Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-12-15

The Case OF Noah and the Ark-Dis-
nsters Arc God's Designs For Our
Betterment-Nen saved by being
shut Ina sermon to Invsiid..
ropyrisht. iSsS. by American Press Assc-
citation
WASHINGTON. Dec. ll.-This discourse
Of DIR. Talmagc, which is helpful to all
who find life a struggle. is especially adj
sresscd to class of persons probably new.
.r bcforc addressed In sermon The text
Is Genesis vii, 1t. 1.-The Lord shut him
in
Cosmoyony has no more interesting
chapter than the one which speaks Of that
catastrophe of the ases, the submersion of
our world IN time OF Noah. the first ship
carpenter. Many of the nations who ncv-
sr saw j Bible havc flood story-Egyp-
tan feed story, Grecian tlood story. If
which Ducalion was the Noah; Hawaiian
iood story, New Zealand food story. Chi
nese flood story. American Indian flcod
story-all OF W hich accounts agrse in the
immersion Of the continents under i
versal rains, and that there was ship
Coating with n select few Of the human
family and with specimens If geological
and archaeological and reptilian worlds.
although could have wished that these
last had been shut out of the ark and
drowned.
All of these flood stories represent the
ship thus atuat as finally stranded ON
mountain top. Hugh Miller in his Ties
timony of the Rocks" thinks that all these
food stories werc infirm traditions % the
Biblical account. and believe him. The
worst thing about that great frtShet WAS
that 10 struck Nuah's Great Eastern from
above and beneath. The seas broke the
chain Of shells and crystal and rolled over
the land, and thc heavens opened their
clouds for falling columns Of water which
roared and Numbered on the roof " the
great ship for n month and ten days
ThCrc was one door to the ship. but there
were th7ec ! - 10 thar door. one part for
each of the three stories. The Bible &C
count SAYS moth inS about vartS ~ the dCOr
belonging TO two If the stories. and l DO
no; know on which GOC- NoAh and his
family voyaecd. but NY next tells US that
the Part OF the door Of that particular ilOor
on which Noah staid was closed after he
had entered The I.o0l shut him in. d"
r. there are many rcoi lc now in the world
who are rs thoroughly shut in, some by
sickness. some by old age. some Ivy special
duties that will not allow them tn 50
forth. some surrounded by deluscs Of mis-
fortune and trouble. and fer shem often
receive messages. ard this sermon. which
l hOpc ma, In good to others. is M ~ c.
recially intended fo- them. To-day l ad
dress the shut in The Lord shut him
in"
The Closed Door.
Notice first Of all who closed the door so
that they could nor get ont Noah did not
uo il. nor his son Shen, nor did Ham, nor
did .Iaphe,h. nor did either of the four
married women who wcre On shipboarJi
nor did ieSpera6ces who had scoifeNi a, the
idea of peril which Noah had been preach
Ing close that door. They had turned
their backs on the ark and had in disgust
gone away. will tell you how il WAS
done. \ hand WAS stretched down from
heaven to close that deer. II was divine
hand as well as kind hand. The Lori
shut him in.
And the same kind and syrnpathe-i, t.
ing has shu, You in. INV reader or nv
nearer. You thought IL was Al accident,
ascribsble 10 shecarClossus>S or mistoiosS
of Others, or n ,.cre happen 50. NJ.
no, God had gracious design for you-
hettsrnent, fer the cultivation al yCu-
patience. fer the strengthening G; year
faith. fer the advantage you might gain
ty seclusion. for you- eternal sa.yS-ioc
He put ylu IN = schODlrooIH. whe-e yo-
could learn in six months O. a year ;-u-g
than you could have Learned arvvhsrs
else in lifetime. H turned -hc lattice
CT pulled down the blinds = the sick-Oum
Or Euc your swollen toC- CT an otloinNG
CT held you amid the pillows II n couch
which you could Tot leave. for some IA
son that you may not row understand. bu,
which he has promised he will explain u
YOU satisfactorily, II rot in this world,
then in the world to come, To- he has
said. what l DO thou knuwcs, no, now
but thou shalt know herafte-,'
The world has no statistics as 10 the
number ot invalidS The physicians know
something about il, and the apothecarie>
and the paStCrS. hut who can tel. us thS
number Of blisd ewes, and deaf ears, and
dis-asad lungs. and couvVstci liycrs, ans
tangled nerves, and neuralgia temples
and rheumatic feet, or how many took =,
food this morning because they had no sp
petite 60 eat or GigsSt organs To asSim
Hate, or have lungs - delicate they can
not 90 forth when the wind Is in the east
or there is n fog rising from thu river, ol
there is a GsnpresS ON che ground q
uSvement hccausa OF the frost coming on.
IL would b. easy to coUpc the people wh,
every day so through u street OF the nun,
bC- IF passcncSrs carried by railrna,
company in wear. or the number Of thO>'
who cross the ocean In ships but VIII,
can give Us the statistics ot the great irul
titudcs who are shut ins l call the aJvsn
zion Of all such To their superior oppO-
tunities Of doing good.
Consolation of the sick.
Those " us who are well, ard can -,
>learly, and near distinctly, and partaS
II food Of all sorts, and questions Of dic,.>
ton never occur u US, and We can waJ
the snowhauks. and take an equinox 81
1ur faces. and endure the Thermometer &.
zero, and every breath ot air i toni
and a stimulus. and sound sl,ep meets I
within five minutes after our head -uucSt
the pillow, de- not make - much Of al in
luess:on when we talk about tho c,nnS'lS
tons Of religion. The world SAYS RICH
sway: II guess that man mistakes buoy
sncy Of natural spirits for religion VII.
does he know shout itt He has never bss
tried" But when one goes out and rcTa-,
tn the world that tina, morning on his W.
TO business he called In see you and fvUu
you, afte- being KEEP, in your room e
two months. cheerful and hopeful, az
that You had uo; one woryi - complain