Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1898-09-07
THE WAY TO BE HELPFUL
There Are Countless Opportunities TO
Do Something Useful.
To Serve Mankind. Not Antagonist II. Is
the One ADMINISTRATORS Service
Is the Best-sermon by Rev.
T. Dewitt Talmage.

TO the people now living. Text. Acts
xiii. 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 "A time to be born as well
As n time 10 die; "A cradle as well as a
grave. David. cowboy and stone
singer, 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 generation by the will
OF God, fell on sleep" IL was mis- own
generation that he served; that is, the
people living at the time nc 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 n century. Taking
these facts into calculation, / made a
rough guess and say that there have
been at least $50 generations of the
human family. With reference to
them we have no responsibility. We
can not teach them, we can not cor
rect their mistakes, we can not
soothe their sorrows, we can not heal
their wounds. Their sepulchres 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 rs we
could; not one of them would avert
his head TO see what we wanted. adj
init that / am in sympathy with the
child whose father had suddenly died.
and who in her little opening prayer
wanted to continue to pray for her
father, although he had gone into
Heaven, and no more needed her pray
ers, and looking up into her mothers
face, said: oh, mother, / can not
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
forever. 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 convoca-
tions, their elections their revolutions,
their catastrophes, their triumphs.
We will in no wise affect the $50 gen
erations gone or the $50 generations to
come, except as from the galleries of
Heaven the former generations look
down and ejoice at our victories. or
L. l..
| fluenccs. 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, it is not silent
procession, but moving. 1t is a
forced march" at n miles a dav. each
hour being mile. Going with that
CELEBRITY, il has got to be a quick ser.
vice on our part, or no service at all
We not only cannot teach the $50 gen
erations past and will not see the $50
generations to come, but this genera
ton now on the stage will soon be off,
and we ourselves will be of with them.
The fact is that you and | will have to
start very soon for our work, or il will
be ironical and sarcastic for anyone
| after oar exit TO say OF us. as it was
said Of David. After he had served his
own generation by the will of God. he
fell on sleep"
Well, now. let MS look around earn
estly, prayerfully. in a common sense
way. and see what we can DO for our
own generation. First of all, let us
90 60. Il
have enough 10 eat The human body
is so constituted that three times a
day the body needs food rs much as a
lamp needs oil. "a much as a locomo-
tive needs fuel. To meet this want
God has Firdled the earth with apple
orchards, orange groves, wheat fields
and oceans full OF fish. and prairies
full of cattle. And notwithstanding
this / will undertake. 10 saw that the
vast majority OF the human family
are now suffering either for lack OF
food or the right kind OF food. Our
civilization is all aslSew. and God only
can set 10 right. Many of the greatest
estates of to-day have been built out
OF the blood and bones OF uurequited
toll. In olden mes for the building
OF forts and towers. the inhabitants of
lspahan had TO contribute 20 600
skulls, and Bagdad 10000 human
skulls, and that number OF peoolc
were compelled 20 furnish the skulls.
But thes, two contr buttons added to-
gethcr made only 100, 600 skulls. while
into the tower of the worlds wealth
aud pomp have been wrought the skel-
etOns Of uncounted numbers OF the
half-fcd populations OF the Garth
millions Of skulls Don't sit
down at your table with hve
or six courses of abundant sur.
ply and think nothing OF that family
in the next street who would take any
one Of those five courses between SOUP
and almond nuts and feel they ,vers ina
Heaven. The lack of the right kind a.
food BIS the cause Of much Of the drunk.
cnness After drinking what many OF
the grocers call coffee. sweetened with
what many call sugar, and eating
what many Of our butchers call meat.
and chewing what many OF our bakers
call bread, many OF the laboriny class
feel SO miserable they g. tempted 90
put into their nasty pipes what the 20.
bacconist calls tobacco. or go into the
drinking saloons for what the rum
sellers call beer Good coffee would
do much 100 driving out bad rum.
How can we serve our generation
with enough 90 eat? By sitting down
in EN- uroidcrcd slippers and Longing
I d.. .