Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-02-09
CalrnaSe
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talma6e, D. D.

Los Angeles. Cal, Feb. 5.--That God
has a purpose and design IN permit.
ting trouble and sorrow to continue In
the world is claimed by the preacher in
this sermon on the mysteries Of life
text, Genesis Xviii, ID. Ella anything toe
hard for the I.ord?"
God IL a spirit, INFINITE eternal and
unchangeablc in his being, wisdom,
power, holiness, justice. goodness and
truth" This Is the definition Of God
found in the Westminster Shorter Cate
chism. No man or body of men could
give complete definition Of all that
God is. His nature transcends all hu.
man conception. Language fails In
the attempt to describe his infinite per.
lection. Strive as we may, we renlixe
that ne is far beyond all that we can
think or imagine. Probably no one has
framed an uttcrance that comes so near
| to the truth as this Of the Westmin-
ster divines. and, though ii is confess
eddy inadequate, II stands unparalleled
in the struggle to reach the unattain.
able.
1t is a strange story that IL told OF
its origin. The convocati ton Of the West
minsterdivines was dra wing to its close.
For nearly six long years. since July
!. 1913, they had been meeting almost
daily in the famous hall Of Westmin-
ster which now bears their name
They had organized for the church a
directory Of public worship" and had
almost finished the larger and the
shorter catechisms. Their work was
practically finished with but one excep
ton. They could not frame a defln.
ton which would clearly, cOmprehen
sively and completely answer the ques-
ton. What is God?" At last, in the
midst Of heated debate, a young man
who was comparatively an obscure
member arose and said, Let us pray"
Then he commenced his prayer in these
simple words 20 God. thou who art
n spirit. infinite. eternal and unchange-
able in thy being, wisdom, power, holt
ness. justice, goodness and truth, teach
us what thou art.' with that" so
says tradition, "all the members Of the
Westminster convocation leaped 10
their feet. crying: That is our defluition
Of what is God. 1t is an inspiration
from his throne" SO it was inserted
in the catechism as the best and fullest
definition that could be made Of the
Being whose attributes are beyond
human know ledge.
Hard TO Comprehend.
Many profess to believe that God is
omnipotent. omnipresent and omnis-
cient. yet 1t is awfully hard for us in
truth to comprehend this. We say,
lie can do all things" But when
some one begins to pin our faith down
to practical illustration Of "Can God
do tliis:" we say, like Nicodemus.
How can these things beY' We need
constantly to remember that there are
no limitations to the divine power and
that oil that he has promised he is
abnndantly able to perform. When
we see some gigantic evil that needs
to be removed: when we think Of some
benefit that seems necessary to the
world, our hearts often sink in despa ir
as we regard it as impossible Then
new courage and new hope ought to fill
our minds as we reflect on the omnipo.
tence Of the God in whom we trust and
TO say with the angel who talked with
Abraham's wife, rs anything too hard
for the Lord:" 4 great food OF in
spired light now fills your soul. You
answer: No. no; nothing Is impossible
for God. God Is spirit. infinite. eter-
nal and Interchangeable in his being,
wisdom, power. holiness. justice good
ness and truth"
God is all powerful. all present and
all seeing. You grant 1t. Then
would invite you to consider the natu
raj influences OF your belief. We ask
ourselves why God Of unlimited pow.
or does not remove some Of the evils
that cause so much misery in the
world. We know not.
Easy would 1t be II God wished tc
take all poverty out Of the world. With
mere word he could create for every
man a palace in which to live. Will
n mere word he could place that palace
: In the midst Of garden. With mere
word he could have rainbows playing
hide and seek among the falling spring
ing. tumbling waters Of the fountains
of that garden. With mere word he
could have every mans table grooming
under the richest treasures OF orchards
and gardens and fields. He could fur
nish to each home the finest Of ward
robes and the most Respondent Of jew
els and the cOstliest of earthly treas
ures. The sheep upon thousand hill
all belong to God. The gold buried II
the darkest Of mines Is his. The pearls
glistening in the opened shells Of til,
oysters lying by the coral reefs amoni
the entangled gardens Of the seas
, are all his. Yet this abundant wealth
Is to be obtained by men only BY hare
labor. 1t IL his law that man shall
work for the riches that are provided
for him. God practically gives vi
nothing unless we are ready to worl
Tor it.
4 Fas Reaching Ce0msad0eAt.
The far reaching commandment which
; God spoke to Adam Of old he speaks Il
. us: "Cursed Ia the ground for thy sake
in sorrow shalt thou eat Of 1t all thu
days Of thy life; thorns and thistlel
shall 1t bring forth to thee. and tho,
! shalt eat the herb Of The field; in thu