Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-02-09
Caln1age
sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee. d. d.

Los Angeles, Cal, Feb. AIN 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-
tirenlent and contemplation The text
is Galatians i. IL, but 1 went into
Arabia"
What to you is the most wonderful
country IN the world?' once asked an
Old traveller. without any Doubt" he
said, cit is Egypt" what, Egyptw /
exclaimed. "why Egypt was not to
me very absorbing" Then" said my
friend, you have never sailed up the
river Nile, You may have stopped a
few days at Cairo and perfunctorlIy
visited the pyramids. but you have ney-
er sailed up the river Nile and explored
the ruins OF Memphis and Assiout and
Abydos and Thebes. went to Egypt
expecting to stay there only a, few
days. 1 stayed three weeks. Iwish I
might have stayed there three years
And one OF my life's dreams Is to go
back to Egypt before / die and do as
did Georg Ebers when he wrote his
famous book, Picturesque Egypt" He
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 Egypt's 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-
scribed for me the journey up the Nile
he gave me description of q 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 n great sen of sand.
Along the valley OF the river Nile there
were the most luxuriant harvest fields
OF the world, but as soon as he turned
his back upon that river he 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 its strong branch and beckon-
Ing, Come, traveller, and lie under nv
shadow" Not one bird was cooling
his parched throat by some running
brook to 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 prairies 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
a lizard or jackal came in sight.
Not ny or mosquito buzzed about
his eyes. Not n buzzard's wing was
seen afioat 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
Gamers feet as they sank into the aw.
ful. the appalling, the endless sand.
A Dreary WASTE.
What the Sahara desert is to north
ern Africa the Arabian desert is TO
southwestern Asia. Like the Sahara.
with Its luxuriant valley of the river
Nile, Arabia has its GASES. Its places
where vegetable life can grow. But
Tor the most part Arabia Is n weary
waste OF sand. If you would like n
fuli description OF 1t read about Arabia
In Lew Wallace's prince of India.n
There Is found as wonderful n niece of
word painting in reference to it's sands
and Its endless silence as the Indiana
author gave in his famous chariot race
OF Ben-Hur. But not alone to Lew
Waliace do we have to so to find a de-
scription OF its loneliness. The Greeks
and Romans used to say, "All Arabia
In divided into three parts-Arabia Pc
trae, or the stony part; Arabia Deserta.
or the desert part, and Arabia Felix.
or the happy part But where the
stony part eads 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 I up to Jerusalem to
them which Were apostles before me.
but 1 went into Arabia" he practically.
meant this: Instead OF going at once
into great city as soon as 1 was con-
verted l departed into q desert place.
i went off 20 be alone with Christ.
tarried for three long years in Arabia
In order to fit 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 spiritual Arabian har-
vest field to the children of God.
The Arabian desert, in the first place.
meant for Paul a theological education.
1t meant thlrty-six long months, when
he did little but study the science of
coos relation to the world. 1t meant
weeks and weeks and weeks of read
ing Scripture and of saturating him.
self with the history OF Jesus Christ's
life. 1t meant Paul living over again
his past scholastic life and interpreting
his studies from new spiritual stand
point, and this for man of PauPs
mental caliber was no short or lisht
task.
The stronger man is mentally the
Wider Is the range Of his spiritual hori-
Eon: the more man natures the more
he Is DESTROYS 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
people. Here is young boy thinking
only or the dinner he will eat at the
aext stop and Indifferent to the mech.
anism or the locomotive that is draw.
ing the train. Here is an ignorant man