Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-11-01
CalnnaSe
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee. d. d.

sermon the preacher shows the folly Of
trusting in Il continuance of material
blessings as a means of happiness.
The text Is Proverbs xvii, 1, Boast
not myself OF tomorrow, for thou
knowest not what a day may bring
forth"
One Of the most impressive pictures
have ever seen was one entitled 1.-THE
Journey of Life" 1t depicted row.
boat being pulled out to a ship In the
o1ing. A large family with their
household goods were In the boat. In
the stern were the gray haired grand
father and grandmother. Like the
great picture Of Napoleon leaving
France. these two old folks were ear
nestly scanning the receding shore.
Their lives were nearly ended, and
their thoughts were in the past. They
were living entirely in the sweet men,
cries of the days that were gone. At
the feet of the old folks their grand
children were playing with their toys.
Like two little kittens. they did not
seem to care what was happening.
Their thought world had not yet been
entered Just beyond two young low
ers were plighting their troth. They
were walking for a little while in the
cloudlands. They were slipping for a
short time the sweet nectar from the
flowers which bloom only for n day
during the mating of the birds. But
ut the prov of the boat stood the
strong man of the world. with his wife
by his side. His eye had an eagle
glance. His brow rested on his hand.
He seemed to he looking into the dim
future, at his home which was yet to
be built in foreign land at the vision
airy fields which were vet to be titled
and at the fortune which he was yet
to make The picture was suggestive
to my mind OF that momentous jour
ney which we call the voyage Of life.
Not all OF us reach the stage typified
by the grandparents. Some come to
the end Of the Journey in the period OF
childhood, some In youth, some in ma
ture life. It is very uncertain. but 1t is
we'll in our early years if we plan care
fully for the future instead of spending
the time in idle dreaming or in pleas
ure. The foundations Of our career
are laid earlier than some of us i'm
ngine and, whether that career be long
or short, those foundations should be
laid well.
These plans are very different from
the presumptuous Boosting condemned
in my text. Here King Solomon de-
scribes the lazy man, the indolent man,
the procrastnating man, the man who
| is giving free license to his evil pas
sions, the man who is binding his eyes
! to all the magnificent opportunities of
the glorious present as no says to him
self: II know l am not doing as
ought to do. But what is the differ
ence? Rome was not built in a day.
A life is not spanned by the short
bridge of twenty-four hours. This day
will eat and drink and be merry,
and tomorrow | will do as l ought to
do" "Ah," says the great king. today
is thine. This coming twilight may
be thy last eventide. Perhaps the
moon which will arise tonight will
shine through the open window and
touch thine ashen cheek as the at
PENDANTS are preparing thy body for
the burial. Tomorrow may come to
thy neighbor, but this day may usher
in for thee an endless and unchanging
eternity" Let me read for you again
the sentence. Boast not thyself Of to-
morrow, for thou knowest not what q
day may bring forth"
A Timely Warming.
| These words are timely warning to
those who are slowly, yet surely, al
lowing the fatal coils of an evil habit
to intwine about them - timely be-
cause these poor deluded victims seem
to be going to their destruction with
wide open eyes, as an OK to the slaugh-
ter. But somehow they feel that, no
matter how deep their feet may be
sinking into the quicksands or how
thick the Shiny seaweeds may be wrap
ping themselves about the swimmer
body, yet they can come safe to land
and break loose from their evil habits
whenever they will. Now. my friend,
/ would tell you that an evil habit in
stead of growing weaker with age
grows stronger. If an evil habit has
you in tight clutch today it will have
you in tighter wise tomorrow. 1t Is
! folly for man to say, II will break
away from this evil habit tomorrow"
II you cannot break away from that
evil habit today you cannot tomorrow.
If you are not willing to break away
from an evil habit today. IN all proba-
bility you will be weaker still tomor-
row. The law of the increasing moral
weakness of the wrongdoer and the
increasing strength of an evil habit is
irrevocablc.
Habits Like Quicksands
A man becomes more and more help
less in the grip of an evil habit, Just
as in the clutch Of the quicksand. I
mn glad l used that illustration. II is
one that you will feel If you have ever
been caught in those treacherous
depths. remember some time ago
when driving through the western
country we came to rather wide
creek. l was about to drive through
\ when the gentleman with whom I
was riding said. "Wait; let me test It."
He took off his shoes and stockings
and started for the other side. Come
on he cried. st is shallow all
through" / shook the rens as a signal
to the horse, and he started, He went
| ONLY few stems and then stonnad