
Quage is opulent with names musical
and suggestive in meaning, such as
John, meaning "the gracious gitt OF
God" or Henry, meaning the chief OF
a household" or Alfred, meaning
good counselor, " or Joshua, meaning
"God. our salvation" or Ambrose
meaning immortal" or Andrew,
meaning manly" or Esther, meaning
"star," or Abigail, meaning my
fathers joy" Or Anna, meaning
"grace," or Victoria, meaning vic
tory" or Rosalie, meaning "beautitul
as a rose" or Margaret, meaning a
pearl, or Ida, meaning "godlike, " or
Clara. meaning "illustrious, " or Ame-
liza, meaning busy" or Bertha, mean
ing beautiful, ," and hundreds Of other
names Just as good that are a help
rather than a hindrance.
Names as Lifelong Obstacles
But sometimes the great hindrance IN
life is not in the given name, but III the
family name. While legislatures are
willing to lift such incubus, there are
families that keep name which mort
cages all the generations with great
disadvantage. You say, "Iwonder II he
is anv relation to So-and-so, " mention
ing some family celebrated for crime OF
deception. 1t is wonder to me that Ill
all such families some spirited young
man does not rise, saying to his broth
ers and sisters, IF you want to keeI
this nuisance or scandalization OF q
name, will keep it no longer than un-
til by quickest course of law l can
slough off this eangrene. " Ihe city dl-
rectory has hundreds Of names the mere
accommodation of which has teen me
long obstacle. If you have started lie
under a name which either through RI
diculous photography or vicious sugges
ton has been an incumbrance, resolve
that the next generation shall not Be
so weighted. 1t is not demeanlng tC
change a name. Saul of Tarsus became
Paul the Apostle. Hadassah, th'
myrtle" became Esther, "the star.
We have in America, and l suppose Il
is so in all countries, names whlcl
ought 10 be abolished and can be an'
will be abolished for the reason tina
they are libel and slandor. But L
for any reason you are submerged eithe
by a given name or by family nam'
that you must BEAR God will help yoI
10 overcome the outrage by life conse
Grated to the good and useful. You may
erase the curse from the name. IL
once stood for meanness, you can max
it stand for generosity. If once 1t stoo'
for pride, you can make 1t stand ior nu
mility. II it once stood for fraud yo'
can make it stand for honesty. IL onc'
il stood for wickedness. you can make
stand for purity There have been mul
/ =, - ;,stancos xvhere men aud WO