The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1899-03-10
BOUND IN A BUNDLE.
DR.. Talmage Chooses a Familiar
Simile for a Text.
The Precious Bundle of Life and
the Care 1t Should Receive-Things
of Earthly and Heavenly
Existence.
Copyright 1sss.l
IVA shin 2tOn

| AS~O'r
Under the famlnar image of bundle
| DR.. TaImage shows in this sermon the
things which go to make up mans
earthly and heavenly life; text, l Samuel
25:29. 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 the rescue of her inebriate hus-
| band, who died within ten days, ad-
| dressed David the warrior in the words
| of the text. She suggests that his life,
| physically and intellectually and spirit
ually, is a valuable package or bundle,
divinely bound up and to be divinely
| protected.
That phrase 'bundle of life" heard
many times in my fathers family
| prayers. Family prayers, you know,
have frequent repetitions, because day
| by day they acknowledge about the
same blessings and sympathize with
| about the same misfortunes, and l do
not know why those who lead at house
| hold devotions should seek variety of
| composition. That familiar prayer be-
| comes the household liturgy. would
| not give one of my old fathers prayers
for so elocutionary supplications.
Again and again, in the morning and
evening prayer, l heard the request
that we might all be bound up in the
| bundle of life, but l did not know until
a few days ago that the phrase was
| Bible phrase.
Now. the more think of it the better
| / like it. Bundle of life! 1t is such a
simple and unpretending, yet express
| sive comparison. There is nothing like
| grandiIoquencei in the Scriptures. While
| there are many sublime passages in
| Holy Writ, there are more passage
| homely and drawing illustrations from
common observation and everyday life.
In Christ's great sermons you hear a
| hen clucking her chickens together and
see the photographs of hypocrites with
a sad countenance 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 comparison of the text, the most
unpoetical thing we can think of-a
bundle. Ordinarily it is something
tossed about, something thrown under
the table, something that suggests gar
| retS or something on the shoulder of
poor wayfarer. But there are bun
dies of great value. bundles put up with
| great caution, bundles the loss of which
means CONSERVATION and despair, and
there have been bundles representing
the worth of kingdom.
During the last spell of cold weather
there were bundles that attracted the
attention and the plaudits of the high
| heavens-bundles of clothing on the
way from comfortable homes to the
| door of the mission-room, and Christ
stood in the snowbanks and said as the
bundles passed.: Naked. and ye
clothed me. Inasmuch as ye have done
it unto one of the least of these, my
| brethren, We have done it unto me-
Those bundles are multiplying. Bless
ings on those who pack them! Bless
ings on those who distribute them!
| Blessings on those who receive them!
With what beautiful aptitude did Abb
gail, in my text, speak of the bundle of
life! Oh what a precious bundle is
life! Bundle of memories, bundle OF
| hopes, bundle of ambitions, bundle of
destinies! Once in awhile man writes
his autobiography, and it is of thrill
ing interest. The story of his birth
place, the story of his struggles, the
story of his sufferings, the story of his
triumphs! But if the autobiography of
the most eventful life were well written
it would make many chapters of adven-
ture, of tragedy, of comedy, and there
would not be an uninteresting step
from cradle TO grave.
Bundle of memories are you! Boy
hood memories, with all its injustices
from playmates, with all its games with
ball and bat and kite and sled. Man
hood memories, with all your struggles
i'm tarting-obstacles, oppositions, ac-
cidents, misfortunes, losses, successes.
Memories of the first marriage you ever
saw solemnized, of the first grave you
ever saw opened, of the first mighty
wrong you ever suffered, of the first
victory you ever gained. Memory of
the hour when you were affianced
memory of the first advent in your
home, memory of the roseate cheek
faded and of blue eyes closed in the
last sleep, memory of anthem and OF
dirge, memory of great pain and OF
slow convalescence, memory of times
when all things were against you, mem
ory of prosperities that came in like the
full tide of the sea, memories of life
time. What bundle!
I lift that bundle to-day and unloose
the cord that binds it, and for mo,
ment you look in and see tears and
smiles and laughter and groans and
mondays and midnights of experience
and then I tie again the bundle with
heartstrings that have some time
vibrated with JOY and anon beer
thrummcd by fingers of woe.
! Bundle of hopes and ambitions alsc
is almost every man and woman, es'
pecially at tse starting. What gain:
he will harvest, OF what reputation he
will achieve, or what bliss he will reach
or what love be will win. What makes
college commencement day so entranc
ing to all of US as we see the student!
receive their diplomas and take up th'
garlands thrown to their feet. They
will be Faradays in science; they viii
be Tennysons in poesy; they Will bt
Willard Parkers in surgery: they vii
be Alexander Hamiltons in natioua
finance; they will be Horace Greeley