Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1898-12-22


h helpIul 10 all who find life struggle,
y especially addressed to class OF per-
sons probably never before addressed
In sermon, The text Is Genesis vii, 10.
The Lord shut him in
Cosmogpny has no more Interesting
chapder than rhe one which speaks OF
that catastrophe OF the ages. the sub
mer,ion Of our world In time OF Noah.
the first ship carpenter Many OF the
nations who never saiw n Bible have a
food story Egyptian Hood story,
Grecian food story. Of which Ducaion
was the NOAH Hawaiian food story
New Zealand flood story, Chinesastlood
story. American Indian flood story-~ail
Of which accounts agree IN the INNER.
sion OF the continents under universal
rains. and that there was n ship tloaiitR
with select few Of the human fnmtIy
and with specimens OF zoologicAl aud
ornithoogicnl and rcptilian worlds, al
though | could have wished that these
hast had been shut out OF the ark and
drowned,
All OF these food stories represent
the ship thus anoat ms finally stranded
on a mountain top. Hugh Miller In his
Testimony OF the Rocks" thinks that
all these food stories were iniirm tradi.
tions Of the Biblical account, and be.
lieve him, The worst thing about that
great freshet was that Il struck Noah's
Gre-.t Eastern from above and beneath.
The seaS broke the chain OF shells and
crystal and rolled over the land, and the
heavens opened their clouds for falling
columns OF water which roared and
Numbered on the roof OF the great ship
for u month and ten days There wns
one door to The ship. but there were
three parts 10 That door, one part for
each OF the three stories. The Bible nc.
count says nothing about parts of the
door belonging to two Of the stories.
and do not know on which floor Noah
and his family voyagcd, but my next
tells us thn the part OF the door Of TIM
particular floor on which Noah stnid
was closed after he had entered. "Frhe
Lord shut him In" So there are many
people now In the world who are MS
thoroughly shut In. some by sickness,
some hY old age, some by special duties
that will not allow them to pro forth,
ZONE surrounded by deluges of migfor.
tune and trouble, and for them I often
receive messages. and this sermon,
which ] hope may do good to others, Is
more especially intended for them, To
day address tire shut In, "The Lord
shut him In"
Notice first or oil who closed the door
" that they could not get out. Noah
did not do II, nor his son Shem, nor did
Ham, nor did Japheth, nor did either of
the four married women who were on
shipboard, nor did despemdoeswho had
scoffed at the idea OF peril which Noah
had been preaching close Tint door.
They had turned their bucks on the ark
and had In disgust gone away. ! will
tell you how II was done. A hand was
stretched down from heaven to close
that door. II was divine hand us well
asa kind hand. "The Lord shut him in"
The world has no statistics MS to the
number Of invalids. The physicians
know something about IT, and the
apothecaries and the pastors, but who
can tell us the number Of blind eyes,
and deaf ears. and diseased lungs, and
congested livers, and tangled nerves,
and neuralgia temples, and rheumatic
feet or how many took no food this
morning because they had no appetite
to eat Or digestive organs to assimilate,
or have lungs so delicate they cannot
20 forth when the wind is in the east,
or there lis fog rising from the river,
or there Is dampness on the ground
or pavement because Of the frost com
Ing outY II would be easy to count the
people who every day go through a
street or the number OF passengers
carried by railroad company in a year.
or the number Of those who cross the
ocean In ships. But who ean give us the
statistics OF the great multitudes who
are shut IMP I call the attention Of all
such to their superior opportunities OF
doing good.
Those of Ills who are we'll and can see
clearly, and hear distinctly, and par
take Of food OF MI sorts. and questions
OF digestion never occur to us. and we
can wade the snowhanks, and take an
equinox In our faces, and endure the
thermometer nj zero, and every breath
OF air Is n tonic and stimulus and
sound sleep meets MS within live min
utes after our head touches the pillow,
do not make so much OF nm impression
when we talk about the consultations of
religion. The world snys right away:
II guess that man mistakes huovancy
OF natural spirits for religion. What
does he know about itr He has never
been tried" But when one goes out
and reports to the world that that
morning on his way to business he
salled TO see you aud found you, after
Seing kept In your room for two
months, cheerful and hopeful, and that
you had not one word Of complaint and
asked all about every body and reioiced
In the success, Of your business friends,
although your own business had almost
come to n standstill through your alb
sence from store or office or shop, and
that you sent your love to all your old