Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1891-07-02


and why Men and Sheep Go Astray.
whosoever VIII, Let Him Come.
DR.. Talmage's subject last Sunday was
T'Astray, but Recovered" and his text
Isaiah lii, 6: ''All we like sheep have
gone astray: X and the Lord
hath laid on him the iniquity of us all"
Within ninety years at the longest all
who hear or read this sermon will be in
eternity, During the next fifty years
you will nearly all be gone The next
ten years will cut u wide swath among
the people The year 1891 will to some
be the tinality. Such considerations
make this occasion absorbing and mo-
mcntous. The first half of my text is an
Indictment, "All we like sheep have gone
astray." Some one says: ''Can you not
drop the first word? That is too gen
cral; that sweeps too great circle"
Some man rises in the audience and he
looks over on the opposite side Of the
house, ard he SAYS: There is BIAS
phemcr, and l understand how he has
gone astray. And there in another part
of the house is a defraudcr, and he has
gone astray And there is an impure
person, and he has gone astray."
Sit down, my brother, and look at
behind the pulpit, sweeps the circuit of
the room and comes back to the point
where it started, when it says: "AIl we
like sheep have gone astray." I can very
easily understand why Martin Luther
threw up his hands after he had found
she Bible and cried out, "Oh! my sins,
my sins, " and why the publican, accord
ing to the custom to this day in the East
when they have any great grief,
began to beat himself and cry as he
Smotc upon his breast, ''God be merciful
10 me a sinner"
/ was, like many Of you, brought up in
the country, and / know some of the
habits of sheep and how they get astray,
and what my text means when it says,
''All we like sheep have gone astray."
Sheep get astray in two ways, either by
Grying to get into the other pasture, or
from being scared by the dogs. In the
former way some of us got astray. We
thought the religion of Jesus Christ short
commons We thought there was better
pasturagc somewhere else. We thought
If we could only lie down on the banks Of
distant streams or under great oaks on
the other side of some hill we might be
better fed.
We wanted other paSturage than that
which God through Jesus Christ gave our
soul, and we wandered on and we wan
dcred on, and we were lost. We wanted
bread and we found garbage The fur
thcr we wandered, instead Of finding
rich pasturage, we found blasted heath
and sharper rocks and more singing net
ties. No pasture, How was it in the
worldly groups when you lost your child?
Did they come around and console you
very much? Did not the plain Christian
man who camc into your house and sat
up with your darling child give you more
comfort than ali worldly associations?
Did all the cOnViVial songs you ever
heard comfort you in that day Of bereave-
mcnt so much as the song they sang to
you, perhaps the very song that was sang
by your little child the last Sabbath
afternoon of her life?
There is a happy land far, far away.
Where saints immortal reign br ght, bright
us day.
Did your business associates in that
day Of darkness and trouble give you
any especial coincidence? Business ex-
asp9ratcd you, business wore you out,
business left you limp as Il rag, business
made you mad. You got dollars, but
you got no peace. God have mercy on
the man who has nothing but business
to comfort him. The world afforded you
no luXuriant pasturagc. A famous En-
gliSh actor stood on the stage imperson-
ating, and thunders of applause came
down from the galleries, and many
thought it was the proudest moment of
all his life: but there was man asleep
just in front Of him, and the fact that
shat man was indifferent and somnolent
spoiled a Il the occasion for him, and he
cried, wake up! wake up"
SO one little annoyance in life has
F0oc0 more pcrVading to your mind than
all Jisc brilliant congratulations and sue
ccsSes. Poor pasturage for your soul
you found in this world. The world has
cheated you, the world has belied You,
the world has mis- Nterpreted you, the
world has pcrseCuted you. 1t never
cOmfortcd you. Oh. this world is good
rack from which Il horse may pick his
hay; it is good trough from which the
swine may crunch their mess; BUTT gives
but little food to Il soul blood bought and
Immortal.
What is a soul? 1t is q hope high as
the throne Of God. What is u man? You
say, at is only man" 1t is only u man
gone overheard in business life. What
is a man? The battle ground of three
worlds, With his hands taking hold Of
destinieS Of light or darkness. A man.
No line can measure him, No limit can
bound him. The archangCl before the
throne cannot outlive him. The stars
shall die, but he will watch their cNtn-
punishment. The world will burn, but he
will gaze on the con1agration. Endless
ages will march on; he will watch the
procession. A man. The masterpiece
of God Almighty. Yet you say, lit is
only man" Can a nature like that be
fed on husks Of the Wilderness?
Substantial comfort will not grow
On Natures barren soil;
All we can boast till Christ we know
Is vanity and toll.
Some of you got aStray by looking for
better pasturage; others by being scared