The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1901-01-12
TALMAGE SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE By THE ABLE o.
VINE
Subject A Way Over Jordan - Tho Lord
Will Send . Boat - From the other
Shore It will Come to Transport tho
Faithful to Eternal Life.

0QOJOCt n w ny Ob0X - A'o -'o-
Will Send 3 Boat - From the Othe'
Shore 1t Will Come to Transport th'
Faithful to Eternal Life.
Copyright 1901
WASHINGTON, d. C.-From an unnotlced
incident of olden time DR.. Talmage IN TINS
discourse draws some comforting and rap
furious lessons. The text is ii Samuel XIX,
Is. "And there went over terryboat 20
carry over the kings household. -
Which of the crowd is the KING! Ihat
short man, sunburnt and IN fatigue dress.
It is David, the exiled king. He has de-
feated his enemies and is now gong home
to resume his palace. Good! always
like to see David come out ahead. But be-
tween 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 arlstocratic Old
gentleman of eighty years, Barzlllal by
name, who owned a fine country s. 1T at
Rogelim. Besides that, David has his fam
iIy with him. But how shall they get
across the river? While they are stand
ing there l see ferryboat coming from
the other side. and as it cuts through the
water l see the faces of David and his
household brighten up at the thought OF
SO soon getting home. No sooner had the
ferryboat struck the shore than David and
his family and his old friend Barzillai,
from Rogelim, get on board the boat.
Either with splashlng oars at the side or
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.
NIo oil Some nf fhOcp
who have been David's worst enemies now
shout until they are hoarfe at his return.
No sooner had the boat struck the shore
on the western side than the earth quakes
and the heavens ring with cheers OF wei.
come and congratulation. David and his
family and Barzillai from Rogelim step
ashore. King David asks his old friend
to 60 with him and live at the palace, but
Barzilai apologies and intimates that he
is infirm with age and too deaf to appre-
ciate the music, and has a delicate appe-
tite that would soon be cloyed with luxu-
rious living, and so he begs that David
would let him 60 back to his country seat.
l once heard the father of a President
OF the United States say that he had just
been to Washington to see his son in the
White House, and he told me of the won
derful things that occurred there, and Of
what Daniel Webster said to him, but he
declared: II was glad to get home. There
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.
well, l enjoyed the service, but there
were too many people there for me. 1t
troubled my head very much" The fact
10 that old people do not like excitement.
If King David had asked Barzillai thirty
years before to 60 to the palace, the prob
ability is that Barzillai would have gone,
but not now. They kiss each other good
bye, custom among men Oriental, but
in vogue yet where two brothers part or
an aged father and son go away from
each other never to meet again. No won
der that their lips met as King David and
old Barzillai, at the prov of the ferryboat,
parted forever.
This River Jordan, in all ages and
among all languages, has been the SYM
and heaven, yet when, on former occa-
passage have no doubt that some of you
despondingly said: "The Lord might have
divided Jordan for Joshua, but not for
poor me-" Cheer up! l want to show
you that there is way over Jordan as
well as through it. My text says, "And
there went over a ferryboat to carry over
the kings household"
All our cities are familiar with the ferry
boat. 1t goes from San Francisco to Oak
land, and from Liverpool to Brkenhead,
and twice every secular day of the week
multitudes are on the ferryboats of our
great cities, SO that you will not. need to
hunt up classical dictionary to find out
what mean while l am speaking to you
about the passage of David and his family
across the River Jordan.
My subject, in the first place, impresses
me with the fact that when we cross over
from this world to the next the boat will
have to come from the other side. The
ferryboat across to get David and his
household. l stand on the eastern side OF
the River Jordan, and find no shipping
at oil. but while l am standing there ]
see boat blowing through the river, and
. l hear the swirl of the waters, and
the boat comes TO the eastern side of the
Jordan, and David and his family and his
old friend step on board that boat, l am
nightly impressed with the fact that
when we cross over from this world to the
next the boat will have to come from the
opposite shore.
Every day I find people trying to ex-
temporize q way from earth to heaven
They gather up their good works and some
sentimental theories, and they make a
raft, and they 60 down. The fact is that
skepticism and infidelity never yet helped
one man to die. invite all the ship
carpenters of worldly philosophy to come
and build one boat that can safely Cross
this river. / invite them all to unite their
skill, and Bolingbroke shall hit the stan
chions, and Tyndall shall shape the bow
spirit, and Spinoza shall make the main
topgallant braces, and Renan shall 60 to
lacking and wearing and boxing the ship.
All together in 10000 years they will never
Be able to make boat that can cross this
Jordan. Why was it that Spinoza and
Blount and Shaftesbury lost their souls?
It was because they tried to cross the
stream in q boat of their own construc-
ton. What miserable work they made of
dying! Diodorus died Of modification be-
cause he could not guess a conundrum
which had been proposed to him at
public dinner; Zeuxis, the philosopher,
died of mirth, laughing at a caricature
Of IN aged woman, a caricature made BY
his own hand; while another of their
company and Of their kind died saying:
Must leave all these beautiful pic
turesw and then asked that he might be
bolstered up in the bed in his last mo.
ments and be shaved and painted and
roueed. OF all the unbelievers Of ali ages
not one died well. Some of them sneaked
out Of life, some blasphemed and raved
and tore their bed covers to tatters. This
p A. IL