The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-03-21
TIE INFLUENCE OF SISTERS.
Another Sermon of the Marriage Ring"
Series by the Rev. DR.. Talmage.
The Grand Old Story of Moses and Miriam
IlIumined by the Preachers Magic Elo-
Quence-A Touching Lesson for All.

Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage. D. D.. preached on
Sunday. March Ia, in the Brooklyn Tabernacle,
the tenth of his series of sermons on THE Mar
Rage Ring" his subject being ''The Sisters In
Huence Upon Her Brothers" The pastor first
read and expounded a chapter in Exodus on the
crossing of the Red sea, and spoke of the water
ln either side of the Israelites as crystal pail
ladies'" The hymn sung was;
Come, thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing thy grace"
The text was Exodus IL, A. 'tAnd his sister
)tood afar of. to wait what would be done to
aim DR.. Talmage said:
Princess Thermutis, daughter of Pharaoh.
looking ont through the lattice of her bathing
house, on the banks of the Nile, saw a curious
boat on the river. It had neither oar nor helm,
aud they would have been useless anyhow.
There was only one passenger, and that q baby
boy. But the Mayfower that brought the Pill
grim Fathers to America carried not so precious
load The boat was made Of the broad leaves of
papyrus, frightened together by bitumen. Boats
were sometimes made of that material
as we learn from Phny, and Herodotus, and
FheoDhratus. ''Kill all the Hebrew children
born, had been Pharaohs order To save her
boy. Jochebed. the mother OF little Moses, had
put him in that queer boat and launched him
His sister Miriam stood on the bank, watching
that precious craft. She was far enough off not
10 draw attention to the boat, but near enough
10 cffer protection. There she stands on the
bank. Miriam the poetess Miriam the quick
witted, Miriam the faithful, though very hui
man, for in after time she became SO mad with
that very brother for marrying a woman she
lid not like that she made great family row
and was struck with leprosy.
Miriam was a splendid sister. but had her
faults like all the rest of u.s. How carefully she
watched the boat containing her brother! A
strong wind might upset it. The buffaloes often
found there might in sudden plunge of thirst
blink it, Some ravenous water fowl might swoop
and pick his eyes out with iron beak. Some
crocodile or hippopotamus crawling through the
eushes might craunch the babe. Miriam watched
and watched until Princess Thermutis, a maiden
on each side of her holding palm leaves over her
head to shelter her from the sun, came down
and entered her clearinghouse When from the
brought, and when the leaves were pulled
back from the face of the child and the boy
looked up he cried aloud for he was hungry and
frightened, and would not even let the Princess
lake him. The infant would rather stay hungry
bhan to acknowledge anyone of the court as
mother. Now Miriam. the sister. incoenito, no
one suspecting her relations to the child, leaps
from the bank and rushes down and offers to get
nurse to pacify the child. Consent is given,
she brings Jochebed, the baby's mother, incog-
nito, not sure of the court knowing that she was
The mother, and when Jochebed arrived the
child stopped crying, for its fright was Gained
and its hunger appeased. You may admire
Jochebed, the mother ana all the ages may ad-
the behavior of Miriam, the faithful brilliant
and strategic sister.
go home" some might have said to
Miriam; why risk yourself out there alone on
the banks of the Nile, breathing the miasms and
IN danger OF being attacked by wild beast or
rufian; go homer No. Miriam, the sister, most
lovingly watched and bravely defended
Is he worthy her care and couragea Oh, yes;
the sixty centuries of the worlds history have
never had so much involved in the arrival of any
chip at any port as in the landing of that papy-
rus boat caulked with bitumen. It's one passen-
ger vas to be non such in history Lawyer
statesman, politician, legislator, organizer con-
queror deliverer. He had such remarkable
beauty in childhood that Josephus says, when he
was carried along the road people stopped to
gaze at him, and workmen would leave their
work TO admire him. When the king playfuily
put his crown upon this boy he threw it off in
Rignantly and put his foot on it. The king, fear
ing that this might be a sign that the child might
yet take down his crown, applied another test
According to the Jewish legend, the king or
dered two bowls to be put before the child, one
containing rubieS and the other burning Goals
And if he took the Goals he was to live, and if he
took the rubies he was to die. For some reason
the child took one of the Goals and put it in his
mouth, so that his life was spared, although it
burned the tongue till he was indistiEct of utter
Ance ever after. Having come to manhood, ne
Spread open the palms of his hands in prayer,
and the Red sea parted to let two million five
hundred thousand people escape, And he put
the palms of his hands together in prayer, and
che Red Sea closed on strangulated host
His life was unutterably grand, his burial must
be on the same scale. God would let neither man
nor saint, nor archangel, have anything to do
with weaving for MIN a shroud or digging for
him grave. The omnipotent God left His
throne in heaven one day, and il the question
was asked whittier is the King Of the Uni
verse going9" the answer was: 81 am going
down to bury Moses And the Lord took this
mightiest of men to the top Of hill, and the
day was clear, and Moses ran his eye over the
magnificent range of the country Here, the
valley of Esdraelon, where the final battle
of all nations is to be fought; and yon-
der. the mountains Hermon, and Lebanon,
and Gerizim. and hills of Judea; and the
village of Bethlehem there, and the city
Of Jericho yonder, and the vast stretch
of landscapes that almost took the old law -givers
breath away as he looked at it. And then, with
ont pang, as learn from the statement that
the eye OF Moses was undimmed and his natural
force undated, God touched the great law
giver's eyes, and they closed; and his lungs. and
they ceased; and his heart, and 1t stopped; and
commanded, saying: ITO tie skies thou immor
tai spirit!" And then one Divine hand was put
against the back of Moses and the other hand
against the pulseless breast and God laid him
softly down on Mount Nebo, and the law-giver,
lifted in the Almighty's arms, was carried to the
opening of cave and placed in a crypt, and one
stroke of the Divine hand smoothed the features
into an everlasting calm and rock was rolled
10 the door. and the only obsequies at which
God did all the Offices of priest, and undertaken,
and graye-digger and mourner. were ended
Oh, was not Miriam, the sister of Moses, do
ing good thing an important thing, glorious
thing when she watched the boat woven of river
plants and made water tight with asphaltum,
carrying it's one passenger Did she not put ali
the ages of time and of coming eternity under
obligation. when she defended her helpless
brother from the perils, aquatic, reptiian and
ravenousi She il was that brought that won
derful babe and his mother together so that he
was reared to be the deliverer of his nation.
when otherwise, IL saved at all from the rushes
of the Nile, he would have been only one more
Of the God-defylng Pharaohs for Princess Their
NUTS, of the bathing house, would have inherited
the crown of Egypt and as she had no child of
her own this adopted child would have come to
coronation. Had there been no Miriam there
would have been no Moses What q garland for
faithful sisterhoodi For how many law-giver