The Red Cloud chief., 1890-08-29
SERMON 10 FARMERS
DE- Hlmage on Farming and the
Farmers etxugnleA


- 49,
~E se - Nssa - Wei =
- ss1l-HAe 0esss
ehs late Farmers' epcsmumeut
Lebanon. Pa, Rev. I. DsWiti
1Se preached to great crowd O
'Fsrmihg: : Gospel Type." his text b.
Ing from 1 KingA XIX. 10: elisha,
tho son OF Shaphat who wa plowins
With twelve oxen before him and be
Vf1h tho twelfth" d.. TalmaRe said:
Farmers OF America. accept my salu.
tation! Our text puts rs down into the
plow's furrow. whore many Of us have
been before. Ny b0yhood passed on Q
farm and my father . farmer. your style
OF life is familiar to me. One OF my
earliest ~recOllections 10 that of nv
father coming in from the hot haesesi
field exhausted. the perspirationa -.
ing from his forehead and Cyl and
fainting on the doorsill. and nj mother
resuscitating him. until SEEING the
alarm Of the household he said: "Don't
be frightened. I got = little tired and
tho sun was hot but I am all right
now" And I remember mother seated
at the table often saying: well, I am
too tired to eat!" The fact is that I do
not think the old folks got thoroughly
rested until they lay down in tho grave
yard back Of Somervillo to take the
last sleep
Once seekers 60 through the land and
they stand on political platforms, and
they toll the farmers tho story about
the independent life OF q farmer, giving
hattery whore they ought TO give SYM
pathy. Independent Of what? OF the
curculio that stings tho peach tree7 of
the rust in the wheat? of the long rain
with the ryedOwn? Independent of the
grasshOpper? Of the locust? of the army
worm? of the potato bug? Independ-
ont of the drought that burns up the
harvest? Independent of the COW with
the hollow horn? or the sheep with the
foot rot? or the pet horse with q nail In
his hoof? Independent of the cold that
freezes out the winter grain? Independ-
ent OF the snOwbank out OF which he
must shovel himself? Independent Of
the cold weather when he stands thrash
ing his numbed fingers around his body
to keep them from being frosted? In
dependent of the frozen feet? Inde-
pendent of what?
Fancy farmers who have made their
fortunes in the city and 60 out in the
country to build houses with all the
modern improvements and make farm
ing q luxury may not need any ~solace;
but tho yeomanry who get their living
out of tho soil, and who that way have
to clOthe their families and educate
their children, and pay their taxes and
meet the interest on moftgaged farms
such men find a terrific struggle.
The Bible is full of them. In Christ's
sermon on the mount you see the full
blown lilies and the glossy back of the
wing as it flies over Mount Olivet
David and John, Paul and Isaiah find in
country life a source of frequent Illus
t~ratiOn, while Christ takes the RESPONSE
bility Of calling God . farmer, declar-
ing: my Father is tho husbandman."
Noah was the first farmer. We say
nothing about Cain. the tiller Of the
soil. Adam was a gardener on . largo
scale, but to Noah was given all the
acres of tho earth. Elisha was an agri-
culturist, not c~ulturing a tea-acre lot,
for in my text you find him blowing
with twelve yoke OF ken before him,
and he with tho twelfth. In Bible times
the land was 40 plenty and the inhabit-
ants SO few. that Noah was right when
he gavo 70 every inhabitant a certain
portion Of land; that land, il cultured,
ever after to be his " possession.
They were not small crops raised in
those times. for though the arts were |
rude. the plow turned up very rich soil. |
and barley, and cotton. and fax. and all |
kinds of grain came up At the call Of tho |
harvesters. Pliny tells Of one stalk of
grain that had on it between three and
four hundred ears. The rivers and the |
brooks, through artificial cham is. |
were brought down to the roots Of the |
corn. and to this habit of turning . river |
wherever it was wanted Solomon refers
when he says: 1.-The Kings heart is in
the hand Of tho Lord and He turneth 1t
30 ttlC I4vSI Va u tu1uO0e ! L
ersoevcr lie will"
The wild beasts we're caught, and
then a hook was put into their nose, and
then they were led over the field. and to
that God refers when lie says to wicked
81 will put hook in thy
nose and I will bring thce back by the
way which thou earnest" And God has
= hooL IN ovorv NAME uDSo vvho<hor q /
be Nebuchadnozzar or Ahab or Herod.
He may think himself very independent
some time in his life or in the hour
uf his death he will find that the Lord
has . hook in his nose.
This wal the rule in regard to the cul-
of the ground: Thou shalt not
pillow with an OK and an ass together"
Illustrating the folly of ever putting in
telligent and useful and pliablc men in
with the stubborn and I'M
manageable. The vast majority OF
in the churches and in refOrma.
tory institutions comes from the disre-
yard Of this command Of the Lord:
Thou shalt dot pillow with an OK and an
ISIS together"
There were large amounts Of property
in cattle. The Moabites paid
loo. 600 sheep as an annual tar Job had
1000 sheep. 5000 camels 500 yoke Of
oxen. The time of vintage Was ushered
with mirth and music. The clusters
II the vine were put into the wine press,
md then five men would get into the
press and trample out the juice from the
grape until their garments wcr satu-
rated with the wine and had become the
emblems Of slaughter. Christ Himself,
sounded until covered with the blood
IF cruc;fixion. made use Of this allusion
when the question was asked: where
lore art thou red in thine apparel and
ny garments like one who treadeth the
vine vat?" He responded: Il have
rodden the wine press alone"
In all ages there has been greathonor
,aid to agriculture. Sevcn-eighths of
he people in evcrycountry are disciples
4 the pillow. A government is strong in
,ropOrtion as it is supported by an atb-
etc and Industrious yeomanry. So
ong ago as before the fall of Carthage, /,
;trab0 wrote t~enty-eight books on az
vl. -.-~N ~NAun m NAA Il,