The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-02-27
TALMAGE LAST SABBATH.
THE STIR IN THE HOUSE OF
ABRAHAM.
The World Full Of Wandering HagarS and Ish.
maels Who Have Not Found Their Sphere
Yet There is Well in Every Wilderness,
Comfort for All Trouble, Light for
All Darkness.

All Darkneas.
New York, Feb. 23-The following is a verbdtim
report OF the sermon delivered In the Brooklyn
Tabernacle this morning by ReH 7, Dewitt Tai.
mage:
SUBJECT; "THE WELL IN THE DESERT; OR,
HELP FOR ALL"
The Text Genesis xxi;19: "ARd God opened
her eyes, and she saw we'll Of water and she
went and filled the bottle with water, and gave
the lad drink"
Morning breaks upon Beersheba. There Is an
early stir in the house Of Abraham. There has
been trouble among the domestics Hagar, an as.
sistant In the household, puts her foot down very
hard and says that they will have to leave the
premises, They are packing upnow. Abraham
knowing that the journey before his servant and
her son will be very long and across desolate
places, In the kindness Of his heartsets aboutput
ting up some bread and bottle with water In It,
1t is a very plain lunch that Abraham provides
but, 1 warrant you, there would have been
enough Of 1t had they not lost their way. "GOd
be with you said old Abraham as he gave the
lunch to Hagar and good many charges as to
uUW bub COuuuCb lu6 JluIubys lbuIh Il
the boy, suppose bounded away Ia the morning
light. Boys always like change, Poor Ishmael
He has no ideas Of the disasters that are ahead Of
him. Hagar gives one long, lingering look on
the kmiliar place where she had spent so many
happy days, each scene associated with the pride
and joy Of her heart young Ishmael.
The scorching sun comes on. The air is stiAng
and moves across the desert with insnfferable suf
location, Ishmael, the boy, begins to complain
and lies d lwn, but Hagar rouses him up, saying
nothing about her own WEAKNESS or the swelter
ing heat for mothers can endure anything
Trudge, trudge, trudge, Crossing the dead level
Of the desert how Wearlly and slowly the miles
slip. A tamarlnd that seemed hours ago to stand
only just little ahead inviting the travellers to
come under It's shadow, Is now as far off as ever
or seemingly so, Night drops upon the desert
and the travellers are pillowless. Ishmael very
weary l suppose instantly falls asleep, Hagar as
the shadows of night begin TO lap over each 9TH
er-HagRr hugs her weary boy to her bosom and
thinks Of the fact that 1t Is her fault they are In
the desert A star looks out and every falling
tear kisses II with sparkle. A wing Of wind
comes over the earth and lifts the hair from the
feveIed brow Of the boy. Hagar sleeps .htfuly
and In her dreams travels over the weary day
and half Gwakens her weary son by crying nut In
her sleep, "Ishmael Ishmaell" And 80 they 60
on, day after day, and night after night for they
have lost their way. Fhe sack empty Of the -four !;
the water gone from the bottle What shall she
doH AS she puts her fainting Ishmael under
stunted shrub OF the arid plain she sees the blood
shot eye and feels the hot hand, and watches the
oolro
is a shrek in the desert Of Beersheba. I'VE shall
die We shall dlen Now, no mother was ever
made strong enough to hear child cry for o
drink, Heretofore she had cheered her boy by
promising speedy end Of the journey, and even
smiled upon him when he felt desperately enough
Now there is nothing to do but place him under a
shrub and let him de- She thought that she
would sit there and wait until the spirit of her
boy would go away forever and then she would
breath out her own life on his silent heart; but as
the boy begins to claw his tongue In agony Of
thirst, and struggle in distortion and beg his
mother to slay him, she cannot endure the specta
cle She puts him under shrub and goes off
bow. shot and begins to weep until all the desert
seems sobbine, and her cry strikes clear through
the heAyens and all angel OF God comes out on
q cloud and looks down on the appalling grief,
and cries, 'Hagar what aileth thee p She looks
up and she sees an angel pointing TO a well Of
water, where she fills bottle 70: the lad Thank
GOdl Thank God
learn from this Oriental scene, in the first
place, what sad thing II Is when people do not
know their place and get too proud for their bust
ness. Hagar Was an assistant In that household,
but she wanted to rule there She ridiculed and
jeered until her son Ishmael got the same tricks.
