Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-08-19
Calnase
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talnaae. ID. ID.

breeds other sins, how remorSe tor
lures and makes towards OF men and
how human nature is pretty much the
same today as in the time of Adam.
The text is Genesis iii, s, And Adam
and his wife hid themselves"
Where was the garden of Eden?"
is the theme of a never ending discus
sion. Some think its site was at the
north pole The site of the garden
does not. however, concern us so much
as the event which took place there.
Man was put on his trial in that gar
den, and he failed. The consequences
OF his disobedience have come down to
us, for all his descendants have been
deprived OF th blessings which would
have been the > had he obeyed God.
1 do not wondvr that the sterile region
around the north pole should have
seemed a fitting scene for the catas-
trophe. In the course OF the ages IL
may have been that the glory and fer
tility OF Eden may have been trans
formed into a region OF ice and snow.
Many have tried to penetrate 1t and
have failed
with her sword, who once stood at the
gate OF Eden, saying to the first an
cestors OF the human race, Thus far
shalt thou go and no farther" stands
today with the same warning message
for the children of the twentieth cen
fury. Her garments OF the white
''wings OF a dove covered with silver.
and her feathers with yellow gold"
have been changed for the long flowing
robes Of spotless snow. She Is perhaps
the same sentinel, although her ward
robe OF springtime has been thickened
into tina heavy togo OF winter. Instead
of swinging IN her hand a sword of
fire, she now holds in tight grip her
glittering blade OF ice.
site OF Garden of Eden.
Some think the garden OF Eden was
fragrant with the flowers Of a conti-
nent which once stretched between
the old world and the new. Explor-
ing parties have gone forth and have
claimed that they have located with
their sounding lines the lost Atlantis.
They assert that the islands of the
New Hebrides are only the highest
mountain peaks of that famous CONT
and enguifed by earthquake. Some
claim that the garden of Eden was
in Persia, others that 1T was watered
by the ondowings OF the mighty Nile.
others that. II was I'm India and still
others that IL was In central China.
But here today, in the words OF my
text. we are not concerned with the
site OF the garden OF Eden, but with
the conduct OF our first parents after
they had sinned. No sooner hnd Adam
and his wife eaten of the forbidden
fruit than they hid themselves, as
frightened hares hide themselves in
the Jungles OF the forests from the
baying hounds. The voice OF God call
ing them 20 confession OF their sin was
a summons to Judgment which they
would have evaded IL they had been
able.
Our first parents hid themselves aft
er they had sinned. That is always
the impulse OF the conscious sinner.
He shrinks from meeting the God
whom he has offended. A famous
writer once declared. The sins OF the
garden OF Eden are as old as the dawn
OF creation. yet. like the rising sun,
each day they are ever fresh and have
new applications for each changing
hour"
What we first want 10 DO is TO find
out how Adam and Eve sulked away
into the Edenic jungles to hide them
selves after they had eaten of the fruit
OF the forbidden tree, then to ask
whether living men and women are
not now acting I'm the same way In
trying 10 conceal themselves in similar
hiding places. want TO show them
how vain are such attempts at con-
cealment from the omniscient eye OF
God and by the help of the Holy Spirit
TO WOO them from their retreats and
lead them TO bend in humble contrition
at the foot OF the cross.
Application OF the Text.
Modern application the first. We find
Adam and Eve hiding away from God
in the garden OF Eden when we see
men and women stunning the faces OF
those whom they have wronged. We
lind the Satanic retreat of the first par
adise in the skulklng feet and the
nverted gaze and the conspicuous abb
sence OF those who after they have in
1nred brother flee his presence even
as the prodsgal son when he desired to
do wrong planned TO take his goods
and leave his fathers house and go
into the far country where he would
not be in the presence of his parents,
whose hearts the maynard boy was
breaking. 1t Is n peculiar but incon-
trovertible fact that sin, no matter
whether spasmodic or habitual, pro-
duces sense OF humiliation and deg
radiation I'm the presence of its victims
whom IL has deceived or injured. Thus
Herod. the tetrarch, although he was
n great Roman governor, trembled
when he thought the heheaded John
the Baptist was risen from the dead.
Remorse u a terrible castigator. She
has In her hand the grip OF an I'M
breakable steel wise. She yields a
whip which has thousand lashes
Each revolution OF her avenging arm
fetches the hearts blood a thousand
times. Even under the very brightest
OF conditions remorse Is a merciless
and an impiacable torturer. onc,,
asked an old soldier this question.
captain, did you ever kill a man In
she CIVIL war;" AT once his eyes took
sn faraway look. Then he SLOWLY
ana regretfuily answered me: st have
asked myself that same question a
Thousand times. but have never
dared answer ii, even to myself.
know. however, that some OF our COM
pany's rifles must have killed some
soldiers during the civil war. know.
furthermore, that when was q young
man i was crack shot When as a
boy went hunting, never used a
shotgun, but always rife 1 could
as easily hit flying bird or a leapin9
Jack rabbit with one ball as could
put four out of every five rife shots
into the bulls eye OF a target. / fur
thermore knew that there were certain
battles In which we could see the
whites OF the enemy's eyes. was one
OF the best Of sharpshooters. But 1
never knew absolutely whether killed