Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-09-12
SERVING HUMANITY.
Dr.. Talmage on What We Can
Do for Our Own Generation.
The Reward of Administering to Fell
low Man Is GIOriOus-The Sleep
of Death and Its Blissful
Awakening.

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less generality to practical helpfulness
to the people now living; text, Acts ID,
So: 'Lavid, after he had served his
own generation by the will of God, fell
on sleep.
That is a text which has for a long
time been running through Ey mind.
Sermons have time to be born as well
as time to die a cradle as well as
grave. David, cowboy and stone sling
er and fighter and dramatist and
blank verse writer and prophet, did
his best for the people Of his time,
and then went and laid down on the
southern hill of Jerusalem in that
sound slumber which nothing but an
archangelic blast can startle. David,
after he had served his own genera
ton by the will of God, fell on Sleep"
It was his own generation that he had
served-that is, the people living at
the time he lived. And have you ever
thought that our responsibilities are
chiefly with the people now walking
abreast of us? There are about four
generatio to a century now, but IN
olden time life was longer, and there
was perhaps only one generation to
century. Taking these facts into the
calculation, l make a rough guess and
say that there have been at least $50
generations of the human family.
With reference to them we have no re-
sponsibility. We cannot teach them,
we cannot correct their mistakes, we
cannot soothe their sorrows, we cannot
heal their wounds. Their sepulchers
are deaf and dumb to anything we
might say to them. The last regiment
of that great army has passed out of
sight We might halloo as loud as we
could, not one of them would avert
his head to see what we wanted. l ad-
NIT that / am in sympathy with the
child whose father had suddenly died,
and who in her little evening prayer
wanted to continue to pray for her IA
Their although he had gone to Heaven,
and no more needed her prayers, and,
looking up into her mothers face,
said: "Oh, mother, I cannot leave him
all out. Let me say: Thank God that
L had good father once so [ can keep
him in my prayers.
But the 100 generations have passed
off. Passed up. Passed down. Gone for
ever. Then there are generations to
come after our earthly existence has
ceased. We shall not see them. we
shall not hear any of their voices. We
will take no part in their conVocations,
their elections. their revolutions, their
,catastrophies, their triumphs. We vii
in nowise affect the $50 generations
gone or the 100 generations to come,
except as from the galleries of Heaven
the former generations look down
and rejoice at our victories, or as
we may by our behavior start influ-
pnces. good or bad, that shall roll on
through the advancing ages. But our
business is. like David, to serve our
own generation. the people now living,
those whose lungs now breathe and
whose hearts now beat, and mark you,
it is not a silent procession, but moving.
1t is a forced march" at "a miles
day. each hour being a mile. Going
with that celebrity, it has got to be
quick service on our part or no service
at ALL We not only cannot teach the
$50 generations past and will not see
the $50 generations to come, but this
generation now on the stage will soon
be off, and we ourselves will be off
with them. The fact is that you and l
will have to start very soon for our
work or it will be ironical and sarcastic
for anyone after our exit to say of us,
as it was said of David: "After he had
served his own generation by the will
OF God he fell on Sleep"
Well, now, let us lock around ear
nestly, prayerfully, in common sense
way and see what we can do for our
own generation. First of all, let us see
to it that, as far as we can, they have
enough to eat. The human body is so
constituted that three times a day the
body needs food as much as a lamp
needs oil, as much AS a locomotive
needs fuel. To meet this want God has
girdled the earth with apple orchards,
orange groves, wheatfelds and oceans
full of fish and prairies full of cattle,
and notwithstanding this l will under
take to say that the vast majority of
the human family are now suffering
either for lack of food or the right kind
of food Our civilization is all askew,
and God only can set it right. Many of
the greatest estates of to-day have been
built out of the blood and bones of I'M
requited toll. In olden times, for the
building of forts and towers, the inhab-
itants of Ispahan had to contribute TO-
900 skulls, and Bagdad 10000 human
skulls, and that number of people
were compelled to furnish the skulls
But these two contributions added to-
gether made only 100000 skulls, while
into the tower of the worlds wealth
and pomp have been wrought the skel-
etons of uncounted numbers of the
half-fed popula tions of the earth-mil-
lions of skulls.
How can we serve our generation
with enough to eat? By sitting down
in embroidered slippers and lounging
back in an armchair, our mouth puck
cred up around Havana of the best
brand. and through clouds of luxuri-