Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1890-11-07
TOILING YEOMANRY..
FARMING AS a GOSPEL TYPE.
Tho 1doa of the Farmers independents,
Dispeiled by Talmago.
Sermon Preached Before tho Farmors
Enoampment. at Mt. aretna, Pc.

Farmers Of Americal Accent nv saluat-
ton. Our text puts us down into the ploys
turrow, where many OF us hayo been belize
MY poyhood passed on farm and my fnlel
farmer, your style of life is familiar tcne
Ono OF my earliest recollcctions is that my
iather coming In from tho hot harvest field
! exhausted, tho perspiration streaminJfro
bis forehead and chin, and fainting n the
doorsilI, and my mother resuscitatig him,
until seeing the alarm OF tho houshoid he
eaid; "Don'tb be frightened. go' o little
tired and tho sun was hot, but l ANAL right
| Tho table, often saying, "Well, "a too tired
| to eatp' Tho fact is that / do mo- think the
Old folks got thoroughly rested rtil they lay
hown in the graveyard back of pmeryille to
take the last sleep.
Oalee %, seekers ,:s 60 through tn fa2d and they
farmers tho story about the dependent life
OF farmer, giving flattey where they
ought to give sympathy. independent OF
whatf No class of people in tbs country have
It harder than farmers. Independent of
| whatf or the curculio thastings tho peach
trees! Of the rust in the weats of the long
raih with the rye DOWN. dependent OF the
ggasshopperi Of the locustif tho army wormi
Oh the potato bug2 dependent Of the
drought that burns up II harvest? Indepen-
dent or tho COW with thfiollow horni or tho
sheep with the foot rotfr the pet horse with
L
that freezes out the ,nter's graini Indo-
| pendent of the snownnk out of which he
must shovel himself Independent of the
cold weather when stands threshing his
numbed fingers arind his body to keep
Frozen Gm ea being frozen , Of
pendent of what2 ancy farmers who have
mado their fortup in tho city md 90 ont
into tho country fbuild houses with MI the
modern improvcrnts, md make farming
luxury, may nc need any solace; hut the
yeomanry who OF their living out of tho
soil, and who TIT why have to clotho their
families and eecate their children and nav
their taxes ar meet their interest OH mort
! gagged farms such men find terrific strnp-
gle. And n hope is that this great M
tionnl FurrS Encampment may do some
thing towaI lifting tho burdens Of the no.
rcuiturist. Yes we wcro nearly all '', Of y" rs
born in tho ountry. We dropped corn i'm
tho hill, nncyent on Saturday to the mill
| tying the list in the centric OF the sack SO
That tho cc'ents on either side of tho horse
balanced .ch other, and drove the cattle
! afleld, ouIbare feot wet with the dew. and
rode the rises with the halter to the brook
until we'll of, and hunted tho NOV for
nests url the feathercd OCCUPANTS went
cacklinCtfay. So we all understand rrstic
! nllusior The Bible is full Of them. In
Christsermon on the mount you see the
full bwn lilies and the glossy back of tho
crow wing as it flies over Mount Oliyet
Dad and John, Paul and Isaiah find in
co'try life source of frequent illustration
VIE Christ takes the responsibility of call.
irGod farmer, declaring, My Father is
Noah was tho first farmer. We snv moth.
| { about Cain, tho tiler of the soil Adnn,
as gardener ON largo scale, but to Noah
US given oil tho ucres of the earth. Elisha
lfas an agriculturist not culturine fen
zero LOT; Tor III my text you find him plow-
ing with twelve yoke of oxen before him. and
no with the twelfth. In Bible times tI,a lomd
was SO plenty and tho inhabitants So few
INIT Noah was right when no gavo to every
hhaDitant certain portion of land. that
hnu, IL cultured. ever after to DO his own
possession wv"
!, They were not small crops raised in those
lines, for though the arts wero rude flo
blow turned up very rich soil, and HARLEY low
ihu cotton, and flax, aud all kinds of grain
anne up ut -hc call of the hnrvesters. Plinv
CHS OF one stat of grain that had ON it Ina.
y. z1.'e ana tour -u'lured GAGS. fhe
rivers and the brooks, through artificial
channels were brought down to this roots OF
tho corn, and to this habit OF turning n river
wherever it WINS wanted Solomon refers when
he says: Tho Kings hcart is in the hand of
the Lord, and He turneth it rs the rivers of
water arc turned, whithersoover lie will"
mo wiz beasts were caught, and then a
nook was put into their nose, and then they
we're led over the field, and to that God re-
iers when He says to wicked Senacherib.
" will put hook in thy nose and will
bring thea bacs by tho wnv which thou
earnest ANA uou mas q hook In every
mans nose, whether It DO Nebuchndnezzar
or Ahnb or Herod. He may think himself
very independent, but some time in his
lie 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
Oh tho ground. Thou shalt not plow with an
OK and nm ass together" illustrating the folly
OF over putting intelligent and useful and
plianie men in association with tho stubborn
and tho unmanageable. Tho vast majority
Of trouble in the churches and in reformn-
t1ry institutions comes from tho disregard of
TINS command of the Lord, "Thou shalt not
ploW with an OK and an MSS together"
There were large amounts Of property In.
vested in cattle. Tho Moabites paid 100, 900
sheep MS an annual tax. Job had 1000 sheen.
1000 camels 500 yoke of oxen The time OF
vintage was ushered in with mirth md music.
Tho clusters of the vine were put into the
VINE press. and then five men would get into
the press and trample out the juice from the
grape until their garments were saturated
with the vino and had become the emblems
OF slaughter. Christ Himself wounded until
covered with the blood of crucitixion, made
uso OF this allusion when tho question was
asked: Wherefore art Thou red in Thine ap-
Darcl and Thy garments like one who tread
9th the vino vatw He responded: AZ have
trodden the wine press alone"
In oil ages there has been great honor paid
TO agriculture. Seven-eighths of the people
in every country are disciplesof tho pillow. A
government is strong in proportion as it is
supported by nh athletic and industrious
yeomnnry. So long ago as before the fall of
Carthage Strabo wrote twenty-eight books
on agriculture; Hesiod wrote poem on the
same subject-"The Weeks and Days" Cato
was prouler of his work on husbandry than
CT oil his military conquests. Butt must not
be tempted into discussion Of agricultural
con,quests. Standing amid the harvests and
orchards and vineyards OF tho Bible, and
standing amid tho harvests and orchards and
vineyards of our own conntry--I want 10 run
out the analogy between the production OF
crops and tho growth of grace in tho soul
oil these sacred writers making use of that
analogy.
In the first place remark, in grace rs in
the fields. there must be pillow. That which
theologians call conviction Is only the piow
share turning up the sins that have been
rooted and matted in the soil. A farmer
said to his indolent son, There arc hun
dred dollars buried deep in that field.p The
son went to work and plowed tho field from
fence to fence, and lie plowed 1t very deep
and then complained that he had not found
the money, but when tho crop had been
gathered and sold for n hundred dollars NOR,