Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-03-09
THE BUNDLE OF LIFE.
REV. DR.. TALMAGe INSPIRED BY FA-
MlLlAR SMILE.


tCopyright, 1899, by American Press Asso-
ciationl
WASHINGTON, March 5.--Undcr the ia
miliar image OF bundle Dr. Talmage
shows in this sermon the things which go
20 make up man earthly and heavenly
life; text, I Samuel XIV, 30, 1.-THE soul
OF my Lord shall be bound in the bundle
of life with the Lord thy God.
Beautiful Abigail, in her rhythmic plea
for tho rescue of her inebratc husband,
who died within ten days addresses David
the warrior in the words of the text She
suggests that his life, ply sically and intel
lectually and spiritually, is "A valuable
package or bundle, divinely bound up and
TO be divinely protected.
That phrase bundle of life" I heard
many times In my fathers family prayers.
Family PRAYERS, you know, have frequent
repetitions, because day by day they nc
knowledge about the same blessings and
deplore about the same frailtics and sym
pathize with about the same misfortuncs,
md do not know why those who lead at
household devotions should seek variety of
composition. That familiar prayer be-
comes the household liturgy Iwould not
give one of my old fathers prayers for 80
Evolutionary applications Again and
again, in the morning aud evening prayer,
] heard the request that we might all be
bound up in the bundle of life, but did
not know until a fow days ago that the
phrase was Bible phrase.
Now, the more l think of it the better
like it. Bundle of life! 1t is such sim
pie and unprctonding, yet expressive COM
parison. There is nothing like grandilo-
nuencc in the scriptures While there are
many sublime passages in Holy Writ, there
sro more passages homely and drawing il
Illustrations from common observation and
everyday life In Christs great sermons
YOU hear hen clucking her chickens to-
Eether and see the photographs of hypo-
rrites with sad cuuntenance and hear of
The grass of the field, and the black crows
which our heavenly Father feeds, and the
salt that is worthless and the precious
stones flung under the feet of swine, and
the shifting sand that LET'S down the house
with great crash and hear the compari
son of the text, the most unpoetioal thing
we can think ola bundle. Ordinarily it
IS something tossed about, something
thrown under the table, something that
suggests garrets or something on tho
shoulder of a poor wayfarer. But there
are bundles of great value, bundles put up
which means CONSERVATION and despair,
and there have been bundles representing
the worth of a Kingdom.
During the last spell of cold weather
there were bundles that attracted the at
tention and the plaudts of the high heav-
ens-bundies OF clothing on the way from
comfortable homes to the door of the mis-
sion room, and Christ stood in the snow
banks and said AS the bundles passed:
NAKED, and ye clothed me. lnasnuch
as We have done it unto one of the least of
these, my brethren, ye have done it unto
mo" Those bundles are multiplying.
Blessings on those who pack them Bless
ings on those who distribute them! Bless
ings on those who receive them!
1t Is n Precious Bundle.
With what beautiful aptitude did abb
gail, in my text, speak of the bundle of
life Oh, what precious bundle is lifel
Bundle of memories, bundle OF hopes,
bundle of ambitions, bundle of destinies !
Once in q whilc'a man writes his autobi-
ography, and it is of thrilling interest.
The story of his birthplace, the story of
his struggles, the story of his sufferings,
the story of his triumphs! But il the au-
photography of the most eventful life We're
well written it would make many chapters
of adventure, of tragedy, of comedy, and
there would not be an uninteresting step
from cradle to grave
Bundle Of memories are youi Boyhood
memories, with all its iniustices from
playmatcs, with all its games with ball
and bat and kite and sled Manhood mex
cries, with all your struggles in starting
obstacles, oppOsitions, accidents, lnisfo"
tunes, losses, successe,. Memories of tho
first marriage you ever saw sOlcmniZed, o.
the first grave you ever saw opened, of
the first mighty wrong you ever suffered,
of the first victory you ever gained Mem
DRY of the hour when you We're affianced,
memory of the first advent in your home,
memory of the roscate check faded and of
blue eyes closed in the last sleep, memory
of anthem and of dirgc memory of great
pain and of slow conyalescence, memory
of times when all things We're against you
memory of properties that came in like
the full tide of the sea, memories of a life
time. What bundle
lift that bundle today and unloosc the
cord that binds it, and for a moment you
look in and see tears and smiles and laugh
ter and groans and mondays and mid
nights of experience, and then tic again
the bundle with heartstrings that have
some time vibrated with JOY and anon
been thrummcd by fingers of woe.
Bundle Of hopes and ambitions also is
almost every man and woman, especially
at the starting What gains he will har-
vest or what reputation he will achieve
or what bliss he will reach or what love
he will win What makes college com
mencemcnt day so enhancing to all of us
as we see the students receive their diplo-
mas and take up the garlands thrown to
their feet? They will be Faradays in sci
ence; they will be Tennysons in poesy;
they will be Willard Parkers in surgery;
they will be Alexander Hamiltons in ma
tional finance; they will be Horace Gree
leys in editorial chair; they will be Web
sters in the senate. Or she viii be Mary
Lyon in educational realms. or a Frances
Willard on reformatory platform, or n
Helen Gould in military hospitals, Or she
will make home life radiant with helpful
ness and self sacrifice and magnificent wo.
manhood Oh, what n bundle of hopes
and ambitionsl 1t is a bundle of garlands
and scepters from which | would not take
one sprig of mignonette nor cxtinguisll
one spark Of brilliance. They who start
life without bright hopes and inspiring
ambitions might as well not start at all,
for every step will be a failure. Rather
would i add to the bundle and If l oper
it now it will not be because / wish tc
take anything from it, but that may put
into it more corOnets and hosannas.
The Power to Think.
Bundle of faculties in every man and
every woman Power to think-to think
of the past and through all the future, tc
think upward and higher than the highest