The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1890-08-23
SERMON TO FARMERS.
DR.. Talmege on Farming and the
Farmers Struggles.
Farm Facts In tho Biblo-Deep Flowing
Needed For the Field as We'll ne
the Soul - The Great
Harvest.

At the lato Farmers encampment
near Lebanon, Pa, Rev. 7. Dewitt
Talmage preached to d great crowd on
Farming, a Gospel Type his text be-
ing from I. Kings, xix. 10: elisha,
the son of Shaphat, who was blowing
with twelve oxen before him and he
with the twelfth" DIR. Talmage said:
Farmers Of America, accept my salu-
tstionl Our text puts us down into the
plow's furrow, whore many OF US have
been before. My boyhood passed on a
farm and my father q farmer, your style
OF life is familiar to me. One Of my
earliest recollections is that of my
father coming in from the hot harvest
field exhausted, the perspiration stream
ing from his forehead and chin, and
fainting on tho doorsill. and my mother
resuscitating him, until seeing the
alarm OF the household he said: Don't
be frightened. / got a little tired and
the sur was hot, but | am all right
now" And | remember mother seated
at the table often saying: Well, l am
too tired to eatr' The fact is that | do
not think the old folks got thoroughly
rested until they lay down in the grave
yard back of Somerville to take the
last sloep.
Office seekers go through the land and
they stand on political platforms, and
they tell the farmers the story about
the independent life Of a farmer. giving
f~iattery whore they ought to give SYM
patty. Independent OF what? or the
curcuiio that stings the peach tree2 of
the rust In the wheat? of the long rain
with tho rye down? Independent of the
grasshopper? of the locust2 of the army
worm? OF the potato bug? ~Independ-
emit OF the drought that burns up the
harvest? Independent of the COW with
he hollow horn? or the sheep with the
foot rot? or the pot horse with q nail In
his hoof? Independent Of tho cold that
freezes out the winter grainP ~Independ-
ent OF tho snowbank out Of which he
must shovel himself? independent Of
the cold weather whom he stands thrash
Ing his numbed fingers around his body
to keep them from being frosted? In
dependent of the frozen feetP indie
pendent Of whatp
Fancy farmers who have made their
fortunes in the city and go out in the
country to build houses with all the
modern improvements and make farm
Ing q luxury may not need any ~solace;
but the yeomanry who get their living
out OF the soil, and who that way havo
to olothe their families and educate
their children, and pay their taxes and
meet the interest on mortgaged farms
such men find a terrific struggle. . =
The Bible Is full of them. In Christ's
sermon on the mount you see tho full
blown lilies and the glossy back OF the
crows wing as II 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 a farmer, declar-
ing: my Father is the h~usbandman."
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 culturing a ten-acre lot.
for in my ext you find him blowing
with twelve yoke OF oxen before him,
and he with tho twelfth. In Bible times
the land was so plenty and tho inhabit-
~ AOWf bnab ANO1n Whb TlKuD WIl6H
he gave to every inhabitant a certain
portion Of land; that land. II cultured,
after to be his own possession.
They were not small crops raised in
those times. for though the arts we're
rude, the pillow turned up very rich soil,
and barley, and cotton, and fax, and all
kinds OF grain came up at tho call OF the
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 channels.
were brought down TO the roots OF the
corn, and to this habit of turning a river
wherever II was wanted Solomon refers
when he says: '"The Kings heart is In
the hand of the Lord and He turneth il
as the rivers of water are turned, with
oev He will"
The wild beasts were caught, and
then a hook was put into their nose, and
then they we're led over the field, and TO
that God refers when He says to wicked
senIacherib; II will puts hook in thy