Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-08-28
TALMAGE
SERMON
BY Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,,
Pastor of Jefferson Park Presby-
terrain Church, Chicago

position to meet trouble is shown to he
unwise and un-Christian in this dis.
course by Rev. Frank De Witt Tai
mage on the text Matthew vi, "a,
"Sutliciont unto the day Is the evil
thereof"
Christ is giving counsel. which re.
calls the advice the dying man once
gave to his children. After calling his
sons and daughters to his bedside the
dying father said: MY children. have
seen q lot Of troubles in my time. |
have seen so many troubles that they
have completely worn me out. and thai
Is the reason that | am now dying.
when l ought to be in my physical and
mental prime. But the saddest part
OF It is that most of my troubles have
been imaginary troubles. They have
been unnecessary troubles. They have
not been troubles of tho imminent to-
day, but the visionary tomorrow. They
have been troubles which would never
have bothered me unless ! had gone
forth and hunted them out of their
lairs and troubled them. The things
that have given me most concern have
been the things that never happened.
SO l charge yon, my dear children, II
You would serve God with your best
physical, mental and spiritual powers,
always obey the words which Christ
spake in his famous sermon: Take,
therefore, no thought for the morrow,
for the morrow shall take thought for
the things of itself. Sufficient unto the
day is the evil thereof"
My glorious text teaches almost OK
actly the same lesson that Mr. Beecher
once presented when he said: All
time Is divided into three PARASITIC
past, the present and the future. The
past belongs to gratitude and regret,
the present to contentment aud work,
the future should belong TO only hope
and trust" 1t teaches that n dread OF
future evil IS dishonoring to God, be-
cause 1t implies a doubt whether tho
good God will be true to the trust we
have placed in him and whether he
will really keep the promises he has
made to his people. 1t teaches that
after a Christian has done his best.
his level and conscientious best, he
should then joyfully and confidently
leave the future in Gods hands. and
In Gods hands alone. 1t teaches that
no matter how hopeless. humanity
speaking. may be the outlook, if we
know and trust God we should let our
gospel faith chase away all the doubts
and worries and fears that fret and
tease and tantalize US In reference to
the future, even as the rising sun scat
tors the darkness and the impcne-
trable gloom of the night. 1t teaches
that no matter how dark and threat
ening may be the shrieking tornadoes
Of trouble the gospel rainbows should
be big enough to arch the widest Of
horizons and bright enough TO smile
through even shower of falling tears
Anticipated troubles rarely happen.
By this statement ] 90 not mean that
If man would cease to worry he
could get n divine passport which
would protect him forever from the
rough hand of trouble. The cup of
sorrow must be pressed against every
human lip. The old eyes, as we'll as
the young eyes. must become fountains
of tears. Death angel as well as birth
angel must flap the wing over Pha-
raoh's palace as well as over the poor
mans hut 1t Is by the broken heart
that God is able to make the songsters
ana songstresses sing their sweetest
music.
But, though troubles must and will
come 10 the rich and the poor, the old
ana the young, alike, yet | make this
assertion about your past life: The
troubles and msfortunes which you
anticipated and worried over rarely If
ever happened. AS our own phlos-
opher poet said
Some Of your Ills you have cured,
And the sharpest You still have SUIT
ylved
But what torrents of pain you've en-
durcd
From evils that never arrived!
The Evils You Look For.
In ninety-nine cases out of a hun
drcd the troubles which did you the
most serious damage were those
troubles which, ms a tiger, lcaped upon
you unexpectedly from ambush, not
the troubles that lay crouchlng and
glaring and threatening you in broad
daylight in the open pathway Just
ahead. Those serious troubles came
to you as the little pyeny was sup
posed to have come to the king Of old
When the pygmy asked the great mon
arch for permission to rule over all
the lands which his little, short limbs
could cover In three steps, the royal
consent was dcrisively given. Then
the insignificant dwarf Immediately
sprang up into the stature of a huge
giant With one stride the giant
stepped across the land; with another
stride the giant stepped across the
seas and with third stride the giant
lifted his slcdge hammer fist and swept
the trembling king off his throne. Your
troubles, to use a familiar comparison,
came like clap of thunder and a
stroke of lightning out of clear sky.
They came like collision at sea or as
the terrific explosion of a gunpowder
magazine. They came as a thief, not
by day, but by night, in a way and at
time you did not expect them.
Let me illustrate how your troubles
came In an unexpected way. Two Of
your three children were born physical
ly strong, Every movement of their
limbs, every smile of their red lips,
every look OF their dancing eyes. be-