The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-12-14
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject: .The Ingathering Season.

his season."-Job ", 90.
This is the time Of the year for huskin,
corn. II you have recently been in tn
fields Of Pennsylvania, or New Jersey, or
New York, or New England, or in any oil
the country districts, you know that the
corn is all cut The sharp knife struck
through the stalks and left them all along
the fields until man came with bundle
of straw and twisted few Of these wisps OF
straw into band, and then, gathering up
as much of the corn as he could compass
with his arms he bound it with this wisp of
straw, and then stood it in the field in what
is called q shock. There are now at least
two billion bushels Of corn either standing
in the shock or having been already husksd
The farmers gather one day on one farm
and then another day on another farm, and
they put on their rough husking apron, and
they take the husking peg, which is piece
of iron with leathern loop fastened to the
hand, and with it unsheath the corn from
the husk and toss it into the golden heap:
Then the wagons come along and take 1t to
the corncrib.
About corn as an important cereal OF
corn as metaphor the Bible is constantly
speaking. You know about the people in
famine coming to buy corn OF Joseph, and
tthe foxes on fire running into the standing
corn" and about the oxen treading out the
corn, and about the seven thin ears OF corn
that in Pharoah's dream devoarsd the seven
good ears, and the '.parchsd corn" handed
ito beautiful Ruth by the harvesterS of Beth
lehem, and Abigaips fivs measures OF
;''parched corn" with which she hoped to
.appease the enemies Of her drunken hrs-
band, and David's description of the valleys
covered over with corn" and "the handful
OF corn in the earth" and 'the full corn in
the ear" and Christs Sabbath morning
walk through cornfelds, and the disciples
''plucking ears Of corn" and 80 am not
surprised to find corn husking time referred
to in my text, 'As shock OF corn cometh Id
In his SEASON."
How vividly to all those OF US who were
born in the country comes the remembrance
Of husking time We waited for 1t as for
q gala day of the year. 1t was called a
,frolic. The trees having for the most part
shed their foliage, the farmers waded
through the fallen leaves and came through
the keen morning air to the gleetul COM
pany. The frosts, which had silvered every
thing during the night, began to melt of
the top Of the corn shocks. While the
farmers were waiting for others they stood
or thrashing their arms around their body
to keep up warmth of circulation. Roaring
mirth greeted the late farmer as he crawled
over the fence. Joke and repartee and
rustic salutation abounded. ALREADY now! !!
. The men take hold of the shock Of corn
and hurl it PROSTATE, while the moles and
mice which have secreted themselves there
for warmth attempt escape. The withe OF
straw Is unwound from the corn shock, and
the stalks heavy with the wealth of grain
are rolled into two bundles, between which
the husker sits down. The husking peg is
thrust in until it strikes the corn, and then
the fingers rip off the sheathing of the ear,
and there is crack as the root OF the corn
is snapped of from the husk, and the grain
disimprisoned is hurled up into the sunlight.
The air Is 80 tonic, the work Is so very exhil-
arating, the company is so blithe that some
laugh, and some shout and some sing, and
some banter, and some tease q neighbor for
romantic ride along the edge Of the woods
in an evsntide in carriage that nolds but
two. and some propaesy as to the number OF
bushels to the field, and Others 60 into COM
petition as to which shall rifle the most corn
shocks before sundown.
After awhile the dinner horn sounis from
the farmhouse and the table Is surrounded
by group Of jolly and hungry men. From
all the pantries and ths cellars and the
perches Of fowl on the place the richest
dainties come, and there Is carnival and
neighborhood reunion, and a scsne which
fills our memory part with smiles but more
with tears, as We remember that the farm
belQngs now to other owners, and other
hands gather in the field, and many Of those
who mingled In that merry husklng scene
have themselves been reaped "liks as
shock OF corn cometh in in his season."
There IS q difference Of opinion as to
whether the orienrals knew anything about
she corn as 1t stands in our fields but recent
discoveries have found out that the Hebrew
tnew all about Indian maize, for there have
been grainsof corn picked up out Of ancient
crypts and exhumsd from hiding places
where they were put down many centuries
ago, and Lney have been planted IN our time
ana have come up just such Indian maizs as
we raise In New York and Ohio; 80 I am
right when l say that my text may refer to
q shock OF corn just as you and bound 1t;
just as you and threw It; just as you and
husged it There may come soms practical
ami useful and comforting lessons to all our
souls while we think OF coming in at Last
'fike shock OF corn cometh In In his
season."
It is high time that the King of Terrors
were thrown out OF the Christian vocab-
ulary. A vast muititu te Of people talk Of
death as though it were the disaster Of dis
ssters, instead Of being TO good man the
blessing Of blessings 1t is moving out OF q
cold vestibule into warm temple. It is
migrating into groves Of redolence and per-
petual fruitage. It is q change from bleak
March to roseste June. 1t Is q change OF
manacles for garlands. It is the transmitting
Iot the iron handouts Of earthly incarcsra.
lticn into the diamonded wristlets Of bridal
party, or, to use the suggestion Of my text,
of Of the rough sheath Of the body that the
bright and beautiful soul may 60 free. Com
ing in ''liks shock Of corn comsth in in his
season" Christ broke up q funeral process
sion at the gate Of Main by making resur-
rection dav for young man and his mother.
md would that could break up your sad
ness and halt the long funeral procession of
the worlds grief by some cheerful view Of
the last transition.
We all know that husking time was time
of frost. Frost on the fence; frost on the
stubble; frost on the ground; frost on the
bare branches Of the trees; frost In the air;
frost on the hands Of the huskers. You re-
member we used to hide between the corn
stacks 80 as to keep OF the wind, but still
you remember how shivering was the body
and how painful was the cheek, and how be-
numbed were the hands. But after awhile
the sun was high up, and all the froSts went
out Of the air, and hlarities awakened the
echoes, and joy from one corn shock went
up "Aha, ahap and was answered by joy
from another corn shock, "Aha, ahaW So
we all realizs that the death OF our friend is
the nipping OF many expectations, the freez-
ing, the chilling, the frosting o. many OF
our hopes. It Is far from being south
wind.
1t comes out of the frigid north, and
when they 60 away from US we stand be-
numbed in body and benumbed in mind and
benumbet in soul. We stand among our
dead neighbors, our dead families, and We
say, "Will we ever get over itr' Yes we
will get over 1t amid the shoutings Of heav-
emily reunion, and we will look back to all
these distrssses Of bereavement only as the
temporary distresses Of husking time.