The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-03-23
AMOS OF TEKOA.
DR.. Talmage Tells the Life Story
Of the Inspired Herdsman.
Interesting Facts Concerning tho sevcn
Stars and Orion-The Starry Firma.
ment and How Consolation
Can There be Found
What Amos Saw.


nacle recently, Rev. DIR. Talmage trav-
erses wide realms of thought to teach
useful everyday lessons, based upon the
text, Amos ", s: "Seek Him that
,maketh the seven stars and Orion" The
eloquent divine spoke as follows:
A country farmer wrote this text
Amos of Tekoa. He plowed the earth,
and threshed the grain by new thresh-
ing machine just invented, as formerly
the cattle trod out the grain. He gath
cred the fruit of the sycamore tree, and
scarifed 1t with an iron comb just be-
fore it was getting ripe, as it was nec-
essary and customary in that way to
take from it the bitterness. He was
the son of poor shepherd, and slut
tered; but before the stammering rustic
the Philistines, the Syrians, and Phaeni-
clans, and Moabites, and Ammonites,
and Edomites, and Israelites trembled
Moses was lawgiver, Daniel was a
prince, Isaiah courtier, and David a
king; but Amos, the author of my text,
was peasant, and, as might be sup
posed, nearly all his parallelisms are
pastoral, his prophecy full Of the odor
of new-mown hay, and the rattle OF
locusts, and the rumble Of carts with
sheaves, and the roar of wild beasts de-
vouring the flock while the shepherd
came out in their defense. He watched
the herds by day, and by night inhab-
tied booth made out of bushes, so that
through these branches he could see
the stars all night long, and was more
familiar with them than those who have
tight roofs on our houses, and hardly
ever see the stars except among the
tall brick chimneys of the great towns
But at seasons of the year when the
herds were in special danger, he would
stay out in the open field all through
the darkness, his only shelter the cur
tain Of the night heaven, with the
stellar embroideries and silvered tas-
sells Of lunar light
What life of solitude, all alone with
his herds! Poor Amos! And at l9
o'clock at night, harlS to the VOLTS bark,
and the lions roar, and the beasts
growl, and the owls te-whit-te-who
and the serpents hiss, as he unwitting-
ly steps too near while moving through
the thickets! So Amos, like other herds
men, got the habit Of studying the map
Of the heavens, because It was so much
OF the time spread out before him. He
noticed some stars advancing and others
receding lie associated their dawn
and setting with certain seasons OF the
year. He had a poetic nature, and he
read night by night, and menth by
month, and year by year, the poem Of
the consultations, divinely rythmic
But two rosettes OF stars especially at
tracted his attention while seated on
the ground, or lying on his back under
the open scroll of the midnight heav-
ens--the Pleiades, or seven stars, and
Orion. The former group this rustic
prophet associated with the spring, as II
rises about the first OF May. The lat
ter he associated with winter, as II
comes to the meridian in January. The
Pleiades, or seven stars, connected with
all sweetness and joy; Orion, the her
aid OF tho tempest The ancients were
the more apt TO study the physiognomy
and juxtaposition Of the heavenly bod
les because they thought they had n
special influence upon the earth; and
perhaps they we're right II the moon
every few hours lifts and let's down the
tides OF the Atlantic Ocean, and the
electric storms of the sun, by all scien-
tific admission, affect the earth, why
not the stars have proportionate effect?
And there are some things which
make me think that II may not have
been all superstition which connected
the movements and appearances Of the
heavenly bodies with great moral events
on earth. Did not a meteor run on
evangelistic errand on the first Chris
mas night and designate the rough
cradle Of our Lord? Did not the stars in
their courses fight against Sisera2 Was
1t merely coincidental that before the
destrucioa OF Jerusalem the moon was
eclipsed for twelve consecutive nights2
Did II merely happen so that new
star appeared In constellation Cassio-
peia, and then disappear just before
King Charles TX. OF France, who was
responsible for the St Bartholomew
massacre, died? Was it without signih-
canoe that in the days of the Roman
Emperor Justinian war and famine
were preceded by the dimness Of the
sun, which for nearly year gave no
more light than the moon, although
there were no clouds to obscure it2
Astrology, after all, may have been
something more than brilliant heath
enism. No wonder that Amos OF the
text, having heard these two anthems of
the stars, put down the stout rough
staff OF the herdsman and took into his
brown hand and cut and knotted fin.
gers the pen Of a prophet, and advised
the recreant people of his time TO re-
turn TO God, saying: "Seek Him that
maketh the seven stars and Orion"
This command, which Amos gave 1856
years, B. c., is just as appropriate for
us, 1899 A. d.
In the first place, Amos saw, as we
must see, that the God who made the
Pleiades and Orion must be the God OF
order II was not 80 much star here
and star there tint impressed the in
spired herdsman, but seven in one
group. He saw that night after night,
season after season. and decade after
decade, they had kept step Of light,
eakh one in its own place, u sisterhood
never clashing, and never contesting
precedence. From the time Hesiod
called the Pleiades the seven daugh-