Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1892-12-16
REV. DR.. TAlMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE's SUN.
DAY SERMON.
SUBJECT: "RIzPAH ON THE Rock

,iExr: And Rizpan. he dnuoht,r q,
., m' took Sdc6ctoth and spread IL for her
upon me rock, from the beginnin.y OF hnr.
oest untit lodter dropped upon Asp, out a,
nedoen, and suffered neither the birds ofth.
ar 70 rest on them by ddy nor N. b,aSts n,
he NE d 6y night."-Il Samuel xxi. 10.
Tragedy that beats ANYTHING sbol.
spearean or Victor Huroian. After return
ing from the Holy Land briefly touched
upon ", but must have a whole sermon for
'hat scene. The explosion and lash of Oun-
powder have driven nearly all the beasts
and birds OF prey from these regions. and
now the shrek of the locomotive whistle
which Is daily heard at Jerusalem will for
many miles around clear Palestine OF cruel
claw and beak. But in the ii ne of the text
those regions were populous with multitudes
oil lackais and lions Seven sons OF Saul
had been crucified on a hill. Rizpah was
mother TO two and relative TO five of the
boys: What had these boys done that thew
should be crucifiedi Nothing except TO have
bad father and grandfather. But now
that the boys were dead, why not take them
Gown from the gibbetsS No. They are
sentenced to hang there.
So Rizpah takes the sackclotb-. ropob
shawl with which in mourning for her dead
she had wrapped herself-and spreads that
sackcioth upon the rocks ne the gibbets.
ana acts the part OF a sentinel watching
and defending the dead. Yet every other
sentinel is relieved, and after being on
| gusrd for few hours some one else takes
his place. But Rizpah is on guard both
| ay and night and for half year. One
hundred an1 eighty days and nights Of
| obsequies. What nerves she must have had
to stand thatl Ah. do you not know that a
mother can stand anything,
Oh, II she might be allowed to hollow a
| place in the side OF tie hill and Law the
| bodies OF her children to quiet restl II In
some cavern Of the mountains she might
| find for them Christian sepulturei Oh. II
she might take them from the gibbet Of dis.
grace and carry them still farther away
from the haunts Of men. and then lie beside
them iu the last long sleep! Exhausted ma
ture ever aud anon falls into slumber, but in
a moment she breaks the snare and chdes
herself as though she had been cruel, and
leaps up on the rock shouting at wild beast
Caring from the thicket aud at vulturous
brooi wheeling in the sky. The thrilling
story OF Rizpah reaches David and he comes
forth to hide the indecency. The corpses
had been chained to the trees. The chains
are unlocked with horrid clank, and the
| skeletons are let down. All the seven are
buried, and the story ends:
But it hardly ends before you cry out
"Wbat hard thing that those seven boys
should suffer for the crimes OF a father and
grandfather Yes, but it is always so.
Let every one who does wrong know that he
wars not only as in this case. against two
generations, cdildren and grandchildren but
against all the generations OF coming time.
That is what makes dissipation aud unclean-
ness so awful. II reverberstes in other
times. 1t may skip one generation, butit is
apt to come up in the third generation, as is
| suggested IN the Ten Commandments
which say. Visiting the iniquities Of the
| father upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation"
| Mind you, 1t says nothing about the sec
| ond GENERATION, but mentions the third and
the fourth. That accounts for what you
sometimes see-very good parents with very
bad children Go far enough back in the
snc ,stral line and you find the source OF all
the turpi ude. Visiting the iniquities OF
the fathers upon the children unto the third
and fourth generation" IL when Saul died
the conse quences OF his iniqulty could have
| died with him 1t would not have been so
sad. Alas mol Look on that hill few
miles out from Jerusalem and see the
CHASTITY burdens OF thoss seven gibbets and
T. wan and wasted RlEnah watching them.
| Go to-day through the wards and aims
houses ana the reformatory institutions
where unfortunate children are kept and you
will find that ne out Of ten had drunken or
vicious parents Yea, day by day on the
stree. OF our cities you find men and women
wrecked Of evil parentage. They are moral
norpses. Like the seven sons OF Saul, though
dead, unburiedi Alas for RzDah, who, not
for six months, but for years and years, has
watched theml She cannot keep the vul'
lures and the jackals of.
| Furthermore, this strange incident in the
Billie story shows that attractiveness OF
| ~ oil of nogitiOn
curity againt trouble.
| who is this Rizpah sitting in desolatlonf
One of Saul's favorites. Her personal at
fractions had won his heart. She had been
| caressed of fortune With mothers pride
sbe looked on her princely children. But
the scene changes. Behold her in Danish
ment and bereave nent t-Rizpah on the rock'
Some of the worst distresses have come TO
scenes OF royalty and wealth. what por-
| champiug and lathere1 steed bringing evil
disnatchY On what tesselated hall has
there not stood the solemn bierf I'm.
der what exquisite fresco has there
not been enacted tragedy OF dis.
| aste,S What curtained couch hath heard
no cry of painY What harp hath never thrilled
with sorrowf What lordly nature hath
never leaned against carved pillar and MADE
utterance of woe' Gall Is not less oltter
when quaffed from golden cnalice tnan
| wben taken from q pewter mug. Sorrow Is
often attended by running iootmen and
i.ceJ lackeys mounted behind. Queen Anne
| Rolavn il desoate in the palace OF henry
VIII. , .,.,uo ouor
the hypocrisy OF friends. Pedro l. among
brazilian diamonds shivered with fear OF
massacre. Stephen OF Englani sat on
rocking throne. And every mast OF PRIDE mas
been bent in the storm, and tne hignest
mountains of honor and fame are covered
n,;tt, ,,arnetuai snow. Sickness will frost the
rosiast cheek. wrinkle the smoothest brow
and stiffeu the sprightliest step. Kzpah
ou;ts the courtly circle and sits on the rock.
perheps YOU look back upon scenes diner'
- fror, those in which now from day TO
Sav Won mingle. You have exchanged the
nlenty and luxuriance OF your fathers house
foT nriyation and trial known to6od ana your
own heart, The morning OF lie was nushe
with promise. Troops OF caiamities since
.sar, have made desperate charge upon you.
n.rLness has come. Sorrows have swoopec
IiLa carrier birds from the sky and barSed
liz isckals from the thicket. You stand
an,id vour slain anguished and woe struck.
Rjzoah on the rock.
81 it has been in all ages. Vasht must
A., m the spangled robes OF the Persian court
and 90 forth blasted from the palace gate.
Hausr exchanges oriental comfort for the
.;iSerness OF Beersheba. Mary, queen OF
scots, must pass out from fattery and
pomp to suffer ignomniouS death IN tne
castle of Fotheringsy. The wheel OF fortune
Sssns turning. and mansions and huts ex'
cnspqe. and he who rode the chariot pushes
The Barrow, and instead OF the glare ol
festal lights is the simmering OF the peat
Are and in place OF Ssurs palacs Is th'
rock-the cold rock. the desolats rocS.
But that is the place to which God comes
Jacob, with his head on a stone, saw tn
shiniug ladder. Israel in the desert beheit
the msrshaling OF the fiery baton. Jonn o.
barren Patmos heard trumpe.ing, ana .n
olappiug OF wings, and the stroke OF sera
nh}c fingers on golden harps, and nothing
! but heavenly strength nervsd Rizpah for ne
snnajI;no mission amid tue scream Of wil'