Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1905-11-04
Caln1age
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt TalmaGe. ID. ID.


nent ana that the divine care and pro-
lection surround all who trust In God
IL the theme of the preacher IN this SER
mon. The text is Psalm XII. IL. '"rhe
Lord thinkcth upon me-"
Spiritualistic mediums pcrpetrate
many frauos. But the greatest of their
absurdities Is not found Ia the rappings
and groanings by which they apparent
ly summon the dead to their dark pan
cled rooms and compel them To speak
10 their insane victims. II Is found in
the ridiculous photography In which
the dupes of spiritualistic mediums
have their pictures taken. surrounded.
ns they are led TO believe. by the spirit
faces of their loved ones who are near
10 yet not of this earth. Have you
ever seen any OF these fictitious pie
lures: Within II few blocks of my old
eastern home was little stationery
store which had Its show windows I'LL
ed with them. kaphacl painted his
"Sistine Madonna" surrounded by
clouds OF an scl faces. Those de-
ceitful photographs that | saw In that
window showed believers In spiritual
ism surrounded by the faces of their
departed kindred and dear ones and
friends. There they were In those pic
lures. the living with the dead. side by
side. Could my fraud be more bold,
more cruel and more corrupt than that
which declares that such pictures are
genuine: And yet us would stop and
study these pictures on my way home
during the winter afternoons ! often
are In reality. but how true they are
figurativcly" \ man Is never n true
man unless he always has many faces
about him. You may think he is alone.
but he IN not alone. These faces, these
many unseen faces. hover over him in
benediction. They smile at him when
he smiles. They go with him TO places
Of evil resort and rebukc him while he
Is there. They Joke with him. They
plead with him. They pray with him.
They come and sit by his bed when he
IL about to fall asleep. They greet him
the moment when he awakcns In the
morning Some Of these faces are old.
Some are young Some are just bud
ding into Young womanhood Some
are middle aged But these faces are
always about us. They are about you.
They are about me.
They are about us when we are ut
home: they are about us when we are
away from home. We may be travel
ing In u railroad train II thousand miles
away from our own fircsidcs. II Is
the evening hour. We are tired of
reading the book. We throw II down
AMI rest our heads upon our hands
and look out of the window ana begin
10 see many faces. Eyes" we say to
ourselves, this Is the evening hour.
our wives nrc putting the babies to
bed" People may say we are alone In
railroad train. but we are not. We
are home | tell you we are home.
We feel the baby boy climb up into
our lap and beg us To tell him II story:
we see our little girls sitting by the
table studying their lessons. After the
prayers have been said and the bed
room lights turned out and the last
Journey To the crib has been taken.
with It's drinking water and the good
night kiss. we see our wife 20 and
get the darning bag filed with lot of
the childrcn's stockings. She sits down
by our side. Then she looks up with
sweet smile and says. "My dear, let us
have a good talk" AS we talk she
sews the big holes the boys have made
In their stockings when they slid down
the cellar door. which Is their favorlte
toboggan. There she sits In the rail-
road train cOnvcrsing. While we are
thinking OF our absent dear ones. by
the tclcpathy of love we know they are
thinking of MS. They are constantly
by our side II Is because they are
ever present with us In thought that
we try To be Just rs good and pure and
true as II we could kiss their lips and
talk 10 them In the flesh as well as In
the spirit.
But are the faces OF n father. moth
| er. u wife. child. the only ones that
are ever present with us. because they
are always thinking Of us as we are OF
them: oh, no. David, the sweet singer
OF Israel. says there Is another face
which we must place over and above
the human faces lowering about us.
That IL the face of God. lie Is think
ing about us. He Is planning for us.
lie Is pleading with US. want TO I'm
press on your minds the fact that the
Lords face Is ever present with W.
and that he IL continually thinking
about us.
The Fathers Care.
God plans for us as developing
friend lie II like true parent who
has n child given into his care by the
birth angel The true father does not
look into the face of n child and say:
snow have child ] will shield
him. I will always keep him by my
side as helpless child" oh. no. That
IL not the true fathers way. No soon
or IL the little child born into the home
than at once the parent begins 10 plan
ahead for that child. lie plans for
him AZ II baby. MS II boy. rs youth
and MS fully developed man. lie
starts this planning ahead when he
chooses the name for the christening.