The times., 1898-02-07
THE SNOW OF THE BIBLE
Eleventh Of DR.. Talmage's Sermons
on ''God Everywhere"
Frosts of Trouble Kill Malaria of
Dependence Upon God.

of the First Presbyterian Church yes
terday morning, it being his first pulpit
appearance since his marriage. As
usual great concourse of people turn
ed out to do him honor and to satisfy
their taste for sacred eloquence. DR.
Talmage was at his best, and at the
close of the service the people crowded
around him, and congratulated him on
his latest matrimonial venture
His subject was an appropriate one
The Snow of the Bible; or, God
Among the Crystals" 1t was the eIey-
enth of the course of sermons on God
Everywhere" DIR. Talmage chose as
his text, Job xxxviii.. 22: Hast thou
entered into the treasures of the
snow?' The preliminary paragraphs
of his discourse were eulogestic oil the
season of winter, which he thought is
greatly maligned, and had more enc
mics tEan friends.
Il take it," said the preacher, "as
the father of a whole family of ply
sical, mental and spiritual energies
The most people that know are sti ong
In proportion To the number of snow
banks they mad to climb over, or push
through, in childhood, while their fa-
therS drove the sled loaded with logs
through the crunching drifts high as
the fences
The first time we find a deep fall
of snow in the Bible is where Samuel
describes a fight between Benaiah and
lion in pit; and though the snow
may have crfmsoned under the wounds
of both man and brute, the shaggy
monster rolled over dead and the giant
was victor
SNOW, he continued. '.is the treas
ure OF accumulated power. During q
snowstOrrn let 'an apotEecary, accus-
toned TO weigh most delicate quanti-
ties, hold his weighing scales out OF
the window and let one fake fall on
the surface OF the scales, and it will
not even make il trembie. When YOU
want to express extreme triyiailty of
weight you say. Light as a feather
but snowflake is much lighter II is
just twenty-four times lighter than
water. And yet the accumulation of
these flakes in some parts Of our coun-
try broke down. few days ago. tele-
graph poles, made helpless police and
fire departments, and halted rail trains
with two laundering locomotives
What tragedies Of the snow have
been witnessed by the monks of St
Bernard, who, fer ages, have, with the
dogs, been busy in extricating bewil-
dered and overwhelmed travellers in Al
pine storms. the dogs with blankets
fastened to their backs and TASKS of
spirits fastened TO their neck, TO re-
suscitate helpless travellers.
What an illustration of the TRACE
dies CT the snow is found in that scene
between Glencoe and Glencreran one
70 in, n,al rr-Hz a
Cameron comes forth to bring to his
fathers house his cousin, Flora Mac
donald, for the celebration of a birth
day, and the calm day turns into a
hurricane of white fury that leaves
Ronald and Flora as though dead. to
De resuscitated by the shepherds What
an exciting struggle had Bayard Tay-
lor among the wihtry Apprentices.
In the winter of 1872, by a similar
force, the destiny of Europe was de-
cided. The French army marched up
toward Moscow five hundred thousand
men. What can resist them? Not bay
onets. but the dumb elements over
whelm that host Napoleon retreats
from Moscow with about two hundred
thousand men, a mighty nucleus for
another campaign after he gets back
to Paris. But a cloud comes over the
sky, the snowflakes begin to fall. and
the victor of Jena, and bridge of Lodi.
and Eylau. and Austerlitz. where three
great armies, commanded by three en-
perors, surrendered to him, now him
self surrenders to the snOwhakes
Another treasure Of the snow is the
suggestion of the usefulness of sorrow
Absence of snow one winter made all
nations sick. That SnoWless winter nrr
tens of thousands into the grave and
left others in homes and hospitals
gradually to go down. The snow is one
of the grandest and best of the world <
doctors. Yes. it is necessary for the
lands productiveness. Great SHOWS in
winter are generally followed by great
harVests next summer.
But who with any analoeical faeultv
can notice that out of such chill as the
snow comes the wheat, without reaIiz-
ing that chilling sorrows produce har-
vests of gracei The strongest Chris
tians. without any exception, are those
who were by bereaYements or sickness
or poverty or persecution. or all of
them together, showed under, and again
showed under. These snow storms of
troublei They kill the malarias of the
soul. They drive US out of worldly de-
pendence to God.
Your throne in heaven, suffering
child of God. will be built out of con-
edElIltE ulSdSISTS. w nat gave
John Bunyan such wonderous dream
of the celestial city? The Bedford
penitentiary. What gave Richard Bax-
ter such power to tell of the Saints
Everlasting Rest. and give his i'm
mortal call to the unconyerted? PhySi-
cal disease, which racked every nerve
of his body. What made George White
field SO mighty in saving souls. bring
ing ten thousand to God when others
brought a hundred? Persecution that
caricatured and assailed him all up
and down England. and dead vermin
ing. What meIlowed and glorified
Wilberforce's Christian character? A
financial misfortune that led him to
write: L know not why my life is
spared so long except it be to show
that a man can be as happy without
a fortune as with one What gave John
Milton such keen spiritual eyesight
that he could see the battle of the
angels? Extinguishment OF physical
eyesight What is the highest observa-
tory for studying the stars of hope and
faith and spiritual promise? The be
levers sick bed. What produces the
richest and most golden harvests that
wave on all the hills of heavenly rap
ture? The SHOWS, the deep SHOWS. the
awful SHOWS of earthly calamity"
THEY GREET MRS. TALMAGE.