St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-03-22
LIGHT IN THE NIGHT
Words of Comfort for the Gloomy
and Suffering.

Text from Which DR.. TalmaEe Hal
Drawn His Sermon - How the
Evening of the Christian's
Life Will BE Frightened.
copyright, 1902, by Louis Klopsch. N. r.
Washington.
In this subject DR.. Talmage puts q
show of g,adness and triumph upon
passages of life that are usually
thought to be somewhat gloomy; text
Zechariah 14:7: ''At evening time it
shall be light"
While might in all languages is the
symbol for gloom and suffering, it is
often really cheerful, bright and i'm
pressive. I speak not of such nights as
come down with no star pouring light
from above or silvered wave tossing up
light from beneath-murky, hurtling,
portentous, but such as you often see
when, the pomp and magnifcence OF
Heaven turn out on night parade, and
it seems as though the song which the
morning stars began SO long ago were
Ginning yet among the consultations
and the sons of God were shouting for
joy. Such nights the sailor blesses
from the forecastle, and the trapper
on vast prairie, and the belated traveller
by the roadside, and the soldier from
the tent, earthly hosts gazing upon
Heavenly and shepherds guarding
their focks afield, while angel hands
above them set the silver bells airing
ing: "Glory to God in the highest and
on earth peace; good will toward men"
What solemn and glorious thing
is night in the wilderness! Night
among the mountains! Night on the
ocean! Fragrant night among tropic-
al groves! Flashing night amid arctic
seventies! Calm night on Roman cam
pagna! Awful night among the cor
dilleras! Glorious night mid sea after
tempest! Thank God for the night!
The moon and the stars which rule it
are lighthouses on the coast toward
which I hope we are all sailing, and
blind mariners are we if, with so many
beaming, burning, flaming glories to
guide US, we cannot find our way into
the harbor.
My text may well suggest that, as the
natural evening is often luminous, so
it shall be light in the evening of our
sorrows, of old age, of the worlds his
tory, Of the Christian life. Eat even
time it shall be light"
The prophecy will be fulfilled in
the evening of Christian sorrow. For
a long time it is broad daylight. The
sun rides high. Innumerable activi-
ties go ahead with a thousand arms,
and the pickax struck mine, and the
battery made discovery, and the in
vestment yielded 20 per cent, and the
book came to its twentieth edition,
and the farm quadrupled in value, and
the sudden fortune hoisted to high po-
sition. and the children were praised,
and friends without number swarmed
into the family hive, and prosperity
sang in the music and stepped in the
dance and glowed in the wine and ate
at the banquet, and all the gods of mu
sic and ease and ratifica ton gathered
around this Jupiter holding in his
hands so many thunderbolts of power.
But every sun must set, and the bright
est day must haveit twilight. Sudden
ly the sky was overcast. The fountain
dried up. The song hushed. The wolf
broke into the family fold and carried
off the best lamb. A deep howl of woe
came crashing through the joyous SYM
phonies. At one rough twang of the
hand of disaster the harpstrings all
broke. Down went the strong business
firm! Away went long established
credit! Up flew flock of calumnies!
The new book would not sell! A pat
ent could not be secured for the inven-
ton! Stocks sank like lead! The in
surance company exploded! "How
says the sheriff, twill you bid
for this piano? How much for this IL
brary? How much for this family pic
ture? How much? Will you let it go
at less than half price? Going-going
Will the grace of God hold one up in
such circumstances? What has become
Of the great multitude of Gods chill
dren who have been pounded of the
fail and crushed under the wheel and
trampled under hoof? Did they lie
down in the dust, weeping, wailing and
crashing their teeth? Did they when
they were afflicted like Job curse God
and want to die? When the rod of
chastisement struck them,
did they strike back? Because they
found one bitter cup on the table of
Gods supply, did they upset the whole
table? Did they kneel down at their
empty money vault and say: GAIL my
treasures are gomez" Did they stand
BY the grave Of their dead, saying:
'There never will be resurrection?'
Did they bemoan their thwarted
plans and say: "The stocks are down;
Would God were dead?" Did the night
# their disaster come upon them moon
less, starless, dank and bowling,
and choking their life out ?
No, no! At eventide it was light. The
swift promises overlook them. The
eternal constellat tons, from their cir
,uit about Gods throne, poured down
In infinite luster. Under their shin
ng the pillows of trouble took on
.rests and plumes of gold and jasper
and amethyst and flames. All the trees
# life rustled in the midsummer of
Gods love. The night blooming assur-
lnces of Christ's sympathy filed all the
atmosphere with Heaven. The soul at
very step seemed to start up from its
'eet bright winged joys, warbling
'It is good that have
,een afflicted?" crieo David. ''The Lord
rave, and the Lord hath taken away!"
,xclaims Job. "Sorrowful, yet always
'ejoicing," says st. Paul. "And God
hall wipe away all tears from their
.yes!" exc,aims John in apocalytic vi