Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-08-10
CalmaQe
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmsse. ID. ID.

sermon the preacher shows that I'm
order to make ones life work or real
value TO the world and humanity the
foundations OF character must be laid
deep and true. The text is Matthew
VII. %. And the rain descended and
the foods came. and tho winds blew.
and beat upon that house. aud 10 fell
and great was the fall Of IT,"
The reason the Bible ts pot as plain
and interesting tn some people as II
might be IN because they do not uu-
6erstsnd the geographical and geolog--
zeal and meteorological conditions OF
the Holy Land. In order 10 intslllgently
follow the earthly footsteps OF the
Man OF Galilee" the tourist should not
be content with cursory or superb
ciaf examination. lie should study
the meteorolosy OF Palestine TO the
last detail. He should not only study
the tornadoes and hurricanes and
thunderstorms which unsheatb their
swords OF destruction and tumble
down upon the earth huge masses or
water when the windows OF the
heavens are opened by great cloud
bursts. but he should also study the
freshets and those movable sands
mixed with water. commonly called
"quicksands," and the sllpootns, or
siroccos, sweeping over lts nearby
deserts. where there Is but little Inois-
ture in the furnace heated air. for the
atmosphere OF Palestine would not be
what II is IL the Arabian desert was
not on its border. All these meteoro-
logical studies will clarity the lessons
Of Of Nhrl.tfS Nd ufv
an added meaning to some OF the
strange, weird oriental customs OF
the Hebrew race
1t Is said that General Lew Wallace
wrote his great religious masterpiece
'Ben-Hur," before be as a tourist had
ever seen Jerusalem. But though Lew
Wallace might have evolved true idea
OF the Holy Land out OF books. I am
frank to confess that with oil my theo-
logical studies l never knew what the
Holy Land was like until I set foot ip
those sacred valleys and saw with my
own eyes those ballowed hills. ] en-
pectcd 10 end Palestine almost trop-
ical land. ] expected TO bnd Its hills
covered with dense forests, its valleys
dotted with farms, its bees turning
every mound into honeycomb. all it's
vineyards growing huge grapes OF Es-
chol and its flowers crowding every
nook and corner OF the soil. Now, what
did 1 find? 1 found the Holy Land
nothing more or less than parallel OF
southern California with another name.
People who have been to Los Angeles
and ridden through San Diego county
can form an IDEA OF the Palestine hills.
Like Southern California.
The soils OF both lands are rich
enough IL you can only get water upon
them, but the trouble Is 10 get the wa
ter. Instead OF every two or three
weeks having a gentle rain or shower.
az we used TO have In the New Eng
land and the middle states, we have In
these two lands the dry and the rainy
seasons. When 1t Is dry IL Is awfuiiy
dry. Day In and day out, week In and
week out, month in and month out.
that dry weather will continue. Not
one drop OF water will fail from the
heavens during all that time. Literal
ly not one shower will come. Then the
grass wlthers. The soil becomes like
baked clay. The dust is everywhere.
But when the rainy season comes.
then. ia order 20 compensate for her
paucity or moisture. nature sends
storms In perfect dsluges. Every
canyon has Its raging torrent The
hilisides are cut Into deep gullles.
The water seems 10 be everywhere.
This fact Is due TO the geographical
conditions. because the waters cannot
hnd their drainage outlets as they do
in the voraurs covered hillsldss, OF the
east. No man. except the bravsst,
dare venture out of doorS when the
storms brsas< upon Los Angeles In the
rainy seasons. Tbs sewers viii he
choksd with water. Every street from
curb to curb will be a huge. rushing
river. The car lines win be block.
AIDED All traffic will come to a stand.
stu. Then the hllisldes and the val.
lsys will blossom ms the rose. n The
flowers and the rich grasses will spring
mp as IL by magic on every side No !.
New Yorker or New Euglander can
fully understand this atmospheric con-
dition unless he has been In Palestine
or In southern California. Thus you
must study the meteorological infiu-
ences OF Palestine before you try to
Interpret the parable OF my text
Christ Is not here saying, Every
one who heareth these sayings OF mine
and doeth them not shall be iiksned
unto foolish man who built his house
upon the sands in Pennsylvania or ia
Germany or In France, where IL will
rain two or three days every two or
three weeks In every season OF the
year and the water will be drained
quietly and quickly away" Christ Ia |
saying. Every one who hearetb these
sayings OF mine and deeth them moi Is
to ba liksned unto o foolish man who
builds his house op the sands at the
foot OF some Palestine canyon ip a dry
season" That dry season may cen
tinus months and sxsn. years. sbnt |
when the rainy season comes the del.
uss Will come.-~Tbent the hurrcaps
VIII beat upon that honas from above.
and the freshet VIII undermine that |
house from benes tn and. 1t will fail.
and great Will no the fall Of II. With |
these few words OF geographical spd |
atmospheric explanation let us now |
approach the parab bile little more In |
detail AID find therein prscticaI ~as- |
pei lessons for the work OF everyday
life. -.rs-..l-. s...,..-..,
His JudKmeor Just
The parable. ia the first place. proves
that God never takes snap Judgment |
npon any one. He Is not like the cruel |