Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-03-29
Ca(n,aSe
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee, ID. d.

Los Angeles, Cal, March 21.-In this
sermon the prca cher deals in homely.
familiar fashion with the pro.,lcm that
has confronted every generation since
the world began the training and de
velopment Of the child and shows in
new light the individual responsible.
ity Of parents. The text is II Kings iv,
20. rs it we'll with the child"
Some time ago it was my privilege to
spend day with dear friend. who
for many years was Utah mission
arg. In one Of his tours he became
lost. He stopped for the night at
farmers home away back in the noun
tains. Next morning this farmer said,
Come. ] want to show You wonder
full sight" Then he took my friend
and they rode off for many miles until
they came 10 n great lava bed about
two miles wide and -four or FIVE feet
hi.h. This lava must have begun vom-
iting forth from a volcano hundreds If
not thousands of years ago. There
upon the top Of this lava bed were to
be seen the footprints Of n woman aud
Just belind them the footprints Of n
little child. Nv friend told me he be
lieyed that those footprints mist have
been made when that lava was in
process of cooling. They must have
been made by a woman Of the mound
building period or of one OF the otiler
prehistoric E.. And vet those in.
donations in that lava We're just az
clear and diStiur, az though made but
Yesterday. After my friend had ceased
talking | said to myself: yes, that is
wonderful record. hui perhaps We
mGht see the habits and customs of
some Of th0s" prehistoric ages repro.
duced in or own lives il we could only
trace them ont. Because We do not
know from whence our habits Grigiuat-
ed. that does not prove they have not
been handed down from father 10 son
even unto the torth generation. as the
Bible tells ne is The case with the con
sequences of Il mans sins"
We often say to ourselves. How sur
priscd our grandf1thers and grand
mothers would hc If they could awake
and get up out of their graves and SO"
the modern inventions tho automobiles
and railroad trains ana telegraph and
telephone wires aud Skyscraping office
buildiLGS.' Hut ! often think how sur
prscd We might he if our great grand
parents could come back 10 earth and
tell us how many Of the customs of our
present lives were praCticed many cen
turtles ago rr. Schicnann. the great
German archacologist and the discov-
ercr Of the ancient site of Troy. was
such n devotec Of the past that be gave
his wife a Homeric name and ca lied his
servants by the nomenclature of the
heroes and heroines Of the "Odysscy'
and he "Ilaid." He also called his chill
, drcn AgamemnOn and Andronachc.
But mc'hinkS if Hector and Achilles
| and y lax and Helen and Paris could
come back 10 the world in the flesh
they would have been lust as much sur
prised at the ways of Dr. Schliemann
as Or. Schliemann would have been
surprised at their ways. For in many
matters thcir customs were tho same.
In the ways of saiutation. in their loves
and their hates and in many Of their
! habits | believe that the year 1jOG
/ Il. &. can lie found to lac akin to the
| year 1906 4. y.
/ ] speak thus because ] want you 10
realize that the human life depicted in
the Bible is Just the same kind of hlI-
man life that we have in modern times
When We Study the life of Elisha in
800 Il. C.. we are studying the lives OF
I the men and tn" women of the present
/ day. Now. this ShrIammite woman Of
my text had a very sick boy. and he
died. What did the mother do? What
would You and have done under the
same conditiouSE She said. IL will &C
and hunt w The prophet Of God
| When she came TO Elisha. what did he
! do: For years this prophet when Inc
was journeying that way had been ac
customed to stop at this woman house
and sup with her, her husband and her
boy. Thus. when the Shunammite wo
man drew near Elisha accostcd her in
the language Of the twentieth century
as well as in that of the millenniums
which are gone. Elisha says: How ar,
you? How is your husband? How is
your child To speak literally he said
"lS it we'll with thee? Is it we'll with
| thy husband: Is it we'll with the
child" Now. am going to accost YOU
with only one OF the questions with
which Elisha greeted this mother.
am going to inquire from YOU as TO The
welfare OF your babies. of the boys ant
the girls. We are both parents, and So
in this home greeting | say: How
is It with the children? Is it well Will
the child" Are you ready here ant
now to answer this important saluta
ton?
How Ia the ChiIdf
How is the child physically? Is /
! well with his lungs and heart anc
stomach? Is he growing Alright? !!
lie taking enough exercise? Is he eat
ing the proper Kind of food: This Il
not a superfluous question. This is thu
Shunammite woman. This is the ques
ton which every father and mothc
should be able to answer intclligently
The picture of every true, loving par
cnt ought to bc that which | saw in al
advertisement some years ago. Tier,
in crib lay a beautiful child. Tn,
cheek was acIow. The eyes wer,
laughing. The lips were parted a.
though he was cooling with joy. Ant
over him bent the sweet face of n low
ing mother, while under this pictur,
were the words, "A mothers love goe