Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-12-12
CalnnaSe
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmace, d. d.

sermon the preacher shows that the
Babel builders of old, with their evil
ambition, were the prototypes of the
modern Babel builders, who pile up
material possessions in the vain hope
OF reaching imitless power and indie
pendence and regardless OF God. The
text is Genesis xl O. Therefore Is the
name Of it called Babel, because the
Lord did there confound the language
of all the earth"
Let us travel back in Imagination to
the age after the deluge. The ark
stranded upon the heights Of Mount
Ararat had been deserted. The deluge
of water had been carried away to
the seas The sheep, the horses and
the cattle had multiplied into great
herds and focks and were pasturing
redoent with the beautiful perfumes
of the trees. The foliage was the EN-
powered retreat where the sweet
throated songsters and their mates
were rearing their young. The blue
heavens were tapestried with clouds.
The earth was again yielding her in
crease, responsive to the labor OF man.
But, though man was multiplying and
building towns and villages, he could
not and would not forget the horrors
of the flood which had taken place over
century before So the descendants
Of Noah's sons decided that they would
provide for their safety IL such catas
trophe happened to them again. Thus
one day down in the land of Shinar
they entered into a great conspiracy
against God. Though God had saved
them in the past, they could not trust
, him now.
SO the people assembled together
and said: LET us build a tower so big
and strong that the mightiest floods
| cannot prevail against it. Let us build
1t so high that it will reach up to the
very heavens themselves. Then In the
future if any deluGe comes we can en-
ter this tower and climb higher and
higher as the waters surge up. Then
we can laugh at the elements which
are trying to destroy us" SO the peo
ple collected from Ear and near. They
organized themselves into n great army
/ OF workers. Some were heWerS oil
stone. Some drove the OK teams which
dragged the stones to the walls. Some
lifted the scaffolding. The great foun
dations were laid. The walls began tc
rise high above the plain. The sharT
commands OF the engineers, the ''yo
hcavcs'' of the men as they tuggoC
hard at the ropes the rasp of the saws
and the blows OF the hammers were
heard everywhere. But though the dir
and the racket of the builders wer,
great, there came day when tn,
shoutings, the VoCifcrations and tn,
yelings OF the work;nen became great
cr Voices of bitterness and blasphem.
seemed to rise higher and higher thai
the angry shrieks of tornado.
Became Pandemonium.
Have you ever noticed that when al
untutorcd man is talking to China
man, an Indian or Mexican who can
not understand him he generally shout
at him: When ! meet Chnaman II
California and want to ask him
question: | first speak to him in an or
binary voice. Then when he shake
his head and answers. ME no under
stand" I shout my question n littl
louder Then yell 1t at the top of IN
voice and turn away disguised. as
to say, Did you ever meet such poopl
rs those Cinnamon aref" Thus ma
treats foreigners who cannot under
stand his language. Well this Is wha
happened at the tower OF Babel. Go
saw the evil of these men of ShnaI
, He saw the walls Of the tower riSin
. higher and higher. Then God said, "
, viii stop this evil work. So he toucl
: ed the tongues of the work men The
/, the wOrkmen began to speak in difc
! ent languages. AS the different worl
men could not understand each other
language in all probability they dl
I just what YOU and | do when we tai
T. to foreigners they yelled at their fe
g low men loudly. And the other worl
h men yelled back their answers in IL
/ same way until the building became
n nandemonum Of confusion.
r. AS the different workmen could M
/. understand each others language,
r course the work on the tower of Bah
ceased Then the people scattere
q themselves abroad upon the face
n the earth ana settled in different group
@ the members Of which spoke the san
g language You can readily understar
Il that each person did not necessari
q speak a different language from ever
g other person. My text means th
: those people of the land of Shinar ha
g to scatter into small groups of fam
- lies. Each OF these groups of poop
|. spoke a different language from ever
N other group. This was the first gre
d cause of the many distinct languag
e being spoken upon the .ace of II
!. earth.
q comparing this account Of the bull
Ing of Babel with our own method
life and art" wrote DR.. Joseph Pa
kcr, lit Is clear that from the begi
ming OF time men have been doing Pre-
~ much the same as now all the wor
- over" The sins Of our time, like {
r diseases of our time. may not bear I
= same names that they did in old
!, time; but, after all, they are the SAL
y old sickness and the same old sill
u When the ancient workmen gather
> together trying to rear the walls
. Eahe they were doing just what Il
| too, to IDf,, CO