The Red Cloud chief., 1891-09-18
SERMON TO
d.. Talmage Addresses the Ari.
culturista.
The Multitude Invited to Drink NJ II.
Gospel Well-An Glasses Welcomed
Glorious Offering Of Christ
Healing Worldly Sorrow.

In q sermon lately preached at the
York and Pennsylvania exposition
Elmira. N. Y, Rev. 7. Dewitt Tai.
mage took his text from Genesis XIX.
"And they said, we cannot until all
~&he focks be gathered together, and till
they roll the stone from the wells
mouth; then we water the sheep"
After abiding to his early training on
the farm and the appropriateness of his
addressing an assembly Of farmers and
stock ~raisers, DIR. Talmage said:
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, 1 cannot find a
more appropriate text than the n l
read. II is a scene in Mesopotamia,
beautifully pastoral. A well of water of
great value in that region. The fields
around about it white with three foeks
Of sheep lying down waiting for the
watering. l look off, and I see other
focks of sheep coming. Mean
while Jacob. a stranger, on
the interesting errand of looking
ing for a wife. comes to the we'll. A
beautiful shepherdess comes to the
same we'll see her approaching. fol.
lowed 10y her fathers flock of sheen
1t was a memorable 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, Jacob accosts the
shepherds and asks them why they
postpone the shaking Of the thirst of
these sheep. and why they did not i'm
mediately proceed to water them. The
shepherds reply to the effect: 1--WE are
all good neighbors, and as q 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
filled, and the sheep are satisfied. We
cannot, until all the flOcks be gathered
together, and till they roll the stone
from the wells mouth, then we water
the sheep"
o. this is a thirsty world! Hot for
the head. and blistering for the feet
and parching for the tongue. The
worlds great want is a cool, refreshing,
satisfying draught We wander around
and find the cistern empty. Long and
tedious drought has dried up the worlds
fountains. but near,y nineteen centuries
ago, a Shepherd, with n crook I'm the
Slona 81 a rroSc ond faof r"4 g., l1aaJ
ing, explored the desert passages of
this world, and one day came across n
well n thousand feet deep, bubbling
and bright, and opalescent, and looked
10 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, evere one that thirsteth,
come We 70 the waters!"
Now a great flock of sheep to-day
gather around this gospel well. There
are a great many thirsty souls Won
der why the fiocks of all nations do not
~gather-why so many stay t~hirsty-and
while i am wondering about 1t my text
breaks forth,in the explanation, saying:
1--WE cannot, until all the flocks be
gathered together, and till they roll the
stone from the wells mouth; then we
water the sheep"
IL a herd of swine come to a well
they angrily jostle each other for the
~recedence; if a drove of cattle come
% a well, they hook each other back
from the water, but when the lock of
sheep come. though a hundred of them
shall he disappointed, they only eX-
1890, L. .u llr hav ~.
together peacefully. We want a great
multitude to come around the gospel
well. l know there are those who do
not like a crowd-they think a crowd
is vulgar. IL they are oppressed for
room in church it makes them posi-.
lively impatient and belligerent Not
81 did these oriental shepherds. They
waited until all the flocks were gath.
cred, and the more fiocks that came,
the better they liked it. And SO we
ought to be anxious that all the people
should come.
Go out into the highways and the
hedges and compel them to come in.
Go tn the rich and tell them they are
INDECENT without the gospel of Jesus.
Go to the poor and tell them the afiu.
ence there is in Christ. TIC to the blind
and tell them of the touch that gives
eternal illumination. Go to the lame
and tell them of the joy that will make
the lame man leap like a hart. Gather
all the sheep off of all the mountains
None SO torn of the dogs. lone so sick,
none so worried, none so dying, rs tC
be omitted. When the fall elections
come the whole land is secured Tor
voters, and if a man is too weak or sick
10 walk to the polls, a carriage Is sent
for him; but when the question is
whether Christ or the devil shall rule
this world. how few there are to come
ont and seek the sick. and the lost and
the suffering, and the bereft and the
lame, and induce their suffrages for the
Lord Jesus. Why not gather a grea,
flock? All America in a flock; all the
world in n flock. This we'll of tho Cos
pei is deep enough to put ont the burn
ing thirst of the fourteen hundred mil
lions Of the race. DO not let the church,
by a spirit of cxclusivenesS keep the
world out Let down all the bars,
swing open all the gates scatter all the
invitations: "Whosocver will, let him
come"
You notice that this well of Mesopo'
tamia had a stone on it, which n be
removed before the sheep could be
watered; and i find on the well Of sal.
walton to-day im~pediments and OBJ
s~tacles, which must be removed in or.
der that you may obtain the refresh
ment and life of this gospel
In your case the impeachment is pride
Of heart. You canno bear to come to
so democratic a fountain; you do not
want to come with SO many others. II
is to you like when you are dry, COM
ing ( o a town pump, as compared to
sitting in a parlor slipping out Of a
chased chalice which has just been
lifted from a silver salver. Not SO
many publicaus and sinners You
want to get TO Heaven, but it must be
in a special car. with your feet on a
Turkish ottoman and a band of music
on board the train. You do not want
to be in company with rustic Jacob and
D..lo1 o,l - ho dripEiur nuf of the