The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1900-12-15
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
TELLS OF DAviD'S PASSAGE
OVER THE JORDoN.
From IN Almost Unnoticed Incident of
OIdsu Time Are Drawn Lessons Of
Comfort aud HopefuIness to An Gods
Children.

Copyright. 1900. Louis Kiopsch, n. p
Washington. Dec, s.-From an un-
noticed Incident Of olden time Dr
Talmage in this discourse draws some
comfortable and rapturous lessons
The text is II. Samuel xix. IS, And
there went over a ferryboat to carry
over the kings household"
Which OF the crowd is the kirg2
That short man. sunburnt and IN
fatigue dress 1t is David the exiled
king. He has defeated his enemies
and is now going home to resume his
palace. Good / always like 10 see
David come out ahead. But between
him and his home there is the cele-
brated river Jordan which has to be
passed. The king is accompanied TO
the bank Of the river by an aristocratic
old gentleman OF so years. Barzillai
BY name. who owned a fine country
seat at Rogelim. Besides that, David
has his family with him. But how
shall they get across the river2 While
they are standing there / see a ferry
boat coming from the other side, and
as it cuts through the water ! see the
faces OF David and his household
brighten up at the thought Of so soon
getssng home. No sooner has the fer
ryboat struck the shore than David
and his family and his old friend
Barzillai from Rogelim get on board
the boat. Either with sDlashing oars
at the side OF with one oar sculling at
the stern of the boat they leave the
eastern bank Of the Jordan and start
for the western bank.
That western bank is black with
crowds OF people. who are waving and
shouting at the approach Of the king
and his family The military are all
out. Some OF those who have been
David's worst enemies now shout until
they are hoarse at his return. NO
sooner has the boat struck the shore
on the western side than the earth
duakes and the heavens ring with
cheers OF welcome and congratulation.
David and his family and Barzillai
from Rogelim step ashore. King Da-
vld asks bis old friend 70 go with him
and live al the palace. but Barzillai
apologies and intimates that he is in
firm with age and TOO deaf to appre-
ciate the music, and has a delicate ap-
petite that would soon be cloyed with
Injurious living and so he begs that
David would let him go back to his
country seat
Dislike Of Excitement.
once heard the father OF a presl-
dent OF the United States say that he
had iust been to Washington to see his
son in the White House. and he told
me Of the wonderful things that oc-
CURED there and Of what Daniel Web
ster said TO him. but he declared: 4
was glad to get home. There was too
much going on there for me" Ny
father. an aged man. made his last
visit at my house in Philadelphia, and
after the church service was over. and
we went home, some one in the house
asked the aged man how he enjoyed
the service. We'll" he replied Il en-
joyed the service, but there were too
many people there for me. It troubled
my head very much" The fact is that
old people do not like excitement II
King David had asked Barzillai thirty
years before to go 10 the palace the
probability is that Barzillai would
have gone. but not now. They kiss
each other good-by. a custom among
men Oriental. but in vogue yet where
two brothers part OF an aged father
and a son GO away from each other
never to meet again. No wonder that
their lips met as King David and old
Barzillai. at the PROV Of the ferryboat,
parted forever.
An Unstable Craft.
Every day find people trying to ex-
temporize a way from earth to heaven.
They gather up their good works and
some sentimental theories. and they
make a raft. showing It from the shore.
and poor. deluded souls get on board
that raft. and they go down. The fact
IS that skepticism and infdelity never
yet helped one man TO die I invite all
the ship carpenters of worldly philoss
ophy 70 come and build one boat that
can safely cross that river / invite
them all to unite their skill. and Boil
ingbroke shall lift the stanchions. and
Tyndall shall shape the bowsprit. and
Spinoza shall make the maintopgal.
fant braces, and fSgnHn shah so &c
tacking and wearing and boxing the
ship. All together In 10000 years they
will never be able TO make a boat that
can cross this Jordan. Why was it that
spinoza and Blount and shaftesbury
lost their souls3 Tt was because they
tried to cross the stream in boat Of
their own construction. What miser-
able work they made OF dying7 Do
dorus died OF mortifoation because hi
could not guess a conundrum which
had been proposed to him at a public
dinner. Zeuxis. the philosopher. died
Of mirth. laughing at a caricature o.
an aged woman. caricature made by
his own hand. while another Of theii
compsny and Of their kind died say
, ing. Must ] leave all these beautiful
pictures?" and then asked that hs
might be bolstered up in the bed in
his last moments and be shaved and
~.f,sn5 ,nl ~orra1 Or ali the rnha.