The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-05-25
DIR. Talmage's Sermon.
BY REV. FRANK DE WITT rALMAeE, D. D.

III 1ALMAGE, D. D.
swered the gentleman, you are the man
| l am looking for. do not want the orlV-
er who runs into danger but the man
who will stay away. I'll hire you" Who
| is the wise navigator-the helmsman VINO
points the ships prov toward the reef
where hundreds of wrecks strew the coast
or the pilot who keeps the keel in deep
wat ers? Are you recklessly going to do
that which your father and mother, the
Bible, the church and all good men ana
all good women tell you not to do?
| King Solomon warns against sin be-
cause young people are apt to become de-
| spondent Perhaps this encouragement
| will be caused by inconsistencies. The lone
Hest place on earth Is a great city In
the country town you knew everybody,
and everybody knew you. While the VII
! lage preacher would be preaching YOU
would be watching the neighbours daugh-
ter, whom you expect some day to make
your wife. When you trudged away to
school every farm wagon which went by
was ready to give you a lift. When the
poor woman back among the hills was
sick your mother made up package and
babe you carry 1t to the house. That poor
| woman always greets you now with
| smile. But here in this great city you do
not even know the man who lives across
! the hall Perhaps YOU say good morn
/
| come home at night there is nothing but
! the cold, uninvlting bedroom. You long
again for the farm, for the thatched roof
| of the old homestead. for the smell of the
new mown hay and the sight of the cider
| presses vehemently at work squeezing the
orchards blood into barrels and casks.
| St Johns wilderness of rock is fit
name for a great city. 1t is a wilderness
, and there are no wilder beasts Of passion
roaming among the forests than some of
the human monsters which live here.
, Perhaps your Encouragement comes
from injustice. You may have been liv-
ing in the great city now for two years.
YOU worked and worked hard Then
came 4 vacancy in the store. OF course
you expected the promotion, but another
clerk under you who was not as bright
nor faithful as you had influence, and
he was pushed ahead Then you protest.
ed-and vehemently protested. All that
the manager did was to laugh and say,
well. II you don't like 1t get out" You
could not get out. You had no place to
go. You sullenly went back to the desk,
saying: What is the use of trying? Hon.
esty is not the best of policy"
"If Sinners Entice Thee
Perhaps your encouragement came in a
cruel way You had your foot upon the
lowest rung ana were beginning to climb
the ladder of success when suddenly the
hard times came. The firm dissolved and
you were discharged. You are now not
only looking for a new place, but you
have to commence all over again. Now
comes the warning against temptations.
Now the old sage tells me to put the hand
of love upon your shoulder and say, MY
son. If sinners entice thee, consent thou
| not"
l give you this warning gladly and will
s.,1r1
troubles which are fitting you for the
mighty successes which are to come Re-
member this great lesson-anythng
which develops quickly dies quickly. The
| insects are generated and grow to matur-
ity in few hours, but they also die of
old age by night. The gourd which
spreads itself umbrella over the
head of the prophet Jonah withered as
soon as 1t was touched of the east wind.
The flower which blossoms in the spring
goes to seed before the fall. 1t takes
years and years to develop a cedar of
| Lebanon. 1t takes centuries upon CEN
turtles to bury coal mine. 1t takes at
least one score years to make a man. and
the more obstacles you can overcome the
more CT a giant you will be. Only the
gods can reach the stars. Man can be-
come like unto a god if God is with him
and he keeps on stretching.
There is a beautiful story told of a
missionary who became very much dis
couraged. No conversions resulted from
his work. He determined to leave the
field. That night as he slept he had a
strange dream. He dreamed that an an
gel had given him a hammer and placed
him before a huge rock and said to him:
Pound, and keep on pounding" He
pounded on, but could not break the rock
Because he was unsuccessful he sat down
and wept But while he wept the agel
again appeared and said, why dost thou
weep Because l cannot break the
rock Then said the angel thou
hast nothing to do with the results
Pound and pound, and keep on pounding.
whether thou breakfast the rock or no."
The dreamer arose, picked up The hammer
and smote the rock with a mighty blow
Lo, the rock brokel Solomon bids me to
give to you the hammer of persistence.
He tells me to point you to the rock of
adversely saying: Strike, strike until
the fires of heaven FASH Strike for your
life. And keep on striking!
King Solomon warns the young folks
against sin because evil companions are
always the first to extend the right hand
of welcome The good young man says:
Il cannot afford to associate with every
one l can not go with every stray ac-
quaintance whom l meet upon the street
l should live in the city as live at home
panion whom l would be ashamed to in
troduce to my mother or sisters" When
you enter the store as a fellow clerk he
watches you. By conversation he finds
out whether or you are a church men,
Der. He Is too busy to gossip during bust
less hours. and so II will take some time
for him and you to become fast friends.
After awhile he will invite you to attend
a night school go to some lecture or
meeting. He asks you what books you
read and then offers to lend you one of
the classics BY and by you arrange to
take your vacations together. Then the
good young man gives to you the high
est compliment of his life-he asks you
to come home with him and visit his
mother. The dear old lady welcomes you
as only his mother can. She knows your
own home is so far away that 1t is impos-
sblc for you to go there and get back to
the store when the two holidays are over
Some False Friends.
But the bad young man is never hard
to become acquainted with. He will slap
you upon the back as soon as you enter
the store. He offers you a cigarette or