The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-08-25
Pillow DEEP
Into the Rich Soil of Gods
Truth.
And Sow the Good Seed of Grace and Love
lfYOu Would Garner the SheaVes Of
Eternal Life.


the text from John XIV, 1: my Father
is the husbandman."
VIII it not be appropriate, said DIR.
Talmage, if preach harvest sermOnp
This summer, having gone in different
directions over between five and six
thousand miles of harvest fields, can
hardly open my Bible without smelling
the breath of new-mOwD hay and seeing
the golden light of the wheat-field. Aud
when | open my Bible to take my text
the Scripture leaf rustles like the tassels
of the corn. We were nearly all of us
born in the country. We dropped corn
in the hill, four grains to the hill, and
went on Saturday to the mill, tying the
grist i'll the center of the sack, so that
the contents on either side OF the horse
balanced each other; and drove the cat
tie to a field. our bare feet wet with the
dew, and rode the horses with the halter
to the brook until we fell off, and hunt
ed the NOW for nests until the feathered
occupants went cackling away. We
were nearly all of US born in the cOun-
try, and all would have stayed there had
not some adventurous lad on his Vaca-
tiOn come back with better clothes and
softer hands, and set the whole village
on fire with ambition for city life. SO
we all understand rustic illusions. The
Bible is full OF them. In Christ's ser
mon on the mount you see the full
blown lilies and the glossy back of the
crows wing as it flies over Mount Oliyet.
Dayi,; and John, Paul and Isaiah, find
in country life a source of frequent
illustration, while Christ, in the text,
takes tine responsibility of calling God
farmer, declaring, "My Father is the
husbandman." Noah was the first farm
er. We say nothing about Cain, the
tiller of the soil. Adam was a gardener
on large scale, hut to Noah was given
all the acres of the earth. Elisha was
iat pnlfnrinn a
lot, for we find him blowing with
twelve yoke of oxen. In Bible times the
land was so plenty and the Inhabitants
80 few that Noah was right when he
gave to every inhabitant certain pOr
tiOn of land; that land, if cultured, ever
after TO be his possession. Just as now
in Nebraska the Government, on the
payment of SIG, will give presumption
right to 100 acres tn any man who will
settle there and cultivate the soil. All
classes of people were expected to cul
tuTe the ground, except ministers OF re-
ligiOn. 1t was supposed that they would
have their time entirely occupied with
their own profession, although some
times ministers do deal in stocks, L am
told, and they are superior judges of
horses, and make one think sometimes
of what IhOmas Fraser said in regard to
man in his day who preached very
well, but lived very ill: when he is
ever go into it, and when he is in the
pulpit, it is pity he should ever come
out of it,"
They were not small crops raised in
those times, for though the arts were
rude, the plOw turned up very rich soil,
aud barley and cotton and fax and all
kinds of grain came up at the call of the
harvesters. Pliny tells of one stalk of
grain that had on it between three and
four hundred ears. The rivers and the
brooks, through artificial channels,
we're brought down to the roots of the
corn. To this habit of turning river
wherever 1t was wanted Solomon refers
when he says: The kings heart is the
hand of the Lord, and He turneth it as
the rivers of water are turned whittier
sOever He will" The wild beasts were
caught and then hook was put into
their nose, and then they were led over
the field, and to that God refers when
he says to wicked Sennacherib: 81 will
put hook in thy nose and will bring
thee back by the way which though
camest." Aud God has q hook in every
bad mans nose, whether it be Nebuchad-
nezzar or Ahab or HerOd. He may thinB
himself very independent, but sometime
in his life, or in the hour of his death
he will find that the Lord Almighty has
hook in his nose. This was the rule
in regard to the culture of the ground
Thou shalt not plOw with an OK and an
ass together" illustrating the folly OF
ever putting intelligent and useful and
pliable men in association with the
stubborn and the unmanRgeable. The
vast majority of troubles in the churches
and in refOrmatOry institutions comes
from the disregard of this command Oi
the Lord: Thou shalt not plOw with al
OK and an ass together" There were
large amounts of property invested in
cattle. The MOabites paid 100000 sheer
ual n
5000 camels and 500 yoke o; oxen. ThG
time of vintage was ushered in will
mirth and music. The clusters of thu
vine were put into the wine-press, an(
then five men would get into the pres
and trample out the juice from tn,
grape until their garments were satur
ated with the wine and had become thl
emblems of slaughter. Christ, himself
wounded until covered with the blOOC
OF cruciiXlOn, making use of this allu
sion when the question was asked
wherefore art thou red in thine appare
and thy garments like one who tread
eth the wine-vatp" He responded: I"
have trodden the wine-press alone"
In all ages there has been great homo
paid to agriculture. SeVen-tenth5 of the
people in every country are disciples o
the plOW. A Government Is strong ii
proportion as it is supported by al
athletic and Industrious yeOmanry. 8.
long ago as before the fall of Carthag
Nabo wrote twenty-eight books on agri
culture. HesiOd wrote a poem on tn
same subject, THE Weeks and Days.
Cato was prouder Of his work on hus
bandry than of all his military con
quests. SO far back as the reign 0
Claudius. Columella wrote book on tn
subject Of agriculture. But must no
be tempted into discussion OF agrieul
tural conquests. Standing amid tn
hsrvests and orchards and vineyards Q
the Bible, and standing amid the harV
esJs and orchards and vineyards of ou
own cOuntry-larger harye5ts than hav
ever before been gathered-I want {
: recount the analogy between the pre-
duetiOn of crops and the growth Of grac
in the soul, all these sacred writers maE
inguse of that analogy.
In the first place remark In grace. 9