She dashed out her own happiness, and threw
Cara fntn fFnf oh haA pto
much longer In that household she would have
upset Abraham's equilibrium. Ny friends, one
half the trouble In the world to day comes from
the fact that people do not know their place or,
finding their p ace, will not stay in II. When we
come into the world there is always place ready
for us-a place for Abraham, place for sarah, a
place for Hagar, place for lshmAel a place for
you and place tor NE. Our first duty is to find
our sphere; our second is IN keepit. We may be
born in a sphere far off from the one for which
God finally intended us. sextus V. was born on
the low ground, and was Bwineherd; God called
him up to wave sceptre. Ferguson spent his
early days in looking after the sheep; God called
him up 10 look after the stars and be shepherd
watching the Aoeks of light on the hillsides of
heaven. Hogarth began by engraving pewter
pots; God raj ed him to stand in the enchanted
realm Of painter The shOemaker'6 bench held
Bloomfield for little while but God called him
to sit In the chair Of philosopher and Christian
scholar. The soap boiler Of London could not
keep his son In that business, for God had decd
ed that Hawley was to be one of the greatest as
trOnOmers or England. On the other hand we
may be born little higher sphere than shat for
which 9 I'd intends US. We may be born in a cas-
t 9, and lay in costly conservatory, and feed
high bred pointers, and angle for goldfish In ar.
tidcial ponds, and be familiar with Princes; vet
God may better have intended us for carpenter's
shop, or dentists fOrceps or weavers shuttle or
a blacksmith's forge. The great thing is to Aud
the krhere for which God intended u.s. and then
to occupy that sphere, and occupy it forever
Here is a man God fashioned to make plow;
there is man God fashioned to make a constitn.
ton The man who makes the plow is just as
honorable as the man who makes the cOnBtitu-
tiOn, provided he makes the plOW as well as the
other makes the constitution. There is q woman
who was made 10 fashion robe, and yonder is
one who was intended TO be Queen and wear It.
1t seems TO me that in one case, as in the other
God appoints the sphere, and the needle is Just as
respectable In his sight as the sceptre do not
know but that the world would long ago have
been saved II some of the men out Of the minis.
try were In II and some Of those who are in It
were out of II / really think that one. half the
world may be divided into two quRrters-thOse
who have not found their sphere, and those who,
having found 1t, are not willing to stay there.
How many are struggling for position little
The bOndswoman wants to be mistress. Hagar
keeps croWding Sarah. The small wheel Of
watch, which beautifully went treading its gold
en- pathway, wants to be the bSlsnce-wheel; and
eAO spoAAOWg WIN NnobAlhs NAOpo INV buo uIOUA
because II cannot, like the eagle cut circle un-
der the sun. In the Lords army we all want to
be Brigadier Generals The SloOp says, "0h, that
were topsRil schooner, or ll'rigged brig,
or Cunard steamer" And SO the word Is filled
with cries OF discomfort because we are not will.
Ing 70 stay In the place where God put US aud In.
tended us to be. Ny friends, be not too proud 10
do anything God tells you to do. For the lack Of
a right disposition In this respect the world Is
strewn with wandering Hagars and Ishmaels.
God has given each Of uA q work to do. You car.
~ scuttle Of coal up that dark alley. You dis
tribute that Christian tract You give Al0O 900 to
the missionary cause You, for fifteen years, sit
With chronic rheumatism displaying the beauty
OF Christian submission Whatever God calls you
TO do, whether 1t win kissing or huzza whether to
walk under triumphal arch OF lift the rot out Of
me ditch; whether 1t DE to preach on Pentecosi
~ ell some wanderer Of the street of
sIe ,Sh mercy OF the Christ Of Mary Magdalen;
mIsssher MY II be to weave garland for laughing
O,,no, Ouilu ON spring morning. and Gull her May
" SSa OF 70 comb out the tangled locks of waif
" " a. sueet and cut up one Of your old dresses
70 nt her out for the ssnntuary-dn II and 40 IL