The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-10-11
REV. DR.. TALMACE.
THE EMINENT UIVINE's SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
Subject; Thickenlng Gloom - Growing
Old without Religion Dismal Pros-
pect-Consoling Suggestions to Those
VINO Have Passed Life's Meridian.

WASHINGTON. d. G.. 49, In this sermon
~ iaIinage discourscs upon the invita-.
t,on given to Christ to stav overnight in
tne oriental village. and makes some con.
soIatoTy suggestions. The text is Luke
evening" '0""'u u
Two villagers, having concluded their
GRAND in Jerusalem, have started out at
INC city gate and are on their way TO
iT,hmaus, the place of their residence
lhey, go with a sad heart. Jesus. who
had been their admiration and their iov,
nad been boselv massacred and entombed
as, with sad face and broken heart. they
pass on their wav stranger accosts
them. Thev tell Hin their anxieties and
bitterness of soul. lie in turn talks to
mem; nightly expounding the Scriptures.
| ne throws over them the fascination of
intelligent conversation They forget tho
tlne ana notice not the objects they pass
enu before they are aware have come in
'front.' OF their house. They pause before
the entrance and attempt to persuade the
stranger to tarry with them They press
upon Him their hospitalities. Night is
coming on, and He NAV meet prowline
Wild beast. or be obliged to be unsheltered
from the dew lie cannot 20 much farther
now. WHY not stop there and continue
,nelr pleasant conversation? They take
lllm by the arm. and thcv insist upon His
! ,,.','.N iils tl'lultNNlllH MN III Inc words.
| ABIDE with us. for it is toward evening" ."
The lamps are lighted, the table is spread.
pleasant soclalties are enkiudled They re-.
lQice IN the presence of this stranger guest.
lie asks blessing upon the bread they cat.
ana lie hands piece Of It to each. Sud.
denly and with overwhelming power the
thought flashes upon the astounded peo.
ple-it is the Lord And as they sit in
breathless wonder, looking upon the resur.
rected body of Jesus. He vanished The
interview ended. He was gone.
with many of us II is bright sunshinv
day OF prosperity. There is not a cloud
in the sky not a leaf rustling in the forest.
no chill in the air. But we cannot expect
all this, to last. He is not an intelligent
man who who expects, perpetual daylight OF
10Y. The sun will after Pwhile near the
horizon: the shadows will lengthen.
While / speak many of us stand in the
very hour described in the text, "For il is
toward evening" The request of the text
Is appropriate for some in every commu.
nifty, for with them it is toward the even.
INC. OF old age. They have passed the me
rldlan OF life. They are sometimes star
tied TO tank how old they are They do
not, however, like others to remark upon
1t. II Others suggest their approximation
toward venerable appearance. they say,
WHY. | am not so old after all L." They
do, indeed, notice that they cannot lift
quite as much as once; they cannot walk
| quite so fast; they cannot read quite so
well without spectacles; they cannot so
easily recover from a cough or any occa-
slonal ailment: they have lost their taste
Tor merrment; they are surprised Mt the
! quick passage of the year: they saw that it
only seems but little while ago that they
were boys; they are going a little down
hill; there is something in their health,
something in their vision, something in
thpfr IL. 4. =. 4 i
| associations, something above. something
beneath, something within to remind them
that it is toward evening.
The great want of all such is to have
Jesus abide with them. 1t is a dismal
thing to be getting old without the reiu-
venatlng influence of religion. When we
stop on the down grade of life and sec
Ilat it dips to the, verge of the cold river,
we want to behold some one near who
will help us across it, When the sight
loses its mower to glance and gather up
we need the faith that can illumine. When
we feel the failure of the ear. we need the
clear tones OF that voice which in olden
times hroke up the silence of the deaf
with cadenccs of mercy. When the AK
men of death hew down whole forests of
strength and beauty around us and we
are left in solitude, we need the dove of
divine mercy TO sing in our branches
| When the shadows begin to fall and we
feel that the day is far soent, we need
most of all to supplicate the benefcent
Jesus in the prayer of the villagers
abide with us for it is toward evening"
The request of the text is an appropriate
exclamation for all those who are ap-
! preaching tho gloomy hour of temptation
There is nothing easier than to be good
natured when everything pleases, or to be
humble when there is nothing to puff us
un, or forgiyng when we have not been
| assailed, or honest when we have no in
ducement to fraud, But you have felt the
grapple of some temptation. Your nature
at some time quaked and groaned under
the internal power You feel that the devil
was after you; you saw your Christian
graces retreatng; you feu ed that you
would fail in the awful wrestle with sin
and be thrown into the dust. The gloom
thickened. The first indications of the
! night were seen. In all the trembling of
your soul, in all the internal suggestions of
Satan, in all the surging uD of tumultuous
passions and eXcitements, you felt with
awful emphasis that it was toward even
ing. In the tempted hour you need to ask
Jesus to abide with you. You can beat
back the monster that would devour you;
you can unhorse the sin that would ride
| YOU down; you can sharpen the battleaX
with which you split the head of helmeted
abomination. Who helped Paul shake the
brazen gated heart of Felix? Who acted
| like good sailor when all the crew howed
in the Mediterranean shipwreck? Who
helped the martyrs to be firm when one
word of recantation would have unfastened
the withes of the stake and put out the
/ kinding fire?
When the night of the soul came on
and all the denizens of darkness came rid
ing upon the winds of perdition, who
gave strength to the soul? Who gave
! calmness to the heart? Who broke the
] spell of Internal cnchantment? He who
| heard the request OF the villagers, "Abide
with us, for it is toward evening" One
of the forts of France was attacked, and
! the outworks were taken before night
| The beseging army lay down, thinking
| that there was but little to do in the
morning, and that the soldiery in the fort
could be easily made to surrender, But
| during the night, through a back stairs
they escaped into the country. In the
morning the beseging army sprang upon
the battlements, but found that their prey
| was gone. So when we are assaulted by
| temptation there is always some secret
stair by which we might get off. God
will not allow us to be tempted above
what we are able, but with every tempta-
! ton will bring way of escape that We
may be able to bear it.
The prayer OF the text is appropriate
| for all who are anticipating sorrow. The
greatest folly that ever grew on this
| planet is the tendency to borrow trouble,
| but there are times when approaching
sorrow is so evident that we need to be
making especial preparations for its com
ing. One of your children has lately be.
come a favorite. The cry of that child
! strikes deeper into the heart than the cry