The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-06-26
THE TABERNACLE PULPIT.
JOURNEY OF HAeAR AND lsHMAEL.
Peoples Troubles I'm This World Are Often
Caused By Not Keeping in Their
Proper Place-GOd Creates Man
For Certain Things.

"A vast congregation AilcO TIC bpdtlOlS
building TO OVERLOOKING. After making
an exposition of scripture the pastor gave
out the hymn beginning:
Glory % God on high,
Let heaven and earth reply,
which the great body of worshipers sung
with majestic effect. The subject of DR..
Talmage'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
filed the bottle with water and gave the
lad drink. "-Genesis xxi, 10. The elo-
quent preacher said:
Morning breaks upon Beer-sheba. There
is an early stir in the house of old Abra-
ham. There has been trouble among the
domestics. Hagar, an assistant in the
household, and her son, a brisk lad OF six
teen wears, have become impudent and
Insolent, and Sarah, the mistress of the
household, put her foot down very hard,
and SAYS that they Will have TO leave the
premises. They are packing up now.
Abraham, knowing that the journey be-
fore his servant and her son will be very
long and across desolate places, in the
kindness of his heart sets about putting
mp some bread and a bottle with water in
il. 10 isa very plain lunch that Abraham
provides, but 7 warrant You there would
have been enough Of IL bad they not lost
their way. God be with you :" said old
Abraham, as be gave the lunch 10 Hagar,
and good many charges as TO how she
should conduct the journey. Ishmael,
the boy. suppose bounded away IN the
morning light Bows always ike a change.
D. Tah.r al To- aa 4 "a he
asters that are ahead OF him. Hapar
gives one long. lingering look on the IA
milar place where she bad spent so many
happy days, each scene associated with
the pride and Joy Of Der heart--youDg
1shmaei.
The scorching noon comes on. The air
is sitting and moves across the desert
With insuherable sufocation. Ishmael,
the boy, begins TO complain and lies down.
but Hagar rouses him up, saying nothing
about her own WEAKNESS or the sweltering
beat; for mothers can endure anything.
Trudge, trudge, trud0e. Crossing the
dead level OF the desert how YEARLY and
slowly the miles slip. a tamGrind that
seemed hours ago 20 stand only Just n lit
tie ahead, inviting the travellers 30 come
under its shadow, now is as far of as ever.
or seemingly 50. Night drops upon the
desert, and the travellers are pilowless.
Ishmael, very weary | suppose instantly
falls asleep. Hagar, as the shadows OF the
night begin 10 Tap over each other-Hagar
hugs her weary boy 20 her bosom and
thinks of the fact that il is her fault that
they are in the desert A star looks out,
and every falling tear IL kisses with n
sparkle. A wing Of wind comes over the
hot earth and lifts the locks from the
fevered brow Of the boy. Hagar
sleeps fitfully. and in her dreams travels
over the weary day, and half awakes her
son By crying ont in her sleep, "lshmae !
ishmael" And so they go on, 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. Tho
rack empty of -four. the water gone from
the bottle What shall she do? As she
puts her fainting Ishmael under stunted
shrub OF the arid plain she sees the blood
shot eye and feels the hot hand, watches
the blood bursting from the cracked
tongue, and there is a shrek in the desert
oi Beer-sheba: I've shall die We shall
dep Now, no mother was ever made
strong enough 20 hear her son cry in vain
for drink. Heretofore she had
cheered her boy by promising a
speedy end Of the journey, even
enough. Now there is nothing to do but
place him under a shrub and let him die.
she bad thought she would sit there and
watch until the spirit OF her boy would
90 away forever and then she would
breathe out her own life on his silent
heart. but az the bCs begins 20 claw his
tongue in agony OF thirst and struggle
n distortion and beg his mother 10 slay
him she can not endure the spectacle.
She puts him under shrub and goes of
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 n cloud and
looks down upon the appalling grief and
cries: "Hagar. what aileth thee?" She
looks up and she sees the angel pointing
~ a we'll Of water, where she tills the bot
t'e for the lad. Thank God Thank
God
learn from this oriental scene, in the
first place. what n sad thing IL is when
people do not know their place and get
too proud OF their business Hagar was
an assistant In that household, but she
wanted 20 rule there. She ridiculed and
Jeered until her son, Ishmael, got the same
tricks. She dashed out her own happi-
ness and threw Sarah into a great fret;
and u she had staId much longer in that
household she would have upset Abra-
hams equilibrium. Ny friends, one-half
of the trouble in the world to-day comes
from the fact that people do not know
their place, or, finding their place, will
lot stay in il. When We come into the
world there is always a place ready for
rs A place for Abraham. a place for
Sarah. a place for Hagar. A place for
Ishmael. \ place for you and a place
for me. Our first duty is to find
our sphere; our second is TO keep
u. We may be born in a sphere far of
from the one for which God finally in
tends us Sextus V was born on low
ground and was n swineherd; God called
him up to wave a scepter. Ferguson
spent bis early days in looking after the
sheep; God called him up 10 look after
stars and be a shepherd watching the
fOcks OF light on the hillsides Of heaven.
Hogarth began by engraving pewter pots
God raised him 10 stand in the enchanted
bench held Bloomfield for little while.
bat God called him to sit in the chair OF
philosopher and Christian scholar. The
soap-b0iler OF London could not keep his
son IN that business, for God had decided
that Hawley was 10 be one Of the greatest
astronomers Of England. On the other
hand, we nav be born in q sphere a little
higher than that for which God intends rs.
We may be born in a castle, and plav in n
costly conservatory and feed high-bTed
pointers and angle for gold fish In artificial
r0ulQ and no familiar NTH ,,ripcag. -