The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-12-05
|L1FE'S BRIGHT SIDE.
oh, TAL1AaE SEES suNsHlNE or
EVERY CLOUD.

|. -------
oh. TALaAoE SEES suNsAINE or,
EVERY CLOUD.
k-..a
Gotf~ Sseming AMictions on Us Are
Influences For GOod-Grandeur of
| Character Ia Achieved by Conquer
ing EVIL.
copyright. 1898. by American Press Asso-
ciation.l
WASHINGTON, Dec Am this discourse
Dr.. Talmage takes an optimistic view Of
many things that arc usually accounted
as inexplioRble In human experience and
shows us that even trouble and affliotion
may not b. wholly without their brighter
side; text, Psalm xix, 4, II will open
my dark saying upon the harp"
The world is full Of the inoxplicable, the
impossible, the unfathomable, the insur.
m0untable. We cannot 70 three steps in
any direction without coming up against
hard wall Of mystery, riddles paradoxes,
profundities, labyrinths, problems that we
cannot solve, hieroglyphics that We cannot
decipher, anagraIns we cannot spell out,
sphinxes that will not speak. For that
reason David In my text proposed to take
up some Of these somber and dark things
and try 70 set them TO SWEET music. II
will ePen my dark sayings on aharp." So
I look of upon society and find people in
unhappy conjunction Of circumstances,
and they do not know what II means, and
they have ;..sssh to .sk Why is this2 Why
Is thatf And think ] YIl b de....s
ssod Work BY trying t. Explain some of
these strange things and make you more
content with your lot, and shall only be
answering questions that have often been
asked me or that we have all asked our
selves while try to set these mysteries to
music and open my dark sayings on harp.
why Are the Useful TakenV
Interrogation the first: Why does God
take out Of this world thoss who are use-
full and whom we cannot spare and leave
alive and in good health 20 many who are
only nuisance to the worldi thought I
would begin with the very toughest Of all
the seeming inscrutables. Many Of the
most useful men and women die at 30 or
40 years Of ago, while you often find use-
less peoplealive at go and 70 and 80. John
Careless wrote to Bradford, who was soon
to DO put to death, saying, why doth God
suffer mo and such other oaterpillars to
live that can do nothing but consume the
aims Of the church and take away 90 many
worthy workmen in the Lords vineyardP"
Similar questions are often asked. Here
are two men. The one IL noble character
and q Christian man. He chooses for
lifetime companion ono who has been ten
derby reared, and she IL worthy Of him and
he is worthy of her. As merchant or farm
er or professional man or mechanic or ar
fist he tolls to educate and rear his chill.
dren. He Is succeeding, but he has not
yet established for his family full conf
potency. He seems Indispensable to that
household, but one day, before he has paid
of the mortgage on his house, he is conf
ing home through strong northeast wind,
and chill strikes through him, and four
days Of pneumonia end his earthly career.
and the wife and children 60 into strug-
gle for shelter and food. His next door
neighbor Is man who, though strong and
we'll, let's his wife support him. He Is
around at tho grocery store or some gen.
eral loafing place In the evenings, while
his wife sews. His boys are initiating his
example and lounge and swagger and
swear. All the use that man Is in that
house Is to rave because the coffee is cold
when he comes to late breakfast or to
say cutting things about his wife's looks,
when he furnishes nothing for her ward.
robe. The best thing that could happen to
that family would ba that mans funeral,
but he declines to die. He lives on and ON
and on. So we have all noticed that
many of the useful are early cut of, while
the parasites have great vital teAacity.
take up this dark saying on my harp
and give three or four thrums on the string
in the way Of surmising and hopeful
guess. Perhaps the useful man was taken
out Of the world because he and his family
were SO constructed that they could not
have endured some great prosperity that
might have been just ahead, and they all
together might have gone down in the
vortex of worldliness which every year
swallows up 10000 households. And so
he went while he was humble and conse-
Grated, and they were by the seventies OF
life kept close to Christ and fitted for USE
fulness here and high seats in heaven, and
when they meet at last before the throne
they will acknowledge that, though the
pared them for an eternal career Of glory
and reward for which no other kind of life
could have fitted them. On the other
uduu, Uuo ubolcb1 muH 4lfol Ou w w VI w
or 70 years because all the case he ever can
have no must have In this world, and you
ought not therefore begrudge him his
earthly longevity. In all the ages there
has not single loafer ever entered heaven.
There Is no place for him there to hang
around. Not even III the temples, for
they are full Of vigorous, alert and raptur-
Gus worship. II the good and useful go
early, rejoice for them that they have SO
soon got through with human life, which
at best is struggle. And If the useless
and the bad stay rejoice that they may be
out In the worlds fresh air good many
years before their final incarceration.
Troubles Of the Good.
Interrogation the second Why do good
people have 90 much trouble, sickness,
bankruptcy, persecution, the three black
vultures sometimes putting their fierce
beaks into ono set Of tangled nervesp
think ROW of good friend once had.
He was a consecrated Christian man, an
elder In the church. and as polished
Christian gentleman as ever walked
Broadway. First his general health gave
out, and he hobbled around on cane, an
old man at 40. After awhile paralysis
struck him. Having by poor health been
compelled suddenly to quit BUSINESS he
lost what property he had. Then his beau
tiful daughter died; then q son became
hopelcssly demented. Another son. splen-
did of mind and commanding Of presence,
resolved that no would take care Of his fa-
thers household, but under the swoop of
yellow fever ri Fernandina, Fla, he sud-
denly expirsd. So you know good men and
women who have had enough troubles,
you think, to crush 80 people. No world
ly philosophy could take such trouble
and set 1t to music or play 1t on violin or
flute, but I dare to open that dark saying !
on a gospel harp.
You wonder that very consecrated PEG.
pie have trouble9 Did you ever know any
very consecrated man or woman who had |,
not had great trouble? Neverl 1t was
through their troubles sanctifed that they
wero made very good. II YOU find any
where In this city man who has now and
always has had perfect health and never
lost a ohild and has ALWAYS been Copular.