Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1906-02-10
CalnaSe
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmase. d. D.


a time for spiritual as we'll as physical
rest and recuperatiOn and that we are
made all the stronger and abler for the
battle OF life through the strength the
soul derives from such seasons OF re-
tirement and contemplation. The text
Is Galatians |, II, "But | went into
Arabia"
What to you Is the most wonderful
country in the world?" | once asked an
old traveller. "Without any doubt" he
said, 'it Is Egypt" "What, Egypt" l
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 perfunctorily
visited the pyramids, but you have new
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 few
days. | stayed three weeks. | wish l
might have stayed there three years.
And one OF my llfe'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 ana
months. He fitted up one of the 'tombs
of the kings for his study. He ate ana
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 vividly de
seribed for me the journey up the Nile
he gave me a description of trip ne
took into the Sahara desert. Mile aftel
mile he went until there was nothing
before him or on either side OF him ol
behind him but a great sea OF sand
| Along the valley OF the river Nile there
were the most luxuriant harvest held
| of the world, but as soon as he turned
bis back upon that river he found moth
ing but an apparently endless area o.
sand. Not one spear OF grass wal
| growing there. Not one tree was reach
ing out It's strong branch and beckon
Ing. "Come, traveller, and lie under IN!
shadow" Not one bird was coolini
his parched throat by some runnini
brook to sing another song. Not on
farmhouse or one village greeted Ill
vision. There were mountains OF sano
s;x.sxTs of sand, plateaus OF sand, roll
ing prnlrles of sand. great heaying tlda
waves OF sand; nothing was there Du
sand. so completely devoid OF all liz
was this region Of sand that not eve
a lizard or a jackal came In sigh
Not a fly or a mosquito buzzed abou
his eyes. Not a buzZard's wing wa
seen afioat In the heavens of blu'
| There was not the rustic Of one lea
/ or the swapping Of one twig. The onl
sound heard was the pottering OF ri
eamel's feet as they sank into the aV
fuL the appalling, the endless sand.
L. ADreary Waste.
What the Sahara desert is to mort
ern Africa the Arabian desert is
southwestern Asia. Like the Sahar
with Its iuxuriAnt valley Of the rive
| Nile. Arabia has its GASES, Its place
where vegetable life can grow. 81
| for the most part Arabia Is a weal
waste of sand. II you would like
full description Of it read about Arab
in Lew Wallaces prince Of India
There Is found as wonderful piece
! word painting In reference to Its sane
and its endless silence as the lndlai
4 author gave in his famous chariot ra
Of Ben-Hur. But not alone 10 lie
Wallace do we have to go to find a q
I scriptioa Of its loneliness. The Gree
Nand Romans used to say, "All ARAB
"a divided into three parts-Arabia /
trae. or the stony part; Arabia Desert
or the desert part, and Arabia Fell
or the happy part" But where I
stony part ends and the desert pa
begins is very hard to distingulS
| while the happy part Is OF very sm'
area so small that for the most pa
Arabia is inhabited only by wanderl
nomad Bedouin tribes. Thus WI
Paul wrote the words OF my te'
Neither went / up to Jerusalem
them which were apostles before u
but went into Arabia" he practlca
| meant this: "InsteAd Of going at Oh
b. ! into a great city as soon as was &C
| verted / departed into a desert pla
III went off to be alone with CHRIST
). tarried for three long years IN Aral
! in order to flt myself spiritually Tor
work God was to give me to do. In
wont I ND to Jerusalem to see re
and abode with him fifteen days.
We all ought to have our sacred a
bins. We should ever and anon u
our backs upon the world ana na
our ouiet communion with Christ. WI
is a desert Of sand to many nun
eve may be a spiritual Arabian u
vest field to the Ghlldren Of God
= The Arabian desert in the first pia
meant for Paul theological educatl
It meant thirty-siK long months' WI
he did little but study ths science
Gods relation to the world. 1t mel
weeks and weeks and weeks OF re
ing Scripture and Of saturatlng D.
self with the history Of Jesus Chf''
life. 1t meant Paul living over ag
ths past scholastic life and interpret
his studies from a new spiritual sta
point. and this for man OF Pa'
mental caliber was no short or III
task.
The stronger man Is mentally
wider is the range Of his spiritual d
eOns the more a man natures the III
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