Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-01-18
ECHOES OF A MORAL
The Rev. TaInage Finds I'M
pressise Thoughts
ON FORCE or GOOD EXAMPLE
Efssuity 70 Echo the Doinss Of Time The
Dln<zsnSs "a ksmil4=s va tbs
Power Of Examgie.


spiritual lszssls fson common natural
phenomena His sahiees was ~Echoes,"
aud his text. Ezzkisl vi. 7, The soaa.iiaS
again Of the mountains"
At last have found IL The Bible las in
IL reeognitlsn Of all phases Of the natural
world from the a1rofa Of ths midnight
heavens - tas phospaors4craes OF the
tambling sea But tAe well Known sound
that we call tia Eeao 1 found not until a
few days ago | discovered IL Ia my text,
The sounding agAla 0t the mountains"
That 10 the Echo. Ezekiel OF the text heard
h again and again.
Born Ansonx mountains. and In his jour
ssy u distant exile. hs lad passed among
mountains, aud IL was natural that AL
throagh his writings there should loom up
the mountains Amens them Re had heard
De sound Of catarscrs aud Of tempests in
srssEls with OAK AMI cedar, and the voices
OF the Wild beasts, bat . man Of 80 poetic a
nature rs Ezekiel could not allow another
sound, VIZ. the Echo. To be dixrrsarded,
aAd 20 he gives Us in our text The sound
ING agsin Of the mountains"
Greek mythology represented the Echo
a. q nymph. the daughter OF Earth and
Air. following Narcissus through forests
strange aud weird and startling is the Echo
do not wonder that the superstitious
have lifted IL into the supernatural You
and Ia boyaoed or girlhood experimental
with this responsiveness Of sound Stand
Ing half way bet weca the house and barn.
we shouted many time To hear the rever-
berxtions, or out among the mountains
back OF our hone. on some long tramp. we
stopped and made exclamation with full
lungs Just 70 eexx y ~ Ezekiel calls The
sounding agzia Of the mouatains"
The Echo has frightened many child
AID many a Bzn. Il - TO tame thing after
you have spoken 70 hear the same words
repeated hy tae invisible. All the siiances
are filed with voices ready 20 answer
Yet 10 vpuid not be so startling II they
szid something else bat why do those lips
Of the air say Just what you say, Do they
mean TO mock or mean 70 please, Who
Are You and where are You, thou wondrous
Echo Sometimes its response Is "a reitera-
.ion. The shot OF = gun. the ciapPipg OF
the hands, the beating Of a drum. the voice
Of a violin are sometimes repeated many
times By the Echo.
Near Coblentz-that which is said has
seventeen Echoes. In f7eo writer says
that near Milan, Italy. there were seventy
such rsfectisns Of sound TO one suap Of n
pistol Play bugls near n lake Of Kiilar-
sey add the tune - played back TO you as
distinctly ~ when you played it. There il
well two hundred and ten feet deep at
CarLsbrooke castle. in the Isle Of Wight.
Drop a pin into that well and the SQUAD
Of its fall CONES 10 the top Of the well
distinctly. A blast OF an Alpine horn
comes back from the rocks OF Jungfrsu In
surge after surge Of reflected sound, until
It seems - II every peak had lifted and
blown an Alpine horn.
But have you nsticed-and this 10 the
reason for the present discourse-that this
Echo In the natural world has its analogy
IN the moral and religious world? Hare
you noticed the tremendous fact that what
No say and do comes back in recoiled glad
ness or disaster, About this resonance /
preach this sermon.
sARkxkcHisG MORAL EXAMPLES.
First-Farontal teaching and example
have their Echo in the character OF do
sceadaEts- Exceptional Oh, yes. So in
the natural world there may be no Echo,
or a distorted Echo, by reason of peculiar
proxirnities. but the general rule is that
the character Of the children is the Echo
Of the character Of parents The general
rule Is that good parents have good chi
iran and bad parents have bad children
II the Old man is n crank. his son is apt 10
be crank and the graDdchild a crank.
The tendency is SD mighty in that direc-
lion that il viii get woese and worse IN
less some hero or heroine "a that line shall
rise and say. Here, By the help Of God.
{ viii stand this no longer Against this
hereditary tendency To queerless | pro
- - ~~sl at IL
and a magnificent life that will reverse
things. and there will be no more crsnks
among that kindred.
In another family the father and mother
srs consecrzted people. What they do Is
right. What they teach IL right. The
boys may for some time be Wild and the
suxhters worldly. bat watch Years pass
ca, perhaps ten years. twenty years. and
Fou 80 hack TO the church where the IA
her and mother used 10 be consistent
members
You have heard nothing about the fam
Ily for twsnty years. and at the door Of the
shurch you SEQ the sexton and you ask
him. Where IL old Mr.. Webster" 'Oh.
he has been dead many years. Where h
Mrs. wshsters' "oh. she died fifteen
years ago. Il suppose their son Joe wert
to the dogss' "Oh. no. says the sexton.
he il up there Ia the elders seat. he Is
WA Of our best and most important mem
hers You ought TO hear him pray and
sing. lie is not Joe any longer; be is Elder
Webster" well. where Is the daughter,
Msry, | suppose she is the same Thought
less butterfly she ussd TO be-" oh. no."
say. the sexton. she Is the president Of cur
missionary society and the directrv<s IN the
wphsn asylum. and when she gees down
she street ali the rsxsnuiins take hold Of
her dress and cry. 'Auntie, when are you
going To bring us some more books and
shoes and thingsf AID when. In times
VI revival. there is some hard case back
IN q church pew that no one else can
ouch. she gees whore he IL. and in one
minute she has him s-eryinz. and the FIRST
hing we Knew she i fetching the hard
.ped nan up 20 the front 20 be prayed for.
and SAYS. Here IL brother who wants 10
and the war toto the Kingdom ~ Get
And II nobody seems ready 20 prsy. she
sn~els down in the aisle beside him and
~y~. % Lord With psfhos and = power
and . triumph that seem instantly to
srnsncipste the hardened sinner. Oh. no.
yoa must not call Der = thougkti-ss but
berfy IN eur preserve You see ~e would
ga stand tt The tart - thss the avn and
daughter ~ that family did nos prcaisse
aach az the start. bias they sre nos an
E.shc. . xlorfoas Echo. prolonged Echo
Il parental sesrhsux sad example
rvs seTasHs bsanEsf
Avsrnens nesssF. - Der bog va ssoet
10 Start for HE au toe se~. sad I'D
~srd, have never seen The ceesa. but
andersissa tas xiest temptation - strung
arssx. PREMISE ms ron wisi a@ver fsnca
a Many years after that. tsllfns - tsis
h meeting. kiwara ssiss Z gave thss