The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1899-05-05
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON
The Eminent Divine's Sunday
Discourse.

SubJect: "a Great Man Fallcn"-A Eu,ory
OF the Lsto Jusiic" FieId-One OF the
Most Notable Characters Of Dur Times
'.Whcse Life Ia w o,thy ur Emulation.
TEXT: Know Ae not that there is a
prince aud u great man fallen this day Ia
lsraelf'-1l Samuel ill.,, IS.
Hero is n plumed catafaIqus. followed by
hinR David and IA funeral Grafton which ho
delivers at the tomb. Concerning Abner,
the great. David wceps out the text More
appropriately than when originally ut
tered We may now utter this rescuniinR
lamentntion, "Know ye not TINT there Is 4
prince and great man fallen this day I'm
Israeli"
1t was thirty minutes after six, the exact
hour OF sunset OF tho Sabbath day, and
while the evening lights were being kin
died, that the soul OF Stephen J. FieJd, tho
lawyer, the Judge, tho patriot, tho States
man, tho Christian, nscended. 1t was sun
Mown In the home on yonder Capitol hill,
washington, rs 1t was shutdown on all TN.
surrounding hills. but In both cnscs the sun.
set to be followed by II glorious sunrise.
Hear the Easter anthems still lingering ia
the air, The trumpet shall sound, Hnd tn,
dead shall rise
Our departed friend came forth boy
from minister's home in New England.
He knelt with father aud other Mt mora.
ing ana evening prayer, learned from ma.
ternal lips lessons OF piety which lastcl
him and controlled him amid all tho varied
ana exciting scenes ola lifetime and helped
him TO die In peace IN octogenarinu. Blot
out from American history tho names OF
those ministers sons who have dono honor
10 oJudicial bench and commercial circle and
national Legislature and Presidential chair,
and you would obliterate many OF the
grhndest chapters OF that history. 1t IL no
small advantage to have started from a
home whesc God Is honored and the sub
ject OF worlds emancipation from sin
and sorrow IS under constant discus
sion. The Ten Commandments. which
are the foundation OF all good law
Roman law, German law English
law, American law-Hre the best fouu-
dntion upon which TO build character nnd
those which the boy, Stephen j. Field, so
often heard In the parsonage ut Stock
bridge were his guidance when Il half CEN
'tury alter, ns gownrd justice OF the SUI
preme Court OF the United States he un-
rolled his opinions. Bibles, hymn books,
"atechisms, family players, atmosphere
sanctihed, are good surroundings for boys
and girls to start from, and IL our luyer
ideas OF religion and Sabbath Days AMI
nome training produce rs splendid meu
and women MS the much derided Puritanic
Sabbath and Puritanic teachings have pro.
ducod. 1t will be II matter oil cUngratu!ntion
and Thanksgiving.
Do not pass by the fact that 7 have not
yet seen emphasized that stephen ]. Field
was minister's son. Notwithstanding
that there are conspicuous exceptions to
the rule-and the exceptions have Quilt up
a stereotypcd defamation on the subject
stntlsttcs plain aud undeninb.e prove that
larger proportion OF ministers sons turn
out well than ure to be found in any other
genealogical tablc. Let all the parsonages
OF all denominations OF Christians where
children arc growing up take the consola-
tion. See the star OF hope pointing down
TO that manger!
Notice also that cur departed friend was
member of royal family. There wero
no crowns or scepters or thrones In that
ancestral line but the family OF the Fields,
like the family OF the New York Primes,
like the family OF the Princeton Alex
nnders, like ascore OF families that might
mentton, IL 1t were best 20 mention them,
we're "tlfe children of the king" and had
put on them honors brighter than crowns
and welded influence longer and wider
than sccpters. That family of Fields traces
an honorable lineage back 500 years to
Hubertus de In Field, coadjutor Of William
the ConqUcror. Let us thank God for
such families, generation after gener-
tion on the side OF that which Is righ.
nnd good. Four sons OF that coun-
try minister, known the world over for ex-
traordinary usefulness in their spheres,
legal, commercial. literary and theological,
and daughter the mother OF one OF the
associate justices OF the Supreme Court
Such families uDtel-bnlance for good
those families all wrong from generation to
Scnerution-iamlies that stand for wealth
unriShtcously got and stlngi kept or
wickcdly squandered; families that stand
for fraud or impurity or malevolence:
family names TINT Immediately come to
every mind though through sense OF pro.
priety they do not como to the lip. The
name OF Field will survive centuries and be-
synonym for religion, for great jurispru.
dence for able Christian journalism, as the
ne ~ In Dhnr p,NI,a
stand for cruelty and oppression and vice
While parents cannot aspire to have
such consI icuous households ns the one
the name OF whose son we now celebrate
all parents may, by fidelity In prayer and
holy example have their sons and daugh-
ters become kings and queens unto God,
to reign forever and ever. But tho work
has already been done, and | could 90
through this country and find thousand
households which have by the grace Of
Goi and blessing upon patornal ana Iua-
terLal excellence become the royal families
Of America.
Let young men beware lest they by their
behavior blot such family records with
some misdeod. We can all think OF house.
holds the names OF which meant everything
honorable and consecratcd for Il long
while, but by the decd OF one son sacri.
Heed, disgraced and blasted. Look out
how you rob your oonsccrated ancestry OF
the name they handed to you unsullIed!
ier rs trustee to that name add some
worthy. Do something to honor the
~nomcstead. whether mountain cabin
or II city mansion or country parsonage.
Rev. David Dudley Field, though thirty.
two years passed upward, IL honored to-
day by the Christian life, the service. the
death Of his son stephen.
Among the most absorbing books OF the
Bible Is the book OF Kings. which again
md again illustrates that, though piety IL
not hereditary. the style OF parentage has
much to do with the style OF descendant.
II declares OF King Abijam, "IIo walked in
all the sins OF his father which he had done
before him." and OF King Azariah .'IIc did
that which was right In tho sight OF the
Lord, according to all that his Ialher Anna
ziah Ind done" We owe u debt to those
who Enye gone before In our line ns cer.