Milford chronicle., 1905-04-14
Ca(naoe
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmase. D. D.


slider who has gone back to the worlC
and its pleasures, this sermon makes 1
powerful appeal for a renewal of spir
itual ties and rekindling Of spiritua
activities. The text is Psalm II, y
Restore unto me the JOY Of thy saliva
ton"
Oh, how quickly the wheel of for.
tune may whlrl around What we are
today is no earnest of what we may be
tomorrow. Rich and affiuent, prosper
Gus and happy now, that does not
prove that we shall be rich and happy
and prosperous, with a multitude Of
friends hanging around US, next week
or next month or next year. The night
follows the day as well as the day the
night. The people living in the South
American republic Of Chile reckon his
tory by this or that or the other earth
quake, which has made the heaving
earth rock down homes and destroy.
whole cities and towns and villages.
Some of us may reckon the passing
away Of our lives by the epitaphs
which are chiseled upon the tomb
stones Of our buried hopes.
"Year of 1872" we say. "Oh, that
was the year of Americas awful black
Friday, when my fortune like a snow
fake melted away in an hour. Year Of
1881. That was the year l lost my
brother or wife or mother. Year Of
1905. That was the year was injured
in a railroad accident On account Of
that broken hip l lost my position at
the store and had to give up my life in
surance policy and become a poor,
helpless invalid, burden on my
friends. All, l am not as l used to be.
Once had enough for myself and for
others. Now l have less than nothing.
1 am dependent upon those around
me-"
Better days! Oh, yes, scores Of you
have seen better days in your body,
your property and your families! But,
alas, many of us. like the writer Of the
words Of my text. have seen better days
in our spiritual condition. l do not |
know whether this author held, as do |
the Methodists of our day, that a good |
man might lose his hold on salvation, |
but one thing is sure-he knew that he |
had fallen from grace. He had once |
tasted the joys Of divine sonship. He |
had once waded ankle deep, knee deep, |
waist deep. chin deep, into the great |
depths Of Gods love and had drunk Of |
those living waters. But now he has |
climbed out Of those depths and stands
shiverlng upon the jagged rocks Of evil
In the cold, biting winds Of sin. Thus
we find him crying out in the words OF
entreaty: 20 God, bring back to me
the happiness and the exhilaration and
peace OF my past gospel life! Restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation~
Have not some of us need to offer
the prayer Of the psalmist? 1 know
that there are many who are in the po-
sition Of this psalmist. l know, fur
thermore. that if you will only return
you may taste again the gospel joys,
and they will be sweeter to you than
they ever were before. An eminent
minister OF the cross a short time ago
told me that the greatest blessing Of
a revival of religion was not found in
introducing strangers to Jesus, but in
bringing back to his service those who
had once been found at the foot Of the
cross. And" said he, when these
wanderers return they make the very
best workers in our Christian church
es." May God help me to prevail on
some Of you backsliders again to taste
the gospel joys!
Prayer That Is Explicit.
But l never did like praying for
everything in general and for the uni
verse in particular" In order to be
more explicit we would divide the
psalmist's prayer under three or four
distinct headings. In the first place.
would have you make the prayer: RE
turn unto me- o Lord. the joy which l
experienced when l first began to re-
Alize the heights and the depths and
fhe lengths and the breadths of thy
Elcr ices for me. Restore unto me the
! y which came to my soul when years
! 90 l first approached the communion
I ible and said. Lord. I believe; help
thou mine Ulbelief'" Then the tidal ,
wave Of happiness rolled over US in
surgcs Then we said to ourselves: (
Saved by grace! Saved by grace! {
o God, thank thee that have been
saved by grace"
Was it 4 marvellous fact that at that !
time we should have been happy and {
have thanked God that we were saved I
bv grace? Surely we would not treat S
GA less e ltefully than we would {
have treated any human being who had s
rescued us from a threatening danger. I
When at the battle Of Brienne General I
Sourgaud flung himself before his {
chief and killed the Cossack who was 1
about to bury his lance in the heart Of T
lis emperor Napoleon's gratitude knew I
10 bounds. Thus we feel grateful to- q
ward our human rescuers. We look Y
With loving eyes toward the skilled sur '
,eon who drove the knife within a Z
airs breadth Of the fatal artery and 4
~: "He saved mel He saved me!' s
We throw our arms with a grateful, I
Cnvulsive clasp about the neck Of the 9
trong swimmer who breasted the (