Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1891-01-12
TO OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.
DR.. TALMAGE breaches TO The
"SHEEP WITHOUT THE FOLD"

All the Christians Do Not Belong to
Congregations, but There Are Many
Reasons why All Persons Should Be
Christians-A Word to Unbelievers.
BROOKLYN, Jan. 1.-THE following
powerful sermon, addressed to nom
churchgoers, was delivered by DR.. TAI
mage this morning in the Academy OF
Music, this city, and again in the even
ing at the New York Academy of Music,
where services are still being held I'M
der the auspices of The Christian Her
aid. At the latter service the new
choir of two hundred voices most ef-
fectively led the musical exercises.
DR.. Talmage's text was John y, 10:
"Other sheep have which are not OF
this fold"
There is no monopoly in religion.
The grace of God is not nice little
property fenced off all for ourselves. 1t
is not a kings park, at which we look
through a barred gateway, wishing we
might go in and pluck the flowers and
look at the deer and the statuary. 1t Is
a fathers orchard, and there are bars to
let down and gates to swing open.
In my boyhood days, next to the
country schoolhouse where | went,
there was an apple orchard of great
Iuxuriance, owned by very lame man
who did not gather the apples, and
they went TO waste by scores of bushels.
Sometimes the lads of the school, In
the sinfulness of a nature inherited
from our first parents, who fell through
the same temptation, would climb over
the fence and take some of these ap-
pies. and Notwithstanding the fact that
there was a surplus, and all going to
waste, the owner of that orchard, reck-
less of making his lameness worse,
would take after these lads and shout,
Boys. drop those apples or I'll set the
dog on you'll"
Now there are Christians who have
severe guard over the Church of God.
They have a rough and unsympathetic
way of treating outsiders. 1t is a great
orchard into which God would like to
have all the people come and take
the richest and the ripest fruit, and the
more they take the better he likes it.
But there are those who stand with a
hard and severe nature guarding the
Church of God, and all the time afraid
that some will get these apples when
t. ~aaIly ought not to have them.
GU any idea that because you
.otized at eight months of age
ana .ecause you have all your life been
surrounded by hallowed influences you
have a right to one whole side of the
Lords table, spreading yourself out so
nobody else can sit there? You will
have to haul in your elbows, for there
will come a great multitude to sit at
the table and on both sides of you.
You are not going to have this monop-
oily of religion "Other sheep have
which are not of this fold"
Mcdonald, the Scotchman, has on
the Scotch hills a great flock of sheep.
Mcdonald has four or five thousand
head of sheep Some are browsing in
the heather, some are on the hills, some
are in the valleys, a few are in the
yard One day Cameron comes over
to Mcdonald and says: Mcdonald,
you have thirty sheep. | have been
counting them" "Oh, mop says Nc
sand" ''Ahr' says Cameron, ''you
are mistaken. l have just counted
them. There are thirty" why" says
| Mcdonald, do you suppose that is al
the sheep l have? have sheep on the
distant hills and in the valleys, ranging
and roaming everywhere. Other sheef
have | which are not of this fold"
So Christ comes. Here is a group O
| Christians, and there is a group OF
! Christians; here is a Methodist fold,
here is a Presbyterian fold, here is a
| Baptist fold, here is a Lutheran fold,
| and we make our annual statistics, and
we think we can tell you just how
many Christians there are in the world,
| how many there are in the church,
| how many in all these denominations.
| We aggregate them, and we think we
are giving an intelligent and an ac
curate account; but Christ comes and
he SAYS: You have not counted them
right. There are those whom you have
never seen, those of whom you have
never heard. 1 have my children il
all parts of the earth, on all the island!
of the sea, on all the continents, in al
the mountains and in all the valleys
Do you think that these few sheep yoJ
have counted are all the sheep | have
There is a great multitude that no mar
can number Other sheep have
which are not of this fold"
Christ in my text talks of the con
version of the Gentiles as confidently
as though they had already been con
verted He sets forth the idea tina
his people will come from all parts o
the earth, from all ages, from al
circumstances, from all conditions
"Other sheep have I which are not O
this fold"
In the first place 1 remark tn
Heavenly Shepherd will find many O
his sheep among those who are a
present non-churchgoers. There ar
different kinds of churches. Some
times you will find a church made u
only of Christians. Everything seem
finished. The church reminds you o
those skeleton plants from which b
chemical preparation all the greennes
and the verdure have been taken, AM
they are cold and white and delicat
and beautiful and finished. All that
wanted is a glass case put over them
The minister on the Sabbath has onl
to take an ostrich feather and brus
off the dust that has accumulated i
the last six days of business, and the
they are as cold and beautiful and de
icate as before. Everything is f1nishe
finished sermons, finished music, fiji
: ished architecture, finished everything
Another church is like an armOr.
the sound of drum and fife calm
more recruits to the Lords army. W
say to the applicants, ''Come in an
get your equipment. Here is the bat
in which you are to be cleansed, he
is the helmet you are to put on yol
head, here are the sandals you are
, put on your feet, here is the breas
. plate you are to put over your hear
here is the sword you are to take
your right hand and fight his bait
with. Quit yourselves like men,
There are those here, perhaps, WI
say, 'It is now ten, fifteen years sin