Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-10-06
Calnnage
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee. D. D.

to undermine the Old established fOun-
dations OF faith and to revolutionize
the Christian Sabbath. this sermon
makes a vivid contrast OF tho old time
religion" and the new The text is
Psalm II, 3. "If the foundations be
destroyed, what can the righteous doY'
Emasculsting, depressing md BE-
numbing is the maxim propaga ted by
some lazy. nonprogressive people as
the rule Of thought and life; that
what was good enough for our ia
theirs should be good enough for U.s."
| would yield to no man in my rever-
ence for the memory OF the sainted
dead whose sacred dust lies in our
cemeteries. No flowers are there too
fragrant for tho family plots, no cpl
tapbs too eloquent or too reverent to
recount their virtues, nor, when the
family finances are adequate any
mausoleum too imposing to enshrlne
their remains. have always found
out when investigating that if son
does not respect the memory of a dead
mother ne will not respect the living
wife, who becomes the mother OF his
children.
We should hold sacred the dust OF
our dead. That il true, but we should
never build the hillock of the grave 50
high that 1t will dam back tho onward
flow OF the waters of knowledge
and change the river OF progress'
into the "stagnant pool OF ignorance
and sloth." When the past genera
tons did their work they did 1t well
for the time and the conditions in
which they lived, but the dead gen
erat!ons would not do as they did IN
the past II they were living now, We
would not cry halt to the forward
march" Of scientific investigation;
neither would we compel the church
OF the Lord Jesus Christ to mark
time" by the grave Of a Justin
Martyr. Calvin, O Wesley, a Luther,
q Knox, or biyouac with eternal som
nolence In the chambers Of a West
minister abbey, where the honored &c
clesiastics fathers gathered July /,
1913, and composed the Presbyterian
Confession Of Faith and our Longer
and Shorter Catechisms.
But though we would not consider
our ancestors infnllible in their opin-
Ions nor absolutely wise in their ways
OF living. yet, on the other hand. We
must grant that our ancestors knew q
great deal more than some of US are
willing TO give them credit for. Though
our forefathers lightning expresses
were only canal boats and stagecoacheS
and sailing boats, in which most of u
would be afraid TO cross Long Island
/ sound, let alone the Atlantic ocean, that
| is no reason why they did not know
/ how to develop Christian men and wo-
men as successfully as do We. Though
our ancestors for the most part had nc
books save that OF Bible, "Pil-
grims Progress" or Doddridge S
Rise and Progress OF Religion IL the
Soul" that IS no proof that they did
not know as much OF God and hold the
truth in its purity as thoroughly as dc
we who have access 20 such vast mod
ern libraries, and yet today we find q
spirit Of DISCRIMINATING iconoclasm
abroad. Mans profane hands are dig
ging up tho old foundations and de
stroying the old affairs and ridiculina
the old ways merely because they are
old ! would not have you bend the
knee before the hillock of an ancestral
grave AS though IT were shrine, but
/ would have you respect and not de
stroy it and use that hillock Of grave
as the stepping stone TO a higher
throne. The living may in some things
be right where their Christian ances
tors were wrong, yet We have only q
look around at the modern inuoy atiors
and observe the effect they have on the
community 10 be convinced that IN
some things our Christian ancestors
were right and the modern innovators
deplorably wrong.
Undermining the Foundations.
In the first place. | protest against
the iconoclasm which 10 undermining
the foundation stones OF our ancestra
Sabbath. It's decorators have beer
going up and down the length anc
breadth OF thu land asserting that re
igious worship can become ~ much
form OF dissipation as drink or over
eating or ovefeXercising can be. TheJ
make wrong application or oul
Lord words that the sabbath was
made for man. and not man for the
Sabbath" They affirm that It Is alb
surd for business man who has beer
MT hard work for at least six days Of
the week from 7 o'clock in the morn
ing sometimes until 10 or II or l.
O'Clock ut night 10 be compelled to ge
up on Sunday in time for an early
Sunday school, then 10 attend two
long church preaching services, an,
then perhaps to attend n Christian En-
deavor society besides.
They contend that Sunday should b
day OF rest and that what maj
needs upon the Sabbath day IS relnNa
ton. He should go to bed Haturda,
night after hot bath with his mtn(
perfectly at ease. Az he craw!s Int
bed he should DO able 10 say 10 him
self: Now, | can lie here Just as Ion,
as please II awake at Q O'Clock, al
right. II can sleep to u, better stu
Then after | awake | Will have cul
of coffee and roll brought 10 IN.
bedside, and Will ent little and thei
stay In bed for another hour, readin,
the newspaper Then after dinner
Will take my children out to one OF tn
public parks or down by the seasid
and get sun bath and view o