The Iola register., 1902-01-31
DUTIES AND TRIALS
Sermon of DR. Talmage for Persons
of All Ages.
wholesome Advice to Those in the
Twenties as weII ms Those who
Have Reached the Allotted
Three Score and Ten.

Talmage in this discourse looks at the
duties and trials which belong to the
differept decades of human life; text,
Psalms 9o:10: "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 169 years. A
Greek of the name of Stravaride lived
to 1872 years. An Englishman of the
name of Thomas Parr lived 1852 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-
tion, 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 it
down and parchment told il from CEN
tury 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. will to-day directly ad-
dress you, and | shall speak TO those
who are in the twentes, the thirties,
the forties, the fifties, the sixties, and
TO those who are in the seventies and
beyond.
First, then, l accost those of you
who are in the twentes. 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 j find someone in the TWEEN
ties without any sort of ambition, 1
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 i?
You will never be able to pay for your
cradle. Who is going to settle for
your board? There is n mistake about
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 a great deal
To feed and clothe and shelter you
for a lifetime requires 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 kinC
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 al
will be we'll 1t is II good thing in the
crisis of life to have a man of large
means back you up. 1t is great thing
to have moneyed institution stanC
behind you in your undertaking. Bu
it is a mightier thing to have the Goo
of heaven and earth your coadiutor
and you may have Him. ! am so glat
that | met you while you are in tn,
twenties. You are laying out YOU
plans, and all your life in this worlC
and the next for five hundred million
years of your existence will be affect
ed by those plans. 1t is about eigh
o'clock in the morning of your life
and you are just starting out. Whicl
way are you going to start? Oh, tn
twenties!
"Twenty" is a great word in tn
Bible. Joseph was sold for 20 piece
of silver; Samson judged Israel 2
years; Solomon gave Hiram 20 cities
the flying roll that Zechariah say
was 20 cubits; when the sailors of tn
ship on which Paul sailed sounded tn
Mediterranean sea, it was 20 fathoms
What mighty things have been done i
the twentiesl Romulus founde
Rome when he was 20; Keats finishe
lie at 20; LaIayelle was u Worlu-r
nowned soldier at 90; Oberlin accom-
plished his chief work at 81; Bona
parte was victor over Italy at 20; Pit
was prime minister Of England at 22
Calvin had completed his immorta
.Institutes" by the time he was 26
Grotius was attorney general at q
Some of the mightest things for Go
and eternity have been done in tn
twenties. AS long as you can put tn
figure before the other figure tina
helps describe your age l have hig
hopes about you. Look out for thi
figure 2. Watch its continuance wit
rs much earnestness as you eve
watched anything that promised yo
salvation or threatened you demol
tion. What a critical time-the twel