Democratic messenger., 1889-06-15
THEIR WAY is LOST.
SERMON PREACHED BY REV. T. De
WITT TALMAoE, SUNDAY, JUNE 10.

Ths Story Of Hagar and Ishmaei In the
Descrt-Our Duty IL 60 Look for Our
Own sphere On Life and Then to Keep
In IT,
BROOKLYN, June l6.-The Rev. 7.
De Witt Talmagc, d. D., preached at
the Tabernacle todSH A vast congre
CATION filed tho S Pacious building TO
ovcrtlowing. After making an expo
sition OF Scripture, the pastor gave out
the hymn beginning:
Glory 20 God on high.
Let heaven and earth reply.
which the great body of worshipers
sang with majestic effect. The sub
ject of DR.. Talmagc's discourse was:
People Who Have Lost Their Way"
He took for his text: And God opened
her eyes, and she saw well Of water;
and She went, and filled the bottle
with water. and gave the lad drink. I"
Gen. xxi. 10. The eloquent preacher
said:
Morning breaks upon Bcer-sheba.
There is an early stir in the house OF
old Abraham. There has been trou-
bio among the domcstics. Hagar, ar
assistant in the household, and her
son, brisk lad Of sixteen years, have
become impudcnt and insolent, and
Sarah, the mistress Of the household.
puts her foot down very hard, and
says that they will havo to leave the
premises. They arc packing up now.
Abraham, knowing that the journey
before his servant and her son will be
very long and across desolate places,
in the kindness OF his heart
sets about putting up some bread
and bottle with water in
il. II is very plain lunch that
Abraham provides, but warrant you
there would have been enough Of il
had they not lost their way. God be
with you'll" said old Abraham rs he
gave the lunch To Hagar, and a good
many charges as To how she should
conduct the journey; Ishmael, the
boy, ! suppose bounded away in the
morning light Boys always like a
change. Poor Ishmaell He has no
idea Of the disasters that are ahead Of
him. Hagar gives one long. lingering
look on the familiar place where she
had spent SD many happy days, each
scene associated with the pride and joy
Of her hcart-young lshmael.
TIE DEVOTION OF TIE MOTHER.
The scorching noon comes on. The
air is sitting ami moves across the
desert with insutrcrable suffocation.
lshmael, the boy. begins 10 complain,
and lies down, but Hagar rouscs him
up. saying nothing about her own
WEAKNESS or the swcltering heat;
for mothers can endure anything.
Trudgc. trudgc. trudgc. Crossing the
dead level Of the desert. how wcarily
and slowly'thc miles slip. \ tama.
rind that seemed hours ago To stand
only just a little ahead, inviting the
travellers TO come under its shadow,
now is as far of as ever, or seemingly
so. Night drops upon the DIES.
ert, and the travellers are pillow.
less. lshmacl, very weary, ! sup
pose. instantly falls asleep lIa:-ar,
AS the shadows Of the night
begin TO lap owe: each other Hagar
hugs her weary boy 10 her bosom and
thinks OF the fact that il is her fault
that they are in the desert. 4 star
looks out, and every falling tear il
kisses with sparkle. \ wing Of wind
comes over the hot earth and lifts the
boy. Hagar sleeps iitfully, and in her
dreams travels over the weary day,
and half awakcs her son by crying out
in hcrslccp. "lshmacl! lslimael" And
so they COON, day after day and night
after night, for they have lost their
way. No path in the shifting sands,
no sign in the burning sky. The
sack empty Of the flour, the water
gone from the bottle. What shall
She dot AS she puts her faint
ing Ishmacl under Il stunted shrub
Of the arid plain, she sees the blood
shot eye, and feels the hot hand,
and watches the blood bursting from
the cracked tongue, and there is q
shrek in the desert Of Bccr-sheba:
I'VE shall diel we shall diel" Now,
enough 10 hear her son cry in vain for
drink. Heretofore she had cheercd
her boy by promising speedy end OF
the journey, even smiled upon him
when no felt desperately enough.
Now there is nothing TO do but place
him under n shrub and let him die.
She had thought that she would sit
there and watch until the spirit Of her
boy would go away forever, and then
she would breathe out her own life ON
his silent heart: but as the boy be-
gins 10 claw his tongue in agony
OF thirst, aud struggle in distortion,
and beg his mother 10 slay him. she
cannot endure the spectacle. She puts
him under n shrub and goes oil
bow shot. and begins 10 weep until
all the desert seems sobbing. and her
cry strikes clear through the heavens;
and an angel Of God comes out on u
cloud and looks down upon the ap-
palling grief aud cries: "l.agar, what
aileth ilicct" She looks up aud she
sees the angel pointing To a well Of
water, where she fills the bottle for
the lad Thank Godl Thank Godl
We MUST Know OUR PLACES.
| learn from this Oriental scene, in
the first place. what a sad thing it is
when people do not know their place,
and get too proud for their business.
liagar was an assistant ia that house
hold. but she wanted 10 rule there.
She riticulcd aud jccred until her son,
lshniacl. got the same tricks. She
dashed out her own happiness and
'hrew Sarah into great irct; and II
she had stayed much longer in that
household She would have upset calm
AblThams equilibrium. My friends.
one. half of the trouble in the world
today comes from the fact that peo-
pie do not know their place; or,
iinding their place. will not stay
~ IL. When we come into the
world. there is always u place ready
for u.s. \ place for Abraham. A
place for Sarah. \ place for Hagar.
\ place for lsllm;'cl. A place for you
and a place f,r M. Our first duty is
~ lind our sphcir; o,;r second is 10
tecp Il. W. may be born in a sphere
fur oil from the uhc for which God