Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-06-29
Caln1age
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Taimaae. d. D.

sermon the preacher shows how even /
the bitterest trials and sorrows OF our
lives may be transformed into bless
ings. The text is Exodus XIV, %, "And
the Lord Showed him a tree, which
when he had cast into the water, the
waters were made sweet"
Human nature may be aptly compar-
cd to the earth's surface. 1t was val |
legs and hills. lowlands and heights. |
broad pastures and undulating prairies,
rich Esdraelon plains and Bad Lands |
of the Dakotas. 1t has Himalayas OF |
inspiration, where we see the face OF |
Jesus Christ transfgured before our
eyes. and valleys OF pespond. in which |
the sunshine OF hope never enters. even |
as the daylight cannot penetrate the |
catacombs underneath ancient Rome. |
Yet. strange to say, when we are |
standing upon the highest pinnacles OF |
spiritual inspiration then we are often |
ia danger of tumbling over the steep |
est precipices of sin. This despicable |
characteristic of the human heart IL |
not only true OF individuals as IL was |
I'm the life OF Peter when he denied |
Christ thrice but it Is also true OF the |
spiritual conditions OF communities. |
A tidal wave of skepticlsm can sub |
merge nation-and a people as AN In |
dividual can be sucked into the quick |
sands of n spiritual death.
Some time ago / read a graphic ac-
count of an English tourist ascending
the Swiss attitudes. AS this gentleman
and his party were climbing. they
passed through beautiful village
xx-la 70 I'm, rfx 1;&
was smiling before their eyes. Hardly
had they left this little village and gone
a few miles beyond, when one OF the
guides cried out: Look, Look! Look,
See the avalanche breaking looser' The
Englishman looked, and saw a great
mass of snow about three miles In
width tearing away from its anchor
ages. With deep intonations. which
sounded the death knell not only OF
cattle and sheep and horses and goats,
but OF men. women and children, it
came tumbling down. In its wild plunge.
it literally swept away all yestige Of
life, and pushed houses and barns and
schoolhouses and churches and trees
and fences and crops into the canyon
below. Nothing was. left in the path
way Of that onrushing snow but the
bare rocks. Like those avaianches,
there are spiritual catastrophes which
sweep whole communities Off their feet
In the Third Heaven.
The darkest OF clouds as black cur
tains may he drawn over the bluest OF
skies; the bitterest wailings of skepti-
cism and doubt may reverberate as
dolorous echoes to the most gladstone
Sh0ufs Of fraSral r,rofca ard xHo
Ing. 1t was only three days ago that
we find the Israelites so happy that
their spiritual gratitude makes them
almost beside themselves with Joy. In
their holy citation and thankfulness to
God for their deliverance from the pur-
suing Egyptians they were like Paul,
who described his past spiritual joys
in these words: 81 knew n man in
Christ about fourteen years ago, wheth-
er in the body or whether out OF the
body cannot tell God knoweth).
Such one caught up to the third
heaven" Yes, the Hebrew people were
I'm the third heaven only three days
ago They were so happy in their re-
cent liberation from serfdom that they
could not keep their feet still. let alone
their lips. ''Then sung Moses and the
children OF Israel this song unto the
Lord and spake. saying: will sing I'M
TO the Lord, for he hath triumphed glo-
riously- The horse and his rider hath
he thrown into the sea. The Lord IS
my strength and song, and he is be-
come my salvation, he is my God, and
j will prepare him habitation. My
fathers God and I will exalt him.
But hardly had this song died away
when the people began to murmur and
derounce God. They said: "what are
we going 60 drink? Here we are In the
desert now 9orty-eight hours. and there
is no water but these hitter waters OF
Marah. Why didst thou NOT let US stay
In Esyp& Iat6er than bring us out INTO
this wildefkSss IT sand TO dfe Fof
thirstr Then God showed Moses n
tree. ana the great lawgiver threw
this tree into the bitter waters OF Ma
rah. and at once they became sweet.
Wonderful story this. and yet this
history Is the biography OF our own
lives. We have all had our times OF
singing and dancing and praising God
upon the banks OF, the Red sea. Then
we have all had our sudden spiritual
reactions, when We have been In the
desert with no water to drink but the
bitter Marah. Indeed. many OF US are
standing and complaining at the bitter
waters even at the present time Now,
this ought not to be when God has
provided a means of sweetening them.
Mirages of the Desert.
First, let us talk about the bitter wa
tiers which are now flowing out OF the
desert places where once grew the lux
uriant Gases of the visions OF our early
childhood When we were boys and
girls sitting behind the schoolroom
desk we never pictured for ourselves
the prosaic conditions of being clerks
and farm hands and, book canvassers
and mechanics. and servants and ste-
nographers and nurses. But when we
thought Of ourselves as future men
and women wesalways painted for our
selves beautiful mIrages In every des-
ert. We could see ourselves in mag
ination as artists sitting before an
easel. or as surgeons standing by some
operating table. or as lawyers pleading
In some courtroom, or as astronomers
exploring the pathway of the stars.
But now instead Of being artists and
creating masterpieces to hang In the
French salon, we find ourselves COM
mon sign painters. Instead OF being
authors writing books, we find our.
selves as common printers, setting the
type, or as bookbinders putting other
mems books together. Instead of be-
Ing Catherine Booth or a. Frances
Havergal or a Miss Willard or a Ee INV