Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1886-09-03
lR. PALMAGES SERMON.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS,
rrrs.eA,I a, the Hampton., Long I.lsnd.I

grace Of God is not a little property that we
may fence oil and have all to ourselves. 1t
Is not a kings park, at which we look
through barred gateway, wishing that we
might go in and ses the deer and the statu-
airy, and pluck the flowers and the traits in
the royal conservatory. No; it is the Fa-
Tiers orchard and everywhere there are ara
that We may let down and gates we may
swing open.
In my boyhood, next to the country school
house, there was an orchard of apples, owned
by very lame man, who, although there
were apples in the place perpetually decaying
by scores and scores of bushels, never
would allow any of us to touch the fruit One
day, in the sinfulness of a nature inherited
from our first parents, who were ruined by
the same temptation some of us invaded that
orchard, but soon retreatel, for the man came
after us at a speed reckless OF making his
lameness worse, aud cried out: Boys, drop
those apples, or II set the dog on you"
Well, my friends, there are CHRISTIAN men
who have the church under severe guard.
There Is fruit in this orchard for the whole
world but they have rough and unsYnpa-
ihetic way of a costing outsiders, as though
they had no business here, though the Lord
wants them all t. come aud take the largest
and the ripest fruit on the premises. Have
you an idea that because you were baptized
IT thirteen months Of age, and beaause you
have all your life been under hallowel intlu-
ences that therefore, you have a right to one
whole side Of the Lords table, Spreading
yourself out and iak,ng up the entire roomi
l tell you no. YoL will have to haul in your
elbows, for / shall to-day place on either side
of you those whom you never expected would
sit there; for, as Christ said to tho Jews long
ago, so he says to you and me: ''Uther sheep
have, which are not of this fold"
Macdonald, the Scot Imam, has four or
five dozen head of sheep. Some o. them are
browsing on the heather, some of thom are
lying down under the trees, some of them
are in his yard; they are scattered around
in eight or ten different places. Cameron,
his neighbor, comes over, and says: IL see
you have thirty sheep; l have just counted
them" "No," says Macdonald, ~ have a
great many more shee than that. some
are here, and some arc elsewhere They are
scattered all around about l have 1000 or
5000 in my, aocks, Other sheep have, which
are not in this fold"
So Christ says to US: Hero is knot of
Christians and there is knot of Christians,
but they make up small part of the flock.
Here is the Episcopal fold, the Methodist
fold, the Lutheran fold, the Congregational
fold, the Presbyterian fold, the Baptist and
the Pedo-Baptist fold-the only difference
between these last two being the mode of
sheep-washng; and so they are scattered al
over, and we come with our statistics and
say there are 50 many thousand of the Lords
sheep; but Christ responds: mo, no; you
have not seen more than one out Of a thous-
and of my flock. They are scattered all over
the EARTH and other sheep | have, which
are not of this fold.'n
Christ in my text was prophesyng the
conversion of the GentileS with as much CON
tidence as though they were already con-
verified, and he is to-day, in the words Of my
text, prophesying the coming OF great null
titude or outsiders that you never supposed
would come in, saying to you and saying to
me: "Other sheep have, which are not of
this foldh
l. In tho first place, l remark that the
Heavenly Shepherd will find many of bis
sheep amid ,he non churChgoers. There are
congregations whore they are all Christians,
and they ssssI to be completely finished, and
they remind OLe Of the skeleton leaves which,
by chemical preparation, have had all the
greenness and verdure taken or of them,
and are left cold and white and deli ate
nothing wanting but glass case to put over
them The minist II of Christ has nothing to
do with such Christians but to come once
week, and with ostrich feather dust off the
accumulation of the last six days, leaving
them bright and crystalline as before. But
the other kind Of a church is an armory with
perpetual sound of drum and fife, gathering
recruits for the Lord of Hosts. We say to
every applicant do you want to be en-
Gods SIDE the safe side and the happy side
If so, come to the armory and get eQuipped.
is helmet for your brow Here is a breast
plate for your breast. Here is a sword for
your right arm, and yonder is the battlefield.
Quit yourselves like men,
There are some here who say: az stopped
going to chur> h ten or twenty years ago"
My brother, is it not strange that you should
be the first man should talk to to days
know all your case; know it very we'll
You hive not Eeen accustomed to como into
Rrelig1ous assembly, hut have a surprising
announcement to make to you. You are
gong to Eecome one of the Lords sheep.
"Oh!" you say: sit is impossible; you don't
know how far am from anything of that
kind" know all about it | have wan
dered up and down the world and | under
stand your Case. | have still moro start
ling announcement to make in regard to 70 L.
You are not only going to become one of the
Lords sheep, but you will become one to-
day. You will go from this service to talk
With some one about your soul. People OF
God, pray for that man. '.Other sheep |
have, which are not Of this foldn
When the Atlantic went to pieces on Mars
ROCK and the people clambered up on the
bea h, why did not that heroic minister of
the gospel, Of whom we have all read, sit
down and take care of those men on the
beach, wrapping them in fanne's, kindling
fires for them, seeing that they got plenty O.
foods All! he knew that there were other
who would do that He says: "Yonder ar
men and women freezing in the rigging o
that wreck. Boys, launch the boatm An,
now | see the oar blades bend under tn
strong pull; but before they reach the rig
ging woman is frozen and dead Sh
was washed of, poor thing! But he says
There is man to save" and he cries 1T
"Hold on five minutes logger and l vii
save you. Steady! Steady Give nj
your hand. Leap. into the lfeboat
Thank God he is save l." So ther
are those here to-day who are safe GA tn
shore of Gods mercy, but 1 seq there az
some who are freezing in the rigging of sin
and surrounded by perilous storms Pul
away, my lads Let us reach them. Alas
one is washed off and gone! There is on,
more to be saved. Let us push ont for tina
one Clutch the rope, Odying mani Clut
it with death-grip. Steady, row, on The
slippery places. Steady Therel Saved
Saved" Just as | thought. For Christ h Is
declared that there are some still in the
breakers who shall come ashore. "Othel
sheep have, which are not of this fold.n
Christ commands his ministers to be fish
ermen, and when go fishing do not wan
togo among other churches, bat into thu
wide world; not sitting along q small creel
where eight or ten other persons are Sitting
with hook and line, but, like the fishermen O
Newfoundland, sailing off and dropping ne
away outside, forty or fifty miles frsu
shore Yes, there are non churchgoarI herr
who will come in. Next Sabl ath they vii
again be in the religious service They ar,
this moment being swept into Christian as5o
citations. Their voices will be heard in pub
lie prayer. They will die in peace, the r b Y
surrounded by Christian symaathies, and b
carr e out by deYout ren to be b ried au(
on their graves be chisele1 the words
Precious in the sight OF the Lord is tlt
death Of his santa" And on resurrection
day you will get up with the dear children
you have already buried, and with you
Christian parents who have already won TIN
palm. And all that grand and glorious his
tory begins now. "Other sheep I have