Milford chronicle., 1906-04-27
Calrnage
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmase. D. D.


to overcome the hidden trouble, the uu-
repented fault, is the subject Of the
sermon today, the text chosen being
Psalm xc, s, "Our secret sins in the
light Of thy countenance."
Most men are born towards. They
were as babies rocked in the cradle of
fear. As boys they always by night
disliked to travel the road which leads
to the bridge over which Tam O. Shan
ter was chased by the hobgobllns. "Of
course we do not believe in ghosts"
once said great English evangelist.
"but most Of us feel squeamish when,
alone, we have to walk past a silent
country graveyard in the dark hours
about midnight And most of us are
afraid of the valley of the shadow Of
death when. like the psalmist of old,
we look at it in the dim vista of the
future, although, like him, we know it
is nothing but a black shadow" OF
course there may be men born, like
Horatio Nelson. who never know what
the name Of fear means. But if such
men exist they are very few and far
between. They are almost as scarce
as clover toIs growing in January
snow bank Or as diamonds imbedded
in a vein of 0pper ore.
The membes of the human race do
not dwell all the time in the City of
Courage. THY nearly all live for a
little while, at least once a year, in the
City of Timlity. They more often
cry and tremlle before the imaginary
dangers which threaten them than
they suffer flOm the wounds inflicted
by mortal foe. The legend is told that
one day a traFsler met the Black Plague
journeying to he famous eastern capi-
tai of Bagdad where are you go
ing?" asked he eastern pilgrim. 'TO |
Bagdad," was the answer, ito kill |
5000 people' A few weeks later, so |
goes the legged the same traveller met |
the Black Plague on the same road, but |
now returning rom Bagdad and going
home. why said this traveller, did |
you not do as you said you intended |
to do? You sid you were going to
Bagdad to xii 5000 people. From the
awful reports near coming from that
doomed region You have killed $4,000
people instead Of 5000" ''Ah," an
swered the BlGS Plague, with a glee-
full, fiendish Gn, Il have kept my
word. | killel only 5000 people on
account of nr fatal touch, but the
other IL $50 pWle who also died per-
ished of fear They killed themselves.
had nothing do with it," Yes, the
old legend is right. A great many
plaques stalk trough this land, de-
stroying their. tcims everywhere, but
the dead that Il ii their tracks are not
all slain by toa swinging scythes.
Most people al, loln natural towards.
More people d from fear than ever
die from the ranges of disease.
The Fen Of Punishment.
This assumpbn is almost a self evil
dent fact or anlxiom Now, as most
of us are cOwaiS in more ways than
one. the create check on wrongdOing
in this world ishe fear of future pun
ishment. ThexOuld be murderer is
afraid to shoohis victim for fear he
will be executl; the young clerk who
is getting intObe habit of betting up
on the races iafraid to risk any Of
his EMPLOYERS loney for fear he will
be found out al sent to Jail; the wom-
en- or the men ihO would like to viO-
late the sevent commandment often
are afraid to do for fear the newspa-
per reporters wiget upon their track
and the whole. ..andal will be pub .
Iished in the dy newspapers, and
then they will ! Ostracized from all
decent associate, but if a man could
sin without bel found out or the
sinner not be brcht to judgment then
where there areow two sins there
would be twentlnd where men err {
once now they light do wrong ten
times over. Thaneans, of course, If
our sins would ever be brought to '
trial. l
Now, as I wathinking along this l
line the other damy eyes were scan
ming the Nineteel Psalm of David. I
Suddenly my atition was attracted {
to these words: tr secret sins in the s
light of thy cOunance" "What,"
said to myself-.n it be that there l
are sins so secreso completely hid {
den, that our mofntimate friends do 6
not know of theInns that God knows {
and sees and our consciences 6
convict us of" B not now refer to l
the open sins, the Its that the world 1
takes note of, butte there not others /
hidden away in Utmost recesses Of o
the heart that wbne day be set in
the penetrating of Gods counte- Il
nance? Let us exine ourselves this {
morning as in GoeDresence. u
Let me, in the filblace, speak about e
the sin Of robbingbd Of those hours