The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1901-06-06
TO ANOTHER One.
Rev. DR.. Talmage breaches on the Sub.
ject, Duty Of the One With
Single Talent.
Try to Make an Accurate Estimate Of Yourself
..The YaIue Of Sympathy.

preciate themselves and who have an idea
that their best attempts amount to III.
tie or nothing; text, Matthew XIV, is,
"To another one"
ESPel ,hd first ,.tIG from this. this parable Of the
have been translated interest" "iJsury''
is finding man in a tight place and COM
70 get out. Interest" is a Sos riSbteous nuul Sam
ment for the use of money. When the
capitalist of this parable went off home.
he gave 10 his stewards certain sums of
money, wishing to have them profitably
invested. Change also your idea as to
the value OF one talent. You remember
the capitalist gave to one of his men for
business purposes five talents, to another
two, to another one. What a small amount
to last, you think, and how could he be
expected to do anything with only one
talent! have to tell you that one talent
was about % S72O0, SO that when my text
says, To another one," it implies that
those who have the least have much
We bother ourselves a great deal about
those who are highly gifted or have large
financial resources or exalted official posi.
ton or wide reaching opportunity. We
are anxious that their wealth, their elo-
quenee, their wit, be employed on the
right side. One OF them makes a mis-
take, and we say, "What an awful disas.
ter When one of them devotes ali his
great ability to useful purposes, we cele-
brate II, we enlarge upon it, we speak of
II as something for gratitude to God.
Meanwhile we give no time at all to CON
slider what people are doing with their
one talent, not realizing that ten people
OF one talent each are quite as important
as one man with ten talents. In the one
case the advantage or opportunity is con.
centrated in single personality, while
in another it is divided among ten in.
dividuals. Now, what we want to do in
this sermon is to waken people of only
one talent to appreciation of their duty.
Only few people have five talents or ten
Talents, while millions have one. My short
text Is like galvanic shock, "To another
one"
The. most difficult thing in the world is
to make an accurate estimate of ourselves.
Our friends value us too high, our emo.
mics too low. To find out what we are
worth morally and mentally is almost
impossible We are apt to measure our.
selves by those around us, but this Is
not falr, as they may be very brilliant
or very dull, very good or very bad. In.
deed there are no human scales that can
tell our exact moral and mental weight.
nor is there standard by which we can
measure our exact intellectual height. so
the hardest thing to do is to calculate our
real stature or heft. But it will be no
evidence OF egotism in any of us if we
say that we have at least one talent.
What. is 1t and, finding what it is, what
use shall we make of it? The most OF
the people, finding that they have only
one talent, do as the man spoken of in
the parable, they hide it, But if all of
the people who have one talent brought it
out for use before this century is half past
and correspondents begin to write at the
head of their letters 1850, the earth would
be one of the outskirts of heaven. | ask
you again, What is your one talent?
Is 1T cheerful look? Carry that look
wherever you go. 1t must come from a
cheerful heart. 1t is not that inane smile
which we sometimes see which is an irri-
ttation. In other words, it must be a
light within us SO bright that it illumines
eye, cheek, nostril and mouth. Let ten
men who are accustomed to walking a
certain street every day resolve upon
cheer1ul countenance as a result of q
cheerful heart, and the influence of such
q facial irradiation would be felt not only
IN IN that street, but throughout the town.
Sheertulness IS catching. But a cheerful
look Is exceptional. Examine the first
twenty faces that you meet going through
pennsylvania avenue or Chestnut street
or Broadway or State street or La Sale
street or Euclid avenue, and nineteen out
OF the twenty faces have either an anxious
or vacant look. Here is a missionary
work for those who have trouble. Arm
yourself with gospel comfort. Let the God
, VINO comtorted Mary and Martha at the
loss of their brother, the God who soothed
Abraham at the loss of Sarah and the God
OF David, who consoled his bereft spirit
at the loss OF his boy by saying, II shall
go to him." the God who filed st. John
with doxology when an exile ON barren
Patmos and the God who has given hap.
piness TO thousands of the bankrupted
Tod
rlehes which were more than the earthly
advantages that are wiped outlet that
God help them. If He takes full nos
session of your nature, then you will 20
down the street benedction to all who
see you, and those who are in the tough
places of life and are run upon and beied
and had their homes destroyed, will say:
py. He has been through troubles as big
as mine, and he goes down the street with
face in every lineament Of which there
are Joy and peace and heaven. What am
1 groaning about? From the same place
that man got his cheerfulness l can get
mine Why are thou cast down, o my
soul, and why art thou disquieted within
me! Hope thou in God, for / shall yet
praise Him who is the health OF my coun-
tenance and my Cod"
Again, is your talent that of wit or
humor! Use it for God. Much of the
worfd's WIT IL damaging. Most of satire
has sting in it.. Much OF caricature is
yitrolie. In order to say smart things
how many will sacrifice the feelings Of
others! The sword they carry is keen, and
II rs employed to thrust and lacerate. But
few Insn In all the world and in all the
churches realize that If wit is bestowed it
is given them for useful, for improving, for
healthful purposes. If we all had more of
1t and knew how to use it Alright, how
much it would improve our Christian con-
versation and prayer meeting talk and SER
monl Robert South and Rowland HILL
and Jeremy Taylor and Dean Swift and
Lorenzo Dow and George Whitefeld used
their wit and their hpmor to gather great
kingdom Of God. Frivolity is repulsive in
religious discussion, but 1 like the humor
OF job when he said to his insolent crit
ics, mo doubt but We are the people, and
wisdom shall die with you," and like the
humor of the prophet Elijah, who told the
Baalites TO fray louder, as their god was
out hunting or on an excursion or in
such loud conversation that he could not
hear them. like the sarcasm of Christ
when He told the self-righteous Phari-
sees that they were so good they needed
no help. The whole need nat nhYsi-
clan, but they that are sick" or when in
critical teachers Of His day who were SO
particular aboat little things and care
less, about big things, saying, Eye blind
guides that strain at gnat and swallow
camel and the Bible is all ablaze with
epigram, words surprisingly put and
phraseology that must have made the au-
diences OF Paul and Christ nudge each
other and exchange glances and smile and
tnen appropriate the tremendous truths of