The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-06-11
TALMAGE
SERMON
By Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALhAGE. DID,.
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Presby-
terrain Church, Chicago

and the opportunities it offers to the
graduates Of our learned institutions
as the ideal life of consecrated useful
ness. The text is Psalms xvi, 6, 1.-THE
lines are fallen unto me in pleasant
places"
Different occupations often imply diff
ferent enjoyments. All varieties OF
flowers do not thrive equally well I'M
der the same colored glasses. The
amusements which would be exhilara.
ton and restful relaxation for the ply.
sician may be drudgery and irritation
for the merchant The owls and the
bats turn their days into nights and
their nights into days. The. eagles and
the hawks do not circle about in the
heavens unless they can heat their
feathers by the flaming fires of the sun.
The inhabitant of one home may be
deaf and blind to the pleasures sur
rounding another Preside.
In the baekwoods best learned this
interesting lesson. With my family,
was spending summer vaca ton III
the country. In rowboat. far from
a railroad station, was tracing the
bendings and windings of little river.
Suddenly, at turn of the stream, we
came to small house Nesting under
the protecting branches of the tall
trees. I found there a woman living
practically alone. She had no children.
All day long her husband was off to
work. Isaid to her: This is an awful
place to live! You must be lonely and
heartsick with no companionship."
'oh. no." she answered. Il am never
alone / have hundreds of friends who
call and talk to me every day. DO you
see that little nest just at the end of
my porch? Well last spring the mother
bird came here as bride and asked
me If she could build her home there,
and said Yes. Then she talked and
chartered on all the time she was
building 1t. She brought me her hus-
band and introduced me to him. She
told me when the eggs were laid and
when the eggs were Matched. She is
one of my friends. Then just over
there under that bank a muskrat has
his home and lis raising his family.
He comes out every little while and
blfnks at me and talks in the sign Ian
guage. Then there are my friends the
wild flowers and my friends the chick
ems and my friends the fish. which
feed at the dock. Then the river IL
self is a friend Of mine. 1t has Ian
guage of murmurs aad gurgles to
which listen, and when get tired
and weary / am soothe d by its SYM
patty. Oh, no; do not Iity me for be-
ing alone. MY enjoynlents are per-
haps not your enjoymants. but they
are many. very many. I would not
exchange my life for that of any one
/ know" Happy woman that Happy
because she was in the place where
she could use the qualities with which
God had endowed her. Happy because
like bee, she was able to find every
flower filled with nectar for her lips.
Happy because every tree branch was
to her choir loft In which a master,
soloist was singing the sweetest song
in all his repertoire.
me Happtent Life.
Well, my friends, as / needlessly
pitied that poor woman living in the
backwoods there are hundreds and
thousands Of people commiserating the
supposed unhappy lot of a gospel min
lister. These sympathetic commisera-
tons have become widespread There
are hundreds aye, thousand young
men who might otherwise have voIun-
teered for service in the Christian pull
pits, have been deferred on account
of them, from consecrating themselves
to tile gospel ministry Now I want to
speak specially this morning to the
young men who are graduating from
our colleges and schools, and if they
have adopted this view of the Chris
tian ministry being joyiess, gloomy
life want to set them right. make
a direct appeal to the young men to
enter the gospel pulpit, because it of
fers the happiest. the most blessed and
the most exhilarating life on earth.
am going to make this plea with au-
photographed authority by showing
M hiudHSSSSS dlu the SyT0p2Jl1oS
which have surrounded me from the
day OF my ordination down to the pres
emit time
The first objection generally made to
the occupation OF minister Is that it
ls not money making profession.
That is true, but it does offer some
thing far better in the joy Of noble con-
secration. We have ali at some time
proved the truth of Christ's words,
that It is better to give than to re-
ceive. When the bower bird of love
Duilded her home for the first time in
our hearts we imme diately tried to man
ifest that love in many different ways.
We laid at the feet of our ladyloye our
gifts. as the wise men from the east
eame to the manger with their presents
u gold and frankincense and myrrh.
We manifested our love in the little at
sentions we daily bestowed and in the
ettars we would write As time passed
% we again manifested that love in
he engagement ring which we trem-.
alingy placed upon the finger Of our /