The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1906-03-23
GOING INTO ARABIA
Rev. Or. Talmage Preaches on
Paul In the Desert.
season lie spent In Solitude
and In PrnyerfuI
Meditation.
Copyright. 1905. by Louis Klopschl

Copyright. 1905 by Louis Klopsch.l
LOS ANGELES. Cal. Feb. Am this
sermon the preacher shows that there is
time for spiritual as well AS physical
rest and recuperation and that we are
made all the stronger and ADLER for the
battle Of life through the strength the
soul derives from such seasons Of re-
tlrement and contemplation. The text
is Galatians I. II, But l went into
Arabia"
What to you is the most wonderful
country in the wOrldf" once asked an
old traveller Without any doubt" he
said. "it IS Egypt" What, Egypt" I
exclaimed. why Egypt was not TO
mo very absorbing" Then" said my
friend. you have never sailed up the
river Nile. You may have stopped a
few days at Cairo and perfunctorily
visited the pyramids, but you have new
er sailed up the river Nile and explored
the ruins OF Memphis and Asslout and
Abydos and Thebes / went 10 Egypt
expecting 10 stay there only a few
days. stayed three weeks. l wish
might have stayed there three years.
And one OF my life's dreams is TO go
back to Egypt before l die and do as
did Georg Ebers when be wrote his
famous book. Picturesque Egypt" lie
not only Travelled through the country,
but he lived there for months and
months. He fitted up one Of the tombs
Of the kings for his study. He ate and
slept and breathed there the atmos-
phere Of Egypts historic past by dwell
ing there as Tissot studied the life Of
Christ by going and dwelling for years
among the natives Of Palestine"
Then after my friend had wildly de-
scrlbed for me the Journey up the Nile
he gave me a description Of a trip he
took into the Sahara desert. Mile after
mile he went until there was nothing
before him or on either side of him or
behind him but a great sea OF sand.
Along the valley Of the river Nile there
were the most luXuriant harvest fields
Of the world, but as soon as be turned
his back upon that river be found moth
ing but an apparently endless area Of
sand. Not one spear Of grass was
growing there. Not one tree was reach
ing out ifs strong branch and beckon-
Ing. Come, traveller, and lie under my
shadow" Not one bird was cooling
his parched throat by some running
brook 10 sing another song. Not one
farmhouse or one village greeted his
vision There were mountains Of sand.
valleys Of sand, plateaus Of sand, roll
ing prslries Of sand, great heaving tidal
waves Of sand; nothing was there but
sand. So completely devoid Of all life
was this region Of sand that not even
lizard or a jackal came In sight
Not a fy or a mosquito buzzed about
his eyes. Not a buZzard's wing was
seen afloat In the heavens Of blue
There was not the rustic Of one leaf
or the swapping Of one twig. The only
sound heard was the pattering Of his
csmels feet as they sank into the aw-
full the appalling the endless sand.
What the Sahara desert Is TO north
ern Africa the Arabian desert is to
southwestern Asia. Like the Sahara.
with its luKuriant valley Of the river
Nile, Arabia has its oases, It's places
whore vegetable life can grow. But
for the most part Arabia Is a weary
waste Of sand. II you would like
full description OF II read about Arabia
i'm Lew Wallace's prince OF India"
There Is found as wonderful piece Of
word painting In reference 10 its sands
and its endless silence as the Indiana
author gave In bis famous chariot race
OF Ben-Hur. But not alone TO Lew
Wallace do we have to 60 TO find a de-
scription Of its loneliness. The Greeks
and Romans used to say, "All Arabia
is divided into three parts-Arabia Pc
trae. or the stony part; Arabia Deserta
OF the desert part, and Arabia Felix
or the happy part" But where the
stony part ends and the desert part
begins IS very hard to distinguish,
while the happy part is Of very small
area so small that for the most part
Arabia Is inhabited only by wandering
nomad Bedouin tribes. Thus when
Paul wrote the words of my text,
Neither went l up to Jerusalem TO
them which were apostles before me-
but went into Arabia" he practically
meant this: Instead Of going at once
into a great city as soon as / was con
verted l departed into a desert place
1 went of to be alone with Christ.
tarried for three long years in Arabia
in order to At myself spiritually for the
work God was to give me to do. Then
went up to Jerusalem TO see Peter
and abode with him fifteen days"
We all ought TO have our sacred Ara
bias. We should ever and anon turn
our backs upon the world and have
our quiet communion with Christ. What
is desert Of sand TO many a human
eye may be a spiritual Arabian har
vest field to the children OF God.
The Arabian desert, In the first place,
meant for Paul a theological education.
II meant thirty-siI long months, when
be did little but study the science Of
Gods relation to the world. II meant
weeks and weeks and weeks Of read
ing Scripture and Of saturating him
self with the history Of Jesus Christs
life. II meant Paul living over again
his past scholastic life and interpreting
his studies from a new spiritual stand
point and this for a man Of Pauls
mental callber was no short or light
task.
The stronger a man Is mentally the
wider is the range Of his spiritual hori-
zon: the more a man natures the more
he Is desirous Of probing into the eau
sation Of things In every way. Let me
illustrate this thought IN a simple
form: The great railroad train is start
ing across the continent. Its dozen OF
coaches are filed with all classes OF
l. - - L.