The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-07-13
DIR. T'aln1age's Sermon.
BY REV. FRANK DE WITT TALMAeE. D. D.

Chicago July 6.-An inspiring and pic
turesaue view of the Christian life Of SER
vice and self-deniaI Is presented by Rev.
Frank De witt Talmage IN this discourse
on the text Psalm exxvi. 6, He that go
eth forth and weepeth, bearing precious
seed. shall doubtless come again with re-
joioing. bringing his sheaves with him. :"
Almost every home is adorned with
companion pictures. II upon one side of
the room there is hung a crucihxion
scene, upon the other side of the room We
want a picture of The First Easter Morn
/ II apon one side we see the hayward
boy gathering all together and taking his
| journey into far country, upon the other
side we want to see the returning prodi-
| gal being welcomed home by a forgiving
father. If upon one side of the room we
hang picture of the twilight, upon the
other side we want to see the picture of
the dawn. If John Hevenden paints The
Breaking of the Home Ties. he feels that
his life would be incomplete unless he
also paints THE Bringing Home of the
Bride" John Millions Paradise Re-
! gained is a natural outgrowth of his
Paradise Lost" Dante's Heaven is
natural sequence to his "Purgatory7 and
his Hell"
So this morning the sermon which
| preach from the One Hundred and Twen-
| ty-sixth Psalm of David is a companion
sermon TO the one recently delivered upon
the text He that soweth to the flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption. It has
a companion text chosen on account of its
I'D -
prove that the Christian sower has
right to expect his gospel harvest fields to
| be stacked high with golden sheaves of
many blessings, to expect his seed to
bring forth some thirty, some sixty and
| some hundred fold. II is the picture of
a Christian worker garnering the sheaves
| of his Christ love. 1t is the symbol of re-
ward. the symbol of glorifyed hope and
joy. 1t is the sweeter text because in 1t
we hear the triumphant songs of heaven
instead of the bitter sobs of despair.
A precious shear, garnered by the Chris
tian sower and reaper, is the joyful reali-
| cation that by his personal acts he has
/ been made the human means in the di-
vine hands through which immortal souls
| have been saved by Christ There is
natural desire Unborn in almost every
| human heart to help those who are in
trouble and cannot help themselves.
The Desire to Help Others.
If the lookout sights a shipwrecked ves-
SELL the captain does not have to compel
unwilling sailors to lower the lifeboat
and pull away to save the perishing. No
All that the mate has to do is to call for
volunteers, and, though the sailors may
feel the waves are having their worst fit
of temper they will lower the ifeboat and
| pull away until the last man is taken
a chi he
| band of English men, women and chill
dren were imprisoned, during the Indian
mutiny, in the residency of Lucknow
| Havelock. with his few regiments, had to
/ fight his way through a hundred thousand
men. He had to march a thousand miles
through country swarming with cut
! threats, and when the English soldiers
| courage and strength showed signs of
wavering Havelock reused them with this
simple sentence: Men, would you dare
stop or turn back when helpless women
and children are dying and must be
saved?' There is in almost every mans
! heart desire to help those who cannot
| help themselves The same kind of de-
sire that drove Henry M. Stanley into the
dark continent to rescue David Living
stone and Emin Pasha The same kind of
a desire which made Commander Schley
turn his ships prows northward to rescue
|
| panions. 1t is the same kind of desire
| which inspired the United States govern
ment to declare war against Spain in be-
| half OF suffering and bleeding Cuba
| NOW, as JOY is nothing more or less
than the pleasant emotion produced In the
heart by the qualification of any desire.
as we have shown in reference to tho
| physical man. that he desire to help those
who are helpless is implanted in almost
han 10.
| to the Christian reaper than the realiza-
ton that he has been made instrumental
| in the saving of soul? What earthly Joy
can be compared to the holy exaltation
that comes to us when we realize that
by prayers and pleadings we have been
able to bring sinner face to face with
| Christ? What greater joy than to realize
that our humble efforts have Deen blessed
| to the saving of soul which will live on
ana on through the coming ages, on and
| on through eternities, on and on until at
last the lights of the stars shall be snuff
ed out and time shall be no longer? Only
the other day read of a man who. at
great personal risk to himself, was lower
ed by a rope from the top of a twelve
story building In order to rescue a little
kitten which had fallen into one of the
rain cutters. If a man could find joy In
risking his life to save kitten from star
ss'tioii, surely there must be infinite 10y
to the Christians heart when he realizes
That not one, but many, immortal souls
have been won to Christ and to eternal
safety and happiness through his efforts
which God has so richly blessed
SO on account of this transcendent low
we find that soul saving has become a.
passion with some men. Just as the me-
chanic's wife, who has a little back ward
digs and plants and hoes and hovers over
her garden because she loves flowers
and never tires of her beds filed with
pansies and sweet peas and geraniums
and narcissus and nasturtiums. so the
true Christian loves men and women In
order to win them to Christ. The CITY
missionary goes down into the back alley
for this one purpose. He climbs the dark
tenement. There he finds a drunken hus-
band and father, and as the city mission
airy looks upon that loathsome filthy
mass of human corruption he says to
himself; II | can only plant the gos-
pei seed in that mans heart, 1t NAV save
him. Yes by the help of God, 1t will save
him.. And as the mechanics wife cares
for her flowers. so that missionary cares
for that soul diseased by sin He prays
with the sinner; he reads the Bible to
him. After awhile the man confesses
Christ and signs the temperance pledge.
Then the city missionary helps this man.
who was once enslaved by sin. to find
work. Then he sees him bring his wages
home. He sees him buy shoes for his
children's feet and food for the table.
Then he sees those children sent to the
day schools and gathered into the Sunday
schools. Then after awhile the city mis-
sionary sees the father. with his wife
and children. all standing before the mer-
cy seat and joining the church, and as