The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-10-07

His Sermon mt First Baptist Church
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. UncOmpIetcd.

tncOmDietc0s
Rev. DIR. Ellison preached in the chapel
Of the First Baptist Church yesterday
morning. It was the intention to hold the
services In the main room. but owing. to
the failure to get the repairs in that part
of the building completed last week it was
necessary to use the chapel. DIR. Ellison
has just returned from his vacation, which
was considerably prolonged. Early in the
summer he contracted a severe cold, which
developed into the grip. DR.. Ellison pre-
faced his remarks with a few words touch
ing upon the reasons for his long absence.
He also stated that he came home expect
ing to find the congregation in the church.
room proper. with improvements all COM
pleted. and had prepared his sermon to
conform with such surroundings. and that,
under the circumstances, he was not pre-
pared to preach. but would simply make a
Few remarks. He read for his text these
words: And the mamma ceased on the NOR
row, after they had eaten of the old corn
or the land" Joshua v. IL. spoken of the
children of Israel after their forty years
OF wandering In the wilderness were ended
and they had entered Canaan. DIR. Ellison
said, in part
1T was a saying of Dean Stanley that he
gesa a great book of fiction three times
~ eHN owl tA4El u @tI Ine yn0DQnf
and once again for the sake OF Observing
the authors style When you come to
think it over. You win see the benefits of
that method Of reading a great book of fic-
tion- 1t is wise when you have a master
piece OF fiction to give up one reading
wholly TO the movement of the characters
go back for the philosophy the author
would teach, and when you have gotten
that go back again for a study of the words
ures. II this is true OF any great book out
side or Gods revelation, II seems to me il
Is pre-emlnently true Of the Bible. 1t is
one book. although there is a definite pur-
pose running through it all. when put to-
sether the books lead up to one Thought
world: When you read it. read it
f as you wouid any other book. Get
hidden truths. II one will do that with by
odus. the second book of Moses. he will be
surprised TO see how new that book be-
very harsh and rugged. When Won read tbha
book. the first thing you think of is the
wanderings of the children of Israel. They
came out from a condition OF servitude into
a more chaotic condition.; II was NOT as an
organized body. but as a mob that Moses
LED these children out. Our text is taken
think of as commonplace is often miracu-
lous- The first miraculous element is in
human necessity. When the children of Is
raei saw Moses as a conqueror and Pharaoh
and his armies conquered. their hearts
sprans forth in a song OF victory. Yet
within thirty days witt rebellious hearts
they began to murmur; the water was Bit
ter. and they did not like thu food. Men
or science tell us If we raise our hands we
send in motion a wave to the sun. Draw a
few drops of water from the Atlantic and
you AFFECT the whole. When / Complain
against God. IL is not complaining simply.
put II is SHINING. When God is responsible
Tor anything. you can trust Him to make
II right. He was responsible for leading
them into the wilderness. and He wou,d
nave been responsible IL this people d.ed
because they had not water and no bread.
You remember the story OF how he sweet
ened the water: you remember how they
went TO leep-tired and hungry and saving
GOD was not a true God-and you remember
when they awakened in the morning how
they found a gentle rain had come in the
night and covered the ground with mamma
about their camp. Eating IL and finding n
sweet and wholesome. they called IL manra
that is. angels food. 1t seems to me He
did the miraculous because there was m
other way to do It, There was nothing bat
sand about hem-t the north. the south
the east and the west. SAND cannot FRO,
duce food. There was but one line from
which help could come. and that line was
from above. Because the occasion de-
handed the miraculous. He gave them the
miraculous; otherwise. there would have
been no miracle. II a miracle is -ieeded.
He supplies it. He did IL then and He does
II now. You and l move amidst nairacles
Around US are miracles. thick and inscrut-
able When the sun rises In the morning
and every time the stars shine out II niohf