The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-08-27
TALMAGES SERMON.
A Discourse on the Sheep Who
Live Outside the Fold.
The Non-Church Goers. Rejeeters of
Christianity and the Victims of Evil
Habits-From These the Shepherd
viii Call Many of His sheep.

Rev. i. Dew lbG IalHlageS III d ASO0hO
sermon at "The Hamptons," took for his
subject "The Sheep Outside the Fold"
Illustrating it from the text:
other sheep have which are not of this
fold.-JOhn X, 49,
There is no monopoly in religion. The
grace Of God is not a little property that
we may fence off and have all to ourselves
II is not a kings park at which we look
through a barred gateway, wishing that
we might go in and see the deer and the
statuarv, and pluck the flowers and the
fruits in the royal conservatory. No, 1t is
the Father orchard, and every where
there are bars that we may let down ana
gates that we may swing open
In nv bovhood, next to the country
scbool-h house there was an orchard of
apples, owned by a very lame man, who,
although there were apples in the place
perpetualIy decaying, and by scores and
scores of bushels, never would allow any
of us to touch the fruit One day, IN the
sinfuIness of a nature inherited from our
first parents, who were ruined by the same
TEMPTATION, some of us invaded that
orchard, but soon retreated, for the man
came after US at a speed reckless of max
ino his lameness worse, and cried out:
s'Boys, drop those apples, or III set the
dog on you"
Well, nv friends, there are Christian
men who have the church under severe
ouard. There is fruit in the orchard for
the whole world, but they have rough
and unsympathetic way of accosting out
siders. as though they had no business
here, though the Lord wants them all to
come and take the largest and the rlpes5
fruit on the premises. Have you an idea
that because you were baptized at thirteen
months Of age, and because you have all
your life been under hallowed intiuen ces,
that therefore you have a right to one
whole side Of the LORDS table, spreading
yourself out and taking up the entire
room? l tell you, no. You Will nave TO
haul in your elbows, for shall to-day
place OH either side of you those whom
Won never expected would sit there; for,
as Christ said to the Jews long ago, so he
saws to you and to me
other sheep / have which are not of this
fold.
Macdonald, the Scotchman, has four or
five thousand head of sheep. Some of them
are browsing on the heather, some of them
are. living down under the trees, some of
! them are in his yard; they are scat
| tered around in eight or ten different
places Cameron, his neighbor, comes
/ over and says:
81 see YOU have thirty sheep; have just
! counted them"
| tsNo.v saws Macdonald, 'tI have a great
/ MANY more sheep than that. Some are
! here and some are elsewhere. They are
scattered all around about have four
or five thousand IN my ttOcks. other
sheep have, which are not in this fold.
So Christ says to us: Here is knot of
Christians and there is a knot of Christ
ians, but they make M a small part OF the
flock. Here is the Episcopal fold, the
Methodist fold, the Lutheran fold, the
| Conversational fold, the Presbyterian
fold. the Baptist and the Pedo-Baptlst
fold--the only difference between these
last two being the mode of sheep washing;
and so they are scattered all over, ana we
come with our statistics. and say there are
so many thousand of the Lords sheep; but
Christ responds:
eNo. no: you have not seen more than
one out Of a thousand Of my flock. They
are scattered all over the earth, and 'other
sheen have. which are not of this fold p"
Christ in my text was prophesying the
conversion Of the Gentiles with much
confidence as though they were already
converted, and he is to-day, in the words
of nv text. prophesying the coming of a
great multitude of outsiders that you never
supposed would come in, saying to you
and saying to me:
Other sheep have, which are not of this
fold.
In the first place / remark that the
| Heavenly Shepherd win find many of his
sheep amid the non-church goers. There
are congregations where they are all
Christians, and they seem to be complete
" finished, and they remind one of the
skeleton leaves which, by chemical prepa-
ration. have had all the greenness and
yerdure taken off of them and are left cold
and white and delicate, nothing wanting
but a glass case to put over them. The
minister of Christ has nothing to do with
such Christians but to come once week,
and with ostrich feather dust off the ac-
cumuIation of the last six days, leaving
them bright and crystalline as before. But
the other kind of church IS an armory
with perpetual souf@ of drum and fife
gathering recruits for the Lord of Hosts
We say to every applicant:
s'Do YOU want to be on Gods side, the
safe side and the happy side? If so, come
In the armory and get equipped. Here is
q bath in which to get cl ansed Here are
sandals TO put upon your feet. Here is q
helmet for your brow. Here is a breast
plate for your heart. Here is a sword foI
your right arm, and yonder is the battle
field. Quit yourselves like men,"
There are some here who say: 81 stopped
going to church ten or twenty years ago.
NV brother, is it not strange that yoJ
should be the first man I should talk TO to-
day? 1 know all your case. / know i
very we'll. You have not been accustomed
to come into religious assemblies, but
have a surprising announcement to make
to you. You are going to be one Of the
Lords sheep.
'sOh - you say, ait is impossible; YoJ
don't know how far away am from any
thing of that kind"
know all about it. Ihave wandered NJ
and down the world, and L understand
your case. / have a stiH more startling
announcement to make in regard to you
You are not only going to become one o
the Lords sheep, but viii become one to
day. You viii 20 from this service to tall
with some one about your soul. People o
God, pray for that man.
other sheep have. which are not of this
fold.
When the Atlantic went to pieces ol
Mars Rock and the people Chamber ed nj
on the beach, why did not that heroi
minister OF the gospel Of whom we hav
all read sit down and take care of thos
men on the beach, wrapping them in fan
neIs, kindling fire for them. seeing tina
they got plenty of food: All, he knew
that there were others vino would do that
He says:
"Yonder are men and women freezing
in the rigging Of that wreck Boys, launcl
the boatt'
And now see the oar blades bend unde
the strong phil; but before they reaches
the rigging "a woman was frozen and dead
She was washed Of poor thingl But b
/ says:
'.There IS a man to savep And he erie