Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-03-15
Calr,1aSe
Sermon
by Rev.
Frank De Witt Talrnage. D. d.

Los Angeles. Cal. March 11-Pecul-
iar!y timely. in Wow of the great Jap
anesc famine. is this sermon. in which
the preacher shows how marvelously
God cares for those who trust in him.
The text is Kings xvii. Ia. The bar.
rel Of meal shall not waste, neither
shall the cruise Of oil fail
God grant that gauut. haggari,
parched skinned, death dealing fam
inc may never stalk through the streets
OF our fair cities. Dore's most vivid
conceptions of Dante's hell and Ho-
garth's most horrible caricaturcs of
dcgrada and vice ana Vassli We
roschaGn's most realistic scenes of
the blood soaked battleticlds Of the
Turkish and Russian wRr cannot COM
pare in horror with the terrible sights
that have been Witnessed when mad
dening famine gets in its work. Could
any paintings 30 more awful than the
simple photographs We sav Of men and
women and children hudded together
in sickcning groups who We're slowly
starving to death III the awful Indian
famines of 1897 and 1909? Could any
war be more fearful than the simple
statement which declares that in the
famous Bengal famine Of ITO out of
%O,0oO,000 of inhabitants 100000, or
one-third Of the whole population, were
dend within few months?
The same kind of fearful famine
that cursed Russia in the year 1882
that devastated Ireland in 1870 and
in 1916 and 1874. the same kind of q
famine AS that which destroyed two
thirds Of the inhabitants Of the Cape
Verde islands in 1890, the same kind
OF a famine which blasted northern
Africa during Joseph's premiership and
is now devastating the land Of Japan,
was depopulating Palestine. 20 God,
give liz rain" IS CRYING the rich man
in his palace. 80 God. give us rain"
cries the poor peasant in his hut. Give
lis rain Give us rain. or we die"
We're the universal pleadings. But no
rain came. On account of King Ahab's
sins God had decreed that no rain was
to descend upon Palestine hills and
valleys for three long years.
We leave the hills aud the valleys Of
the interior. We come down toward
the Medterranoan shore, 10 the beau.
tiful city Of Zarephath. situated near
to Tyre and Sidon. There we find the
desoation appalling. The horses cat,
tie and sheep died months ago. The
drought has already lasted two long
years. The cattle had no food to live
on. They had to die. The grass and
the wheat had long since disappeared
Men and women and children were dy.
ing by the scores and the hundreds.
Fever and scuryy We're every day add.
ing to the death list. The whole city
was becoming one great charnel house.
The fields where once grew the har.
vest were as hard as baked and crack
cd clay. As ! stand in Imagination
upon the outskirts Of the city. amid
these scenes of deSolation and death,
| see a humble woman, weak and tot
tering, ca thering Il few sticks to build
fire. Along comes tall, Gaunt. dig
nifed man. He looks like a born lead
err Of men. lie accosts the woman
something like this:
They Were Starving.
woman. | pray thee, hasten and
bring me drink She turns to do his
bidding. Then In matter OF fact way
this stranger says. Bring me- l pray
thee, a morsel Of bread in thine hand"
He practically says, when you 20 for
water bring little food too" The
woman, weak and lettering from star
walton, turns and looks at him in
amazement Then she speaks in this
wise: Man, what are you talking
about? Are you mad? We are starv-
Ing. We are dying. The dead in our
streets lie unburied. l have starved
and starved. have cut the daily sup
ply Of food down and down, until now
we are at the end. l have but hand
ful OF meal and little OIL | am going to
cook this for my son, and then We shall
both lie down and die" With that
Elijah the Tishbite said: woman, de
az say and God will take care of thee
For thus saith the Lord. The barrel of
meal shall not waste. neither shall the
cruise of oil fail, until the day the Lord
scndeth rain upon the face OF the
earth" Such is the simple story of how
God saved the poor widow and her son
during the Zarephath famine, because
she was willing to do what Gods
prophet commanded.
The Zarephath famine, in the first
place, teaches that the good and the In
:ocent must conformity suffer from the
evil results OF the deeds of the bad
Sir Walter SCOTS business partners
did wrong. The innocent 81 Walter