Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-06-28
CalnnaSe
Sermon
by Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee, d. D.

sermon the preacher shows how even
the bttcrest trials and sorrows of our
lives may be transformed into bless
ings. Tho text Is Exodus XIV, % "And
the Lord showed him a tree, which
when lie 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
lcys and hills, lowlands and heights.
broad pastures and undulating praires
rich Esdraelon plains and Bad Lands
of the Dakotas. 1t has IIimalayas of
inspirat ton. where we see the face Of
Jesus Christ TRANSPORTED before our
eyes. and valleys of Despond. 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
in danger of tumbling over the steep.
est prccipices of sin. This despicable
Characteristic of the human heart is
not only true of individuals MS it was
in the life Of Peter when he denied
Christ thrice. but it is also true of the
spiritual conditions of communities.
A tidal wave of skepticism can sub
merge n nation and Il people rs an In
dividual can be sucked into the quick
sands of a spiritual death.
Some time ago | read Il graphic ac-
count of an English tourist ascending
4 Ice, Ion ~ II
and his party We're climbing, they
passed through a beautiful village
where life in all its rustic simplicity
was smiling before their eyes Hardly
had they left this little village and gone
few miles beyond. when one of the
guides cried out Look, Look, Look!
Soc the avalanche breaking loose" The
| Englishman looked, and saw n great
mass of snow about three miles in
width tearing away from its anchor
! ages With deep intonations. which
sounded the death kncll not only of
| cattle and sheep and horses and goats.
! but of men. women and children, it
came tumblng down. In its wild plunge
| it literally swept away all vcstige Of
! life and pushed houses and barns and
/ schoolhouscs 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 avalanches,
| there are spiritual catastrophcs which
sweep whole communities off their feet.
In the Third Heaven.
The darkest of clouds as black cur
tnins may be drawn over the bluest Of
skies; the bittercst wailings of skepti-
csm and doubt may reverberate as
dolorous echoes 10 the most gladstone
shouts Of gospel praise and thanksgiv-
ing. 1t was only three days ago that
we find the Israeltes so happy that
their spiritual gratitude makes them
almost beside themselves with JOY. In
their holy elation and thanlfulness to
God for their deliverance from the pur-
suing Egyptians they were like Paul.
who described his past spiritual joys
in these words: Il knew man in
Christ about fourteen years ago. wheth-
er in the body or whether out Of the
body I cannot tell God knoweth.
Such one caught up TO the third
heaven" Yes. the Hebrew people We're
in the third heaven only three days
ago. They were so happy in their re-
cent liberation from scrfdom 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: I wilksing I'M
to the Lord for he hath triunphed 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
I will prepare him n habitaton. My
fathers God and will cxalt him"
But hardly had this song died away
when the people began to murmur and
dcnounce God. They said: "Whnt are
we going to drink? Here We are in the
desert now forty-eght hours, and there
is no water but these bitter waters Of
Marah. Why didst thou not let us stay
in Egypt rather than bring us out into
this wilderness Of sand TO die Of
thirst Then God showed Moses a
tree, and 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 orr 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 he when God has
provided a means OF swcotcnng them.
MirnGcs of the Desert.
First, let us talk about the bitter wa
tcrs 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 We're 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 rs future men
and women we always painted for our.
selves beautiful mirages in every des-
ert We could see ourselves in mag
ination as artists sitting before an
easel, or ms surgeons standing by some