The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-04-25
THE REV. DIR. TALMAGE
Portrays the Blessings OF
MiSfOrtuneS.
People Who Are Blind to the Bright Light in the
Clouds--Earthly Bereavements Essential
to Heavenly Welcome. Glory
Succeeds Gloom.


treasures Of this world. You cannot tai
them along with you. At any rate, 20
cannot take them moro than two or thrt
miles. You will have to leave them q
tho cemetery. Attila had three collins.
fond was he Of this life that be decree
that first he should be buried In coffin c
gold, and that then that should be inolose
In coffin of silver, and that should be In
closed in coffin Of iron, and then larg
amount Of treasure should be thrown Il
over his body. And so he was buried, an,
the men who buried him wero slain Q,
that no one might know where no wa
buried and no ono might there interfer
with his treasures. o men Of the worlt
who want to take your money with you
better have three coffinsl
Profit by Bereavements.
Again, remark you ought to make
the very best Of your bereavements. The
whole tendency is to brood over these sep
arations, and to give much time to the
handling of mementos of the departed
and to make long yisitations to the GENE
terry, and to say: ooh, I can never look
up againl My hope Is gone. My courage
Is gone. My religion Is gone. My faith
In God Is gone. Oh, the wear and tear
and exhaustion Of this loneliness!' The
most frequent bereavement Is the loss of
children. If your departed child had lived
as long as you have lived, do you not sup
pose that he would have had about tho
same amount of trouble and trial that you
havO hadp II you could make choice for
your child between 40 years of annoyance,
loss, Vexation, evaporation and bereave-
ments and 40 years in heaven, would you
take the responsibility Of choosing the
formerY Would you snatch away the cup
of eternal bliss and put into that child 8
hands the cup Of many bereavementsp In
stead of the complete safety into which
that child has been lifted, would you like
to hold it down to the risks of this mortal
statep Would you like to keep it out on a
sea in which there have been more ship
wrecks than safe yoyagesP Is 1t not a
comfort to you to know that that child,
instead Of being besoiled and flung into
tho mire of sin, is swung clear Into the
skies? Arc not those children to DO con-
graduated that the point of celestial bliss
which you expect to reach by pilgrimage
Of so or 60 or 20 years they reached at a
flash? If the last 10, 900 children who had
entered heaven had gone through the av-
erage Of human life on earth, are you sure
all those 1000 children would have final
ly reached the blissful terminusp Besides
that, my friends, you are to look at this
matter as self denial on your part for
their benefit. If your children want to go
off in May day party, II your children
want to 60 on flowery and musical ex-
cursion, you consent. You might prefer
to have them with you, but their jubilant
absence satisfies you. Well, your departed
children have only gone out in May day
party, amid lowery and musical entertain
ment, amid joys and bilarities forever
That ought to quell some Of your grief,
the thought of their glee.
Glorious Welcomes.
So 1t ought to be that you could make
the best Of all bereavements. The fact that
you have SO many friends In heaven will
mako your own departure very cheerful.
When you are going on voyage, every
thing depends upon where your friends
are-if they are on tho wharf that you
leave or on tho wharf toward which you
are going to sail. In other words, the
moro friends you have in heaven the easier
1t will be to get away from this world.
The more friends here the more bitter
goodbys. The more friends there the moro
glorious welcomes. Some of you have SO
many brothers, sisters, children, friends, in
heaven that do not know hardly how
you arc going to crowd through. When
the vessel camo from foreign lands and
brought prince to our harbor, tho ships
were covered with bunting, and you re-
how the men-of-war thundered
broadsides, but there was no joy there
with tho joy which shall DO
demonstrated when you sail up the broad
bay Of heavenly salutation. The more
friends you have there the easier your own |
transit. What Is death to a mother whose |
children are in heaven2 Why, there is no
more grief in 1t than there Is in her going
INTO nursery amid the romp and laugh.
Ter of her household. Though all around
nay be dark, sec you not the bright light
IN the clouds, that light the irradiated
aces Of your glorified kindredp
So also, my friends, would have you
make the best Of your sicknesses. When
you sec one move off with elastic step and
n full physical vigor, sometimes you be.
'ome impatient with your lame foot.
When man describes an object mile off
md you cannot see 1t at all, you become
inpatient of your dim eye. When you
,ear Of well man making great achieve.
nent, you become inpatient with your do
,ressed nervous system or your dilapidat-
d health. will tell you how you can
mako the worst Of It, Brood over it
rood over all these illnesses-and your
lerves will become more twtchy, and
our dyspepsia moro aggravated, and your
weakness moro appalling. But that is the
evils work to tell you how to make the
worst of 1t. 1t Is my work to show you
right light in the clouds.
Which of the Bible men most attract
our attention. You say. Moses, Job,
David, jeremiah, Paul. Why, what a
TRANCE thing it is that you have chosen
hose who were physically disordcrcd!
ioses-I know he was nervous from the
lip he gave the Egyptian. Job-his blood
vas vitiated and diseased and his skin
eruptive. David-ho had a
INNING sore, which ho speaks of when he
ays, "My soro ran in the night and ceased
Of" jeremiah had enlargement of the
pleen. Who can doubt 1t who reads Lam
Paul-he had a lifetime sick
css which tho commentators have been
uossing about for years, not knowing OK
city what the apostle meant by "a thorn
a the flesh" do not know either but it
as something sharp, something that
,uok him. gather from all this that /
by steal disorder may DO the means of
race to the soul. You say you have SO
,any temptations from bodily ailments,
nd If you were only well you think you
1uld BIO good Christian. While your
may be different, they are no
ore than those Of the man who has an
ppetite three times day and sleeps eight
ours every night.
No More Pain. '
From my observation, judge that In. #
lids have moro rapturous view Of the =
9xt world than well people and will have :
gher ronown in heaven. Tho best view !
the delectablo mountains is through tne h
ttce of the sickroom. There arc trains 5
inning every hour between pillow and =.
rome, between hospital and mansion, y
,twcen bandnges and robes, between i
utch and palm branch. Oh, wish some f
you people who are compelled to cry: L
My head, my head! My foot, my footl C
" back, my back p would try some Of v
10 Lord 8 medicine. You are going to DO s
ell anyhow before long. Heaven Is an = !
d city, but has never yet reported one i
,se Of sickness or ono bill Of mortality.