Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1898-10-14
SERVING HUMANITY.
DR.. Talmage on What We Can
Do for Our Own Generation.
The Reward Of Administering to Fell
low Man Is Glorious-The Sleep
of Death and Its DiissfuI
Awakening.

NiShbNs o"i iiV'iihc iiouh heuullb-
less generality to practical helpfulness
10 the people now living; text, Acts ID,
So: David, after he had served his
own generation by the will of God, fell
on sleep"
That is text which has for long
time been running through my mind.
Sermons have time to be born as well
MS time to die, cradle as we'll as a
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"
1t 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
generations to century now, but in
olden time life was longer, and there
was perhaps only one generation to a
century. Taking these facts into the
calculation, l make 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. ad-
NIT that l 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, cannot leave him
all out. Let me say: Thank God that
/ had good father once so can keep
him in my prayers"
But the $50 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 1870 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 inhu.
ences, 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
| II is not silent procession, but moving
1t is forced march" at "a miles g
day. each hour being a mile. Going
with that celebrity, 1t has got to be q
quick service on our part or no service
at all. We not only cannot teach the
$50 generations past and will not SEE
ln tnt ~ lint I hi 4
generation now on the stage will soor
| be Off, and we ourselves will be of
with them. The fact is that you and
will have to start very soon for oul
work or II will be ironical and sarcastic
for anyone after our exit to say of us
as It was said of David: "After he hat
served his own generation by the will
of God he fell on Sleep
Well, now, let us lock around ear
nestly, prnyerfully, in a common sens,
way and see what we can do for oul
own generation. First of all, let us Sc,
to ii that, as far as we can, they hav,
enough to eat. The human body is 81
constituted that three times day tn,
body needs food as much as lam
needs oil, as much as locomotiv,
needs fuel. To meet this want God ha
girdled the earth with apple orchards
orange groves, wheatfields and ocean
full of fish and prairies full of cattle
and Notwithstanding this i will under
take to say that the vast majority o
the human family are now sufferin,
either for lack of food or the right kin,
of food. Our civilization is all askew
and God only can set 1t right. Many o
the greatest estates of to-day have bee
built out of the blood and bones of I'm
requited toll. In oden times, for tn
building of forts and towers, the nhaL
itants of Ispahan had to contribute 10
900 skulls, and Bagdad 10000 huma
skulls, and that number of peopl
were compelled to furnish the skulls
But these two contributions added tC
gether made only 100000 skulls, Will
into the tower of the worlds wealt
and pomp have been wrought the skel
etons of uncounted numbers of tn
half-fed popula lions of the earth-mi
lions of skulls.
Dan't sit down at your table wit
five or six courses of abundant suppl
and think nothing of that family in tn
next street who would take any on
of those five courses between soup an
almond nuts and feel they were i
Heaven. The lack of the right kind @
food is the cause of much Of the drunk
enness. After drinking what man
of our grocers call coffee, sweetene
with what many call sugar, and eat
ing what many of our butchers ca
meat, and chewing what many Of on
bakers call bread, many of the labor
ing classes feel so miserable they ar
tempted to put into their nasty pipe
what the tobacconist calls tobacco G
20 into the drinking saloons for wha
I