Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-11-03
TGalnaqleI-'
sermon
BY Rev,
Frank De Witt Tslmase. d. d.


nept and that the divine care and pro.
lection surround all who trust in God
Is the theme of the preacher In this SER
mon- The text is Psalm xl, IL, THE
Lord thinketh upon me-,
Spiritualistic mediums perpetrate
many frauds. But the greatest of their
absurdities is not found In the rappings
and groanings by which they apparent.
~ summon the dead TO their dark pan
r eled rooms and compel them TO speak
TO their insane victims 1t is found in
the ridiculous Photography in which
the dupes of splritualistic mediums
have their pictures taken. surrounded.
as they are led 10 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 pic
lures? Within q few blocks OF my old
eastern home was a little stationery
store which had its show windows fill
ed with them. Raphael painted his
"SistiDe Madonna surrounded by
clouds OF angel faces. Those de-
ceitful photographs that 1 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 any fraud be more bold
more cruel and more corrupt than that
which declares that such pictures are
genuine? And yet as l would stop and
study these pictures on my way home
during the winter afternoons | often
said to myself, Absurd those pictures
are In reality, but how true they are
hgurativelyv' A man is never a true
man unless he always has many faces
about him. You may think he is alone
but he Is net alone These faces. these
many unseen faces, hover over him i'm
benediction. They smile at him when
he smiles. They so with him to places
OF evil resort and rebuke 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
Is about TO fall asleep. They greet him
the moment when be awakens 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 MS when we are NJ
home; they are about us when we are
away from home. We may be travel
ing IN a railroad train n thousand miles
away from our own firesides. 1t is
the evening hour. We are tired of
reading tho book. We threw &c down
and rest our heads upon our hands
ana look out OF the window and begin
10 see many faces. yes" we say 10
ourselves. this is the evening hour.
Our wives are putting the babies TO
bed" People may say we are alone in
railroad train, but we are not. We
are home. 1 tell you we are home
We feel the baby boy climb up into
our lap and beg US to tell him n 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 its drinking water and the good
night kiss. we see our wife 20 and
get the darning bag filled with lot OF
the children's stockings. She sits down
by our side. Then she looks up with n
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 conversing. While we are
thinking or our absent dear ones. by
the telepathy Of love we know they are
thinking or us. They are constantly
by our side. 1t is because they are
ever present with us in thought that
we try to be just as 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 a father. a moth
er, wife, a child, the only ones that
are ever present with us, because they
are always thinking OF us as we are OF
themg oh, no. David, the sweet singer
or Israel, says there is another face
which we must place over and above
the human faces lowering about US.
That is the face OF God he is think
Ing about us. He is planning for us.
He is pleading with us. want TO I'M.
press on your minds the fact that the
Lords face is ever present with US
ana that he is continually thinking
about us.
The Fathers Care.
God plans for us as n developing
friend. He Is like a true parent who
has child given into his care by the
birth angel. The true father does not
look into the face of n child and say:
Now ] have a child / will shield
him. l will always keep him by my
side as helpless child" Oh, no. That
Is not the true fathers way. No soon
er is the little child born into the home
Than at once the parent begins to plan
ahead for that child. He plans for
him as baby, as boy, as a youth
and as fully developed man. He
starts this planning ahead when he
chooses the name for the christening.
The selection OF the baby's name is no
easy task. The mother may be OF a
poetic temperament She may desire
20 give her son a name euphonious az
some OF the romantic names of the
wild woods. But the father SAYS: mo.
MY son I'm al probability is not goinf
20 De poet or a musician. He Is GO
ing TO be plain. practical business
man or lawyer or a doctor or a min
ister He must have good, sound.
common sense name that will not
make him laughingstock among his
associates and one that can easily be
remembered. Cali him Joseph or
james OF William or Edward or John"
The planning OF the parents for the
child starts at the christening.
Then comes the question OF school.
Perhaps the father has amassed some
wealth. The money question is not a
pressing one in the home. Where shall
lhe boy get his education? The mother /
may desire TO have her son go to one |
Sf the aristocratic private schools OF
The city. where he will have for com
panions the sons of wealthy families. |
Again the hard headed common sense |
or the father comes to the rescue.
No." be says. NO private school for |
nay boy. Ny father sent me TO q prl- |