The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1898-06-02
A RIFT IN THE CLOUD.
Dr.. Talmage Tries 10 Bring Comfort
Into Clouded Lives.
Despondent People Urged to Cast Aside
Their Gloomy Forcbo6ings and
Look Only to the Light
Beyond.

nose VINO see Oniy Ule dark sue VI
things will find words of encourage
ment to look on the brighter side in
the following sermon By Rev. L. De-
Witt Talmage. The text is:
And now men see not the bright light which
is in the clouds. job xxxvii., p.
Wind east. Barometer falling. Storm
signals out. Ship reefng main top
sails! Awnings taken in. Prophecies
of foul weather everywhere. The
clouds congregate around the sun, pro-
posing to abolish him. But after
awhile he assails the Hanks of the
clouds with flying artillery of light,
and here and there is a sign OF clearing
weather. Many do not observe it.
Many do not realize it. And now
men see not the bright light which is
in the Clouds" In other words, there
are hundred men looking for storm
where there is one man looking for
sunshine. My object will be to get you
and myself into the delightful habit OF
making the best of everything.
You may have wondered at the sta
tistics that in India, in the year 1878,
there were over $4,000 people slain by
wild beasts, and that in the year 1915
there were in India over 10000 people
destroyed by wild animals. But there
is a monster in our own land which is
year by year destroying more than
that. 1t is the old bear of melancholy,
and with gospel weapons | propose to
chase it back to it's midnight caverns.
l mean to do two sums-a sum in sub
traction and sum in additional SUBJ
traction from your days of depression
and an addition to your days of JOY.
If God will help me l will compel you
to see the bright light that there is in
the clouds, and compel you to make
the best of everything.
In the first place, you ought to make
fortunes. During the panic a few years
ago You all lost money. Some of you
lost it in most unaccountable ways.
For the question:: 'iIow many thou
sands of dollars shall l put aside this
year?" you substituted the question:
"How shall l pay my butcher, and
baker. and clothier, aa! landlord?"
with two oars and yet all the time 60
ing down stream.
You did not say much about it be-
cause it was not polite to speak Of
financial embarrassment: but your wife
knew. Less variety of wardrobe. more
economy at the table, self-denial in art
and tapestry. Compression; retrench-
mcnt. Who did not feel the necessity
of it? My friend, did you make the
best of this? Are YOU aware of how
narrow an escape you made? Suppose
you had reached the fortune toward
which you were rapidly going? What
then? You would have been as proud
as Lucifer.
How few men have succeeded largely
in financial sense and yet retained
their simplicity and religious consscra-
ton! Not one man out of hundred.
There are glorious exceptions, but the
general rule is that in proportion as a
| man gets well off for this world he
gets poorly off for the next. He loses
gets a dictate for prayer meetings.
With plenty Of bank stocks and plenty
of government securities, what does
that man know of the prayer: Give
| me this day my daily bread?" How few
men largely successful in this world
are bringing souls to Christ, or show
ing self-denial for others, or are emf
nent to piety? You can count ti>, m
! all npon your eight fingers ana two
| thumb
One of the old covetous souls, when
he was sick, and sick unto death, used
| to have basin brought ina basin
filed with gold, and his only amuse-
ment and the only relief he got for his
| infiamed hands was running them down
through the gold and turning it up in
| the basin. Ga, what infatuation and
| what destroying power money has for
many man! Now, you were sailing
| at 80 knots the bour toward these vor-
| tices of worldliness-whata Il mercy it
was, that honest defalcation! The
same Divine hand that crushed your
storehouse, your bank, your office, your
insurance company lifted you out o!
destruction. The day you honestly
suspended in business made your for.
tune for eternity.
''Oh, you say, II could get along
very well myself, but l ani so disap
pointed that can not leave a conpc
tence for my children" My brother
the same financial misfortune that is
going to save your soul will save youl
| children. With the anticipation O.
large fortune, how much industry
would your children have?-without
which habit Of industry there is nc
safety. The young man would say
| well, there's no need of my working
my father will soon step out, and thel
| I'll have just what l want" You cal
not hide from him how much you ar,
worth. You think you are hiding it: h
knows all about it. lie can tell yo,
almost to dollar. Perhaps he ha
been to the county Office and searches
| the records of deeds and mortgages
and he has added it all up, and he ha
made an estimate of how long yoa will
| probably stay in this world. and is no
es much worried about your rheuma