The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1904-11-04
THE GARDEN OF EDEN
Rev. Or. Talmage breaches on
the Scene Of Adams Fall.
The Weakness of Adam and Eve In
Trying TO Shirk Responsibility
For Their sin-AppIIca-
tiOn of Text.

~NAAaNa NAAN AANANhtA 1A0NN hON OAAN Oh
breeds other sins. how remorse tor
lures and makes towards Of men and
how human nature is pretty much ths
same today as in the time OF Adam
The text is Genesis III, 8. "And Adam
and his wife hid themselves"
Where was the garden Of BdenT
Ia the theme Of a never ending discus
sion. Some think it's 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 bis descendants have been
deprived Of the blessings which would
have been theirs had he obeyed God
l do not wonder that the sterile region
around the north pole should have
seemed a fitting scene for the catas-
trOphs. In the course of the ages II
may have been that the glory and fer
tiity OF Eden may have been trans
formed into a region Of Ice and snow.
Many have tried to penetrate 1t and
have failed.
II seems as II the guardian angel,
with her sword, who once stood at the
gate OF Eden, saying to the first an
eestors OF the human race. Thus far
shalt thou 90 and no farther" stands
today with the same warning message
for the children OF the twentieth cen
tury. 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 springtlms has been thickened
into the heavy tOga Of winter Instead
OF swinging In her hand a sword OF
fire, she now holds in tight grip her
Elitterlng blade OF ice.
,ome Think the garden Of Eden was
fragrant with the flowers OF conti-
nent which once stretched between
the old world and the new. E1plor-
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 conu-
uent which was sunk by tidal wave
and engulfed by earthquake. Some
claim that the garden Of Eden was
In Persia, others that II was watered
by the onfOwings Of the mighty Nile.
others that IL was In India and still
others that II 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 had 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 to confession Of their sin was
a summons to judgment which they
would have evaded II they had been
able.
Our nrst 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 TO do is to find
out how Adam and Eve sulked away
into the Edenic tungles 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 in the same way In
trying 10 conceal themselves In similar
hiding places. / want to show them
how vain are such attempts at con-
ceaiment from the omDiscient 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 erOss.
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
find the Satanic retreat OF tAe FIRST par
adise In the skulking feet and the
averted gaze and the conspicuous abb
sence Of those who after they have In
tured q brother fee his presence even
as the prodlgal 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 he In the presence Of his parents,
whose hearts the wayward boy was
breaking. II Is peculiar but inc0n-
trovertibls fact that sin, no matter
whether spasmodic or habitual, pro
duces q sense OF humiliation and deg
radiation In the presence Of its victims
whom Il has deceived or injured. Thus
Herod, the tetrsrch. although he was
a great Roman governor, trsmbled
when be thought the beheaded John
the Baptist was risen from the dead.
Remorse IL a terrible castigatOr. She
has In her hand the grip Of an un-
breakabls steel wise. She Yields a
whip which has a 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 implaeable torturer. l once
asked an old soldier this question:
Captain, did you aver Kill man in
the civil wNrr At once his eyes took
on a faraway look. Then he slowly
and regretfully answered me: Il have
asked myself that same question a