The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1902-01-31
DUTIES AND TRIALS
Sermon of DR. Talmage for Persons
of All Ages.
Wholesome Advice to Those in the
Twenties as Well as Those Who
Have Reached the Allotted
Three Score and Ten.

copyright, 1902, by Louis Klopsch, N. VI
Washington,
From an unusual standpoint DIR.
Talmage in this discourse looks at the
duties and trials which belong to the
different decades of human life; text,
Psalms 90:10: 1.-THE days of our years
are threescore years and ten.
The SEVENTEEN milestone of life is
here planted as at the end of the jour
ney. a few go beyond it. Multitudes
never reach it. The oldest person of
modern times expired at 100 years. A
Greek of the name of StraEaride lived
to 1872 years. An Englishman of the
name of Thomas Parr lived 152 years.
Before the time of Moses people lived
$50 years, and if you go far enough
back they lived 900 years. Well, that
was necessary, because the story of
the world must come down by tradi-
ton, and it needed long life safely to
transmit the news of the past. If the
generations had been short lived, the
story would so often have changed
lips that it might have got all astray.
But after Moses began to write 1T
down and parchment told it from CEN
fury to century it was not necessary
that people live so long in order to
authenticate the events of the past.
If in our time people lived only 25
years, that would not affect history,
since it is put in print and is no longer
dependent on tradition. Whatever
your age. 1 will to-day directly ad-
dress you, and I>shall speak to those
who are in the twenties, the thirties,
the forties, the fifties, the sixties, and
to those who are in the seventies and
beyond.
First, then, 1 accost those of you
who are in the twenties. You are
full of expectation. You are ambi-
tious-that is, if you amount to any
thing-for some kind of success, COM
mercial or mechanical or professional
or literary or agricultural or social or
moral. If 1 find someone in the TWEEN
ties without any sort of ambition, l
feel like saying: MY friend, you
have got on the wrong planet. This
is not the world for you. You are
going to be in the way. Have you
made your choice of poorhouses?
You will never-be able to pay for your
cradle. Who is going to settle for
y
the fact that you were born at ALL
But, supposing you have ambition,
let me say to all the twenties, expect
everything through divine manipula-
ton, and then you will get all you
want and something better. Are you
looking for wealth? Well, remember
that God controls the money markets,
the harvests, the droughts, the cater
pillars, the locusts, the sunshine, the
storm, the land, the sea, and you will
get wealth. Perhaps not that which
is stored up in the banks, in safe de-
deposits, in United States securities,
in houses and lands, but your clothing
and board and shelter, and that is
about all you can appropriate any
how. You cost the Lord great deal.
To feed and clothe ard shelter you
for a lifetime requires a. big sum of
money, and if you get nothing more
than the absolute necessities you get
an enormous amount of supply. Ex-
pect as much as you will of any kind
of success, if you expect it from the
Lord you are safe. Depend on any
other>resource, and you may be badly
chagrined, but depend on God and all
will be well. 1t is a good thing in the
crisis of life to have a man of large
means back you up. 1t is great thing
to have a moneyed institution stand
behind you in your undertaking. But
it is a mightier thing to have the God
of heaven and earth your coadjutor,
and you may have Him. / am so glad
that / met you while you are in the
twenties. You are laying out your
plans, and all your life in this world
and the next for five hundred million
years of your existence will be affect
ed by those plans. 1t is about eight
o'clock in the morning of your life,
and you are just starting out. Which
way are you going to start? Oh, the
twentiesi
Twenty" is a great word in the
Bible. Joseph was sold for 20 pieces
of silver; Samson judged Israel 20
years; Solomon gave Hiram 20 cities;
the flying roll that Zechariah saw
was 20 cubits; when the sailors of the
ship on which Paul sailed sounded the
Mediterranean sea, it was 20 fathoms.
What mighty things have been done in
the twentiesl Romulus founded
Rome when he was 20; Keats finished
life at IS; Lafayette was a world-re
nowned soldier at %; Oberlin accom-
plished his chief work at 81; Bona
parte was victor over Italy at %; Pitt
was prime minister of England at %;
Calvin had completed his immortal
Constitutes" by the time he 1926;
Grotius was attorney general at "a.
Some of the mightiest things for God
and eternity have been done in the
twenties. AS long as you can put the
figure before the other figure that
helps describe your age L have high
hopes about you. Look out for that
figure 2. Watch its continuance with
as much earnestness as you ever
watched anything that promised you
salvation or threatened you demoli-
ton. What a critical time-the TWEEN
ties! While they continue you decide
your occupation and the principles by
which you will be guided; you make
your most abiding friendships; you
arrange your home life; you fix your
habits. Lord God Almighty, for
Jesus Christ's sake, have mercy on all
the men and women in the twenties!
Next 1 accost those in the thirties.
You are at an age when you find what
cough thing it is to get recognized
and esta blished in your occupation or
nrofessjon Ten wears ago YOU