Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1891-09-07
ITALMAGE At THE FAIR,
a CALL TO TIE WELL OF ETER-
NhL SALVATION

p CALL ~ ! f7E WELL Vt ~
Nal SALVATION
Sermon Preached by the Brooklyn Divine
at EIgnireS. n. v. Where AN inter 'e
Fair Is i'm Progress An Interests. =;
and Appropriate Discourse.
EIMIIIA, Sept. 8 The Rev. Or Tai
mage preached here today to the in
mense multitude who had come TO at
tend the New York and Pennsylvania
exposition. which is being held here
Sept. to Sept . 1t is Il combined
exposition of cattle sheep, horses and
valuable stock OF al kinds fro:n the
two states. Tie sermon was preached
OH the fair grounds 10 Il great audience
of farmers. horSeucn DRIVERS and
stockrlistrs from near and far, as well
as citizens from the adjacent cities
Secretary Stanley. al the Young Mems
Christian Association OF Ehnira, pre-
sided. DR.. Talmage's text was Genesis
xxx. 8. And they said. we cannot,
until all the llocks be gathered together,
and till they roll the stone from the
wells mouth, then we water the
sheep
SPEAKING TO THE SHEPHERDS.
There are some reasons why it is ap-
propriate that | should accept the in
vitation to preach at this great inter
state fair, and to these thrOngs of
countrylnen and citizens-hOrsemen
Just come from their fine chargers, the
king of beasts, for | take the crown
from the lion and put it on the brow
of the horse, which is in every way
nobler-and speak to these shepherds
lust come from their tocks-the Lord
himself in one place called Shepherd,
and in another place called Lamb,
and all the good are Sheppard preach
to you cattlemen come up from the
herds, your occupation honored by the
fact that God himself thinks it worthy
of immortal record that he owns 1.-THE
cattle on a thousand hills"
1t is appropriate that | come, be-
cause / was a farmers boy and never
saw a city until was nearly grown,
and having been born in the country
l never got over it, and would not
dwell in cities a day if my work was
not appointed there. My love to you
now, and when | get through l will
give you my hand, for though | have
this summer shaken hands with per-
haps forty thousand people in twenty
one states of the Union, all the way
through to Colorado and north and
south, | will not conclude my summer
vacation till | have shaken hands with
you You old farmer out therel How
you make me think of my fatherl You
elderly woman out there, with cap and
spectac!esl How you make me think
of my motherl
And now, while the air of these fair
grounds is filled with the bleating of
sheep, and the neighing of horses, and
the lowing of cattle, cannot find
more appropriate text than the one
read. 1t is a scene in Mesopotamia,
beautifully pastoral. A we'll of water
of great value in that region. The fields
around about it white with three hocks
of sheep lying down waiting for the
watering. I hear their bleating coming
on the bright air, and the laughter of
young men and maidens indulging in
rustic repartee | look off, and | see
other fiocks of sheep coming Mean
while, Jacob, a stranger, on the inter
esting GRAND of looking for a wife,
comes to the well. A beautiful shep-
herdess comes to the same well. I see
her approaching, followed by her faith
er's flock of sheep. 1t was mem
orable meeting. Jacob married that
shepherdess The Bible account of it
is, Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up
his voice and wept." 1t has always
been a mystery to me what he found
to cry about
But before that scene occurred, ia
cob accosts the shepherds and asks
them why they postpone the shaking of
the thirst of these sheep, and why they
did not Immediately proceed to water
them. The shepherds reply to the effect:
1--WE are all good neighbors, and as a
matter of courtesy we wait until all the
sheep of the neighborhood come up.
Besides that, this stone on the wells
mouth is somewhat heavy, and several
of US take hold of it and push it aside,
and then the buckets and the troughs
are filed and the sheep are satisfied.
We cannot, until all the flocks be gath
cred together, and till they roll the
stone from the wells mouth; then we
water the sheep"
THE WORLDS GREAT WANT.
Oh, this is thirsty worldl Hot for
the head, and blistering for the feet,
and parching for the tongue. The
worlds great want is a cool, refreshing,
satisfying draft. We wander around
and find the cistern empty. Long and
tedious drought has dried up the worlds
fountains, but nearly nineteen centuries
ago a Shepherd, with crook in the
shape of a cross, and feet cut to the
bleeding, explored the desert passages
of this world and one day came across
a well thousand feet deep, bubbling
and bright and Opalescent, and looked
to the north, and the south, and the
east, and the west, and cried out with a
voice strong and musical that rang
through the ages: ''HO, every one that
thirsteth, come ye to the watersI'
Now, a great flock of sheep today
gather around this Gospel well. There
are a great many thirsty souls. won
der why the flocks of all nations do not
gather-why SO many stay thirsty and
while 1 am wondering about it. my
text breaks forth in the explanation,
saying: 1--WE cannot, until all the focks
be gathered together, and till they roll
the stone from the wells mouth; then
we water the sheep"
If a herd of swine come to a well
they angrily iostle each other for the
precedence; if a drove of cattle come
to WE'LL they hook each other back
from the water; but when the flock of
sheep come, though hundred of them
shall be disappointed, they only ex-
press it by sad bleating, they come to-
gether peacefully. We want a great
multitude to come around the Gospel
well. know there are those who do
not like a crowd-they think crowd
is vulgar If they are oppressed for