Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-09-25
TALMAGE
SERMON
By Rev.
FRANK De WITT TALMACC. DID,,
Pastor OF Jefferson Park Presby-
terrain Church, Chicago

|
harassed men and Awomen in this ser.
mon by Rev. Frank De Witt Talmage,
on the text Ecclesiastes xii, 5, 1.-THE
grasshopper shall be a burden"
A unique text, capable Of many diff
fcrent interpretations. Some suppose
the Solomonic burden" of the grass.
hopper, or, more strictly speaking, of
the eastern locust, refers to the nag.
ging pains Of the chronic dyspeptic.
The locusts, properly cooked, were edi.
bic. They constituted one Of the most
delicate of foods. They were often
served to invalids and to those whose
weak stomachs were unable to assimi.
late any other kind of diet. Thus
some commentators assert that the fig
ure Of the text is that of an old man
contorted with pain because his diges-
tive organs have given out. The din
ner Of locusts (which he has eaten in
stead of being transformed into blood
and bone and nerve and muscle is
| lying like lump of lead within him.
Others assert that the text is the figure
of an aged man whose emaciated body,
with Its shriveled limbs and curved
backbone, has taken upon itself the
form of n lean grasshopper. Thus
! Tithonus in his old age was supposed
to have been changed into this chirp-
Ing insect because the Greek gods who
had promised him immortality upon
earth had refused to endow him with
eternal youth.
But, though many interpretations are
offered to explain the meaning of my
text, there is one simple Interpretation
which, l believe, will appeal to the
common sense of all. Solomon used
the figure Of the chirping grasshoppcr
to illustrate the fact that If we do
not have the grace of God in our hearts
there will come a time when the little
annoyances of life will tease and tanta-
lie and trouble us, even as the buzzing
of an insect can destroy the slumbers
of a sleeping invalid or as the slam
ming of a door makes a nervously pros
trated patient start up in fright and
bedews his cold forehead with clammy
sweat. The wisest of all men seems to
say to you and me- The religion of the
Lord Jesus Christ Is just as essential
for the little troubles as for the big,
for the insectile trials as for the noun
| famous Affections The purpose Of
this sermon is to discuss some Of the
little annoyances of life and to state
how, by the grace of God, we may
combat them. I want to present this
theme to those whose physical and
mental frames have been prematurely
weakened by the strenuous, hardwork-
ing lives they have been compelled to
lead as well as to those whose once
strong bodies are bordering upon nerv-
GUS collapse on account of the natural
approach Of old age.
Petty Annoyances.
The kitchen and bedroom and nurs-
cry and parlor of the average home re-
veal many Of the so called petty an.
noyances which can render morbid and
unhappy the minds and the hearts OF
the inmates, especially of the wives
and mothers. 1t is the annoyance of
trying to build a fire early in the morn
ing, when the damper will not work,
that exemplifies how the grasshopper
may become burden. 1t is the trou-
| BILE Of getting the children off to school
at the right time when the tired moth
er finds that her boy has worn a hole
In one Of his stockings and there is
not another clean pair to put on. 1t is
the annoyance of hunting up pair Of
| scissors which your little girl lost when
she took them to make dolls dresses
1t is the annoyance of having the
butcher and the groceryman fail to
bring home the vegetables and the
meats in time to be cooked for dinner
And then there is the annoyance to the
wife Of having her husband complain
because his meals are not served on
time. 1t is the nagging annoyance that
comes every little while to all good
housekeepers Of having lot of people
| drop In for dinner at the last moment
when you are not expecting them and
when you have nothing suitable in the
larder to cook for them. 1t Is the
same kind Of annoyance that Martha,
in the little village of Bethany, expert
enced when her brother Lazarus
brought Christ and some of the disci-
pies to the home. Or it is the annoy
ance OF having company call when the
children have been playing hide and
seek in the parlor and have turned the
| furniture upside down as though a cy-
clone had struck it, or the annoyance
Of being seen on the stairs by some
particular friend when your hair is
unkempt and your dress is disordered
from working in the storeroom or from
packing or from putting up lace cur
tains or from canning peaches or max
ing currant jellies for the next winters
supply.
The housekeeper's little annoyances
would not amount to much II there
were only few of them and il these
annoyances came but seldom. But the
trouble with the burden Of the grass
hoppers Is that this insect always trav-
els in multitudes. They advance by
swarms, by hundreds, by thousands,
by millions. They travel in such great
numbers that they make the huge
monsters in the African forests turn
and fee in wild terror for their lives.
They will destroy every harvest In
their tracks and eat bare every tree
branch. Their advent is curse, and
their departure nearly always leaves
complete desolation. In the life Of Sir
Thomas Graham, the great financler
who built the Royal Exchange Of Lon
don, we read that he was left found
| ling in n country field His mother