The Penn's Grove record., 1901-03-22
DIR, TALMAGE'S SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
subject Good Innuenees-rhe "i's,o"
the writers Inkhorn"-How II ""
For the worlds Battermcnt-lne u"
stand ortIe worlds Evangeiifat'o"'

courses OF good influences nj, +,yt /
for the worlds improvement Nm, u hen
was clothed with linen, with a "Il'e'
inkhorn by his side. =, t,te,
Is epic, lyric, dramatic, welrd anu ~
nowering. II is more than HoIneriic !.
Dautesque. No one ever had such ~
vine dreams as Ezekiel, In a VISION W..
prophet had seen wrathful angels otst'gS
ing angels, each with a sword, pu' :" II
feyt he sees a merciful angel WIN an 'uN
horn. The receptacle for the ink m oideI
time was made out Of the horn Of a Gov
or n ram or a rnehuck, as now 1t Is mau'
out Of metal or glass, and therefore wa
called the inkhorn. as now We say luh
stand. We have all spoken Of the pow
of the sword. Of the power OF wealth. %
the power of Office, OF the power OF socld
influence. but to-day | speak OF the p3I"c.l
for GOOD or evil in the inkstand. It It
unon your tables, holding a black or niue
or red LIQUID. 1t is fortress, an armory
A gateway. a ransom or a demo.ltloh
"You mistake says ONE one. 1t Is tn,F
nen that has the power" No, my friend
What is the influence of a dry pen! Ias,
It up and down a sheet Of paper, and II
leaves no mark. 1t expresses no opinion
pence. 1t is the LIQUID which the pen DIPS
out OF the inkstand that does tie work;
Here and there q celebrated pen, with
which a Declaration OF Independence or
Magma Charta or a treaty was signed ma,
been kept in literary museum or national
archives, Lut for the most part the pens.
whether, as of old, made ont OF reed OF
later of wing of bird or still later OF ne
tallie substance. have disappeared, while
the LIQUID which the pens took from the
inkstand remains in SCROLL which, II put
together. would be large enough to en-
wrap the round world. For practical, for
moral. for religious, for eternal purposes
l speak of the mission of the writer
inkhorn."
First. l mention that which is purely
domestic. The inkstand is in eAary house
hold. 1t awaits the opportunity to .eN-
press affection or coincidence or advice,
Father uses it: mother uses it; the sons
and daughters use it. 1t tells the home
news; it announces The marriage, the
birth, the departure, the accident, the last
sickness, the death. That home inkstanid
what a mission it has already executed.
and what other missions will it yet III
fill May it stand off from all inslncerItY
and all querulousness. Let 1t tell only that
which it would be well to read after the
hand that wrote it and the hand that re.
ceived it can write no more. Dip out OF
that inkstand only that which is paternaI.
maternal. flial. s~isterly, h~rotherly. Sacred
let it be. not to what are sometimes called
the household gods" but to the one and
the only God who 'setteth the solitary IN
families" Dip out of it solace for par,
ents on the descending grade OF years and
encouragement for those who are climbing
the sleeps.
The carvers and glass blowers are ever
busy making more ornate and skilltnl
bowls for the ink. but not one Of them Will
be so sacred as the old fashioned lnkstand
out OF which was dipped the liquid for the
making OF the family record on the blank
leaves in the Bible between the Old and
the New Testaments, not so many leaves
now blank as before recent years made
birthday or mortuary inseruons. From
that home inkstand the child dips out
material for those large ami awkward let
tiers that one always makes when learning
70 write. and from it are taken the trem,
bling letters that show the wrlnkled hand
IS gradually forgetting its cunning.
Oh, re who have with recent years set
homes OF your own, out OF the new home
inkstand write often to the old folks, II
they be still living. A letter means more
to them than to US, who are amid the &C
tiyities of life and to whom postal CORE
s~nondence is more than we can manage.
They await the coming OF the letter. I'm
dertake no great thing in life without their
advice. Old people for counsel, young peo-
pie for action. Even though through de-
cadence they may be incompetent to give
valuable opinions on important AFFAIRS,
compliment them by asking their counsel.
Il will do them good; II will make their
last DAYS exhilarant. Make that home INK
stand a source ct rejurenescence to those
who are near the terminus Of the earthly
Journey. Domestic correspondence Is not
attended TO at once. The newspaper,
Joining with the telegraph, bears the It'd
ings OF all the neighborhood, but swiftest
revolving wheel of modern printing press
and quickest fash along the electric wires
can never do the sympathetic work OF the
home inkstand. As the merciful angel Of
my text appeared before the brazen altar
with the inkhorn at his side in Ezekiels
vision, so let the angel Of flial kindness
appear at the affairs Of the old homestead.
Furthermore, the inkstand Of the bust
ness man has its mission Between now
and the hour OF your demise, o CONNER
elal man, o professional man, there will
not be a day when you cannot dip from
the inkhorn a message that will influence
temporal and o+ernal destiny. There is a
rSsh young man running into wild specu,
lation, and with as muoh ink as you can
put on the pen at one time you may save
him from the Niagara rapids OF a ruined
life. On the next street there is a Young
man started in business who through lack
Of patronage or mistake in purchase of
goods or want of adaptation is on the
brink OF collapse. One line Of ink from
your pen will save him from being an un.
derling all his life and start him on a ca.
reer that will win him a fortune which
will enable him to become an endower OF
libraries, an opener OF art galleries and
builder of churches.
The most largely successful and useful
men OF our time once wore an old coat
because they could not afford a new one,
and got wages less than that which they
pay their cook or butler. 1t will be a
mighty thing II out Of your inkstand YOU
can dip a mans earthly and everlasting
fortune. Dip out of that inkstand not one
word OF DISAGREEMENT. People have
enough burdens to carry without youf
adding one ounce to the heft. From your
inkstand put not one blot on an honest
ambition. Keep all the whole of your fac
tory spinning rays ~ Sunshine, If you are
a Christian man., put into your business
letters an adroit, moral, religious sugges
ton that will keep the receiver thipkinc
after he has left the counting room for hi,
home and far on into the night when h,
lies upon a wakeful pillow. Tomorrow
morning at III O'Clock, as you begin TO an
swer your letters, you will have on the nil
OF your pen enough ink to save a soul from
death and hide a multitude of sins.
fhl luttinoEt, great are the responsible
ties OF the authors inkhorn. All the peo
pie, or nearly all the people, read. and tba,
which they read decides their morals n,
lmmorals. their prosperity or failure tbei,
faith or their unbelief, their purity or ror
ruption, their heaven or hell. Show m,
any mans library. great or small. and At
ter examining the books, finding those wifi
leaves uncut, but displayed for sake of III,
binding, and those worn with freouen'
perusal, and without ever seeing The ma,
or knowing his name, | will tell Won h;
likes and his dislikes, his morals GOOD ~
bad or Indifferent, his qualifications 70
business or artistic or professional or mo
ehanical life. The best index To any mlm,
character is the book he prefers above al
others; Or, the power of a book for ZOO,
or evil " s'0'
Abraham Lincoln in carly life roo,
Palne's Age of Reason" and it so inan
enced him that he wrote an ESSAY againe
Christianity. But aiterward some Ch,;s
tan books came into his hands and gie
rlously changed his mind and made him
most ardent friend of the Bible and a ma,
Of prayer, A letter in Mr.. Lincoln's avs,
handwriting is in my house, the letter y
response to some resolutions passed by
Methodist conference. saying. an resnons
TO your address allow me to attest the az
curacy OF its historical statements ~
dorse the sentiments it expresses Az,
thank o in the nations name for m
sure promise 1t gives, Nobly sustained a