Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1898-09-23
MEETING TROUBLES.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Gives Encourage
ment to the Unfortunate.
Where Happiness May be Found Even In
the Midst OF the Most Severe
Trinls-Gettlns Out Into
the Sunlight.

on the text:
There was sharp rock one one side and
sharp rock on the other side L Samuel, xiv, A.
The cruel army of the Philistines
must be taken and scattered. There is
just one man, accompanied by his
body-guard, to do that thing. Jona-
than is the hero Of the scene. / know
that David cracked the skull Of the
giant with few pebbles well slung,
and that 400 Gideonites scattered 10000
Amelekites by the crash OF broken
crSckery; but here is more wonderful
conflict. Yonder are the Philistines on
the rocks. Here is Jonathan with his
bodyguard in the valley, On the one
side is rock called Bozez; on the other
side is a rock called Seneh. These two
were as famous in olden times as in
modern times are Plymouth Rock and
Gibraltar. They were precipitous, un-
scalable and sharp. Between these
two rocks Jonathan must make his as
cent. The day comes for the scaling
OF the height Jonathan, on his
hands and feet, begins the ascent.
With strain and slip and bruise, sup.
pose, but still on and up, first goes
Jonathan, and then goes his body
guard. Bozez on one side, Seneh on
the other. After q sharp tug, and
push and clinging, | see the head Of
Jonathan above the hole in the noun
tain; and there is challenge, and a
fight, and supernatural consterna-
ton. These two men, Jonathan and
his bodyguard, drive back and drive
down the Philistines over the rocks,
and opens u campaign which demol-
ishes the enemies of Israel. | suppose
that the overhanging and overshadow-
ing rocks on either side did not balll
or dishearten Jonathan or his body
guard, but only reused and filled tn EN-
with enthusiasm as they went up.
"There was a sharp rock on the one
side, and a sharp rock on the other
side"
My friends, you have been, or are
now, some of you, in this crisis of the
text. lfaman meets one trouble sse
can go through with it, He A9~ers
all his energies, concentrates the)e on
one point, and In the strength of God,
or by his own natural determination,
goes through it, But the man who has
trouble to the right of him, and trou-
BILE to the left of him, is to be pitied.
Did either trouble come along, he
might endure it, but two troubles, two
disasters, two overshadowing mis-
fortunes, are Bozez and Seneh. God
pity him. "TheIe is sharp rock on
the one side, and sharp rock on the
other side"
In this crisis Of the the text is that
man whose fortune and health fail him
at the same time. Nine-tenths of ali
our merchants capsize in business be.
fore they come to As years OF age.
There is some collision in commercial
circles, and they stop payment. II
seems as If every man must put his name
on the back of note before he learns
what fool a man is who risks all his
own property on the prospect that some
man will tell the truth. 1t seems as i
man must have q large amount of un
salable goods on his own shelf before
he learns how much easier it is to buy
than to sell. 1t seems as If every mar
must be completely burned out befor,
he learns the Importance OF always
keeping fully insured. 1t seems as j.
every man must be wrecked in finan
cial tempest before he learns to keel
things snug in case Of sudden euro
clydon.
When the calamity does come, it i!
awful. The man goes home in despair
and he tells his family: We'll have t.
60 to the poor house" He takes (
dolorous view OF everything. 1t seem
as If he never could rise. But httl,
time passes, and he says, "Why / an
not so badly off after all; l have m,
family left"
Before the Lord turned Adam out O
Paradise, lie gave him Eve, so tina
when he lost Paradise he could stan,
it. Permit one who has never read bu
few novels in all his life, and VIII
has not u great deal of romance in hi
composition, TO say that If, when
mans fortune fail, he has good wifi
"a good Christian wife-he ought no
to he respondent. "Oh," you say
chat only increases the embarrass
ment, since you have her also to talk
care Of" You are an migrate, for tn
woman as often supports the man a
the man supports the woman, TIL
man may bring all the dollars, but tn
woman generally brings the courag
and the faith in God.
Well, this man of whom | am speal
ing looks around, and he finds his fan
| lily Is left, and he rallies, and the ligll
comes to his eyes, and the smile TO hi
face, and the courage to his heart l
two years he is quite over it. He max e
his financial calamity the first chapte
in new era of prosperity. He me
that one trouble-conquered t. Ii
sat down for little while under th
gr i'm shadow OF the rock Bozez; yet h
soon arose, and began, like Jonathan
to climb. But how often is it tina
physical ailment comes with financii
embarrassment! When the forum
failed it broke the mans spirit. II
nerves were shattered. His brain wa
slammed l can show you hundreds {
men in our cities whose fortune an
health failed at the same tim
They came prematurely to TIL
staff. Their hand trcmbled wit
incipient paralysis. They neve
saw we'll day since the hour whe
they called their creditors together fc
compromise. Ii such men are in
patient, and peculiar, and irritable, e.
cuse them. They had two trouble
either one of which they could hay
met successfully IT, when the healt
went, the fortune had been retained
it would net have been SO bad III