Milford chronicle., 1892-12-02
AT THE TABERNACLE
THE iNeATHERlNe SEASON THE oc.
cAsIoN OF AN IMPORTANT LESSON.

p BROOKLYN, Nov. 27.-Rev. DR.. Talmar
today chose for his subject Of discours
q one eminently suited to the time followin
the ingathering Of the harvests and to tn
I thanksgiving season. The decorations {
4 the Thanksgiving day still remained O
the platform and the galleries, and lon
o rows Of yellow and white corn on the from
o and back Of the platform were in aceor
with the sermon. The text selected wa
Job V, 20, ''As a shock Of corn cometh in il
his season"
This is the time of the year for huskinj
corn. If you have recently been in tn
fields of Pennsylvania, or New Jersey, o
New York, or New England, or in any o
the country districts, you know that til,
corn is all cut. The sharp knife strucl
through the stalks and left them all alons
/ the fields until man came with a bundl,
of straw and twisted few of these wisp,
Of straw into a band, and then, gathering
upas much of the corn as he could com pas.
with his arms, he bound it with this wisI
Of straw, and then stood it in the field in
what is called a shock. There are now al
least two billion bushels of corn either
standing in the shock or having been al
ready husked. 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 leath-
ern 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 it to the corncrib.
THE BIBLE USES CORN AS TYPE.
About corn as an important cereal or
corn as a metaphor the Bible is constantly
speaking. You know about the people in
famine coming to buy corn of Joseph, and
the foxes on fire running into the stand
ing corn" and about the oxen treading out
the corn, and about the seven thin ears of
corn that in Pharoah's dream devOured the
seven good ears, and the "parched corn"
handed to beautiful Ruth by the harvest
ers of Bethlehem, and Abigail's five meas
ures of ''parched corn" with which she
hoped to appease the enemies Of her drunk
en- husband, and David's description Of the
valleys covered over with corn" and ''the
handful of corn in the earth, and 1.-THE full
corn in the ear" and Christ's Sabbath
morning walk through corn fields, and the
disciples ''plucking ears of corn" and so
am not surprised to find corn husking time
referred to in my text, CAS- shock Of corn
cOmeth in in his season."
How vividly to all those of us who were
born in the country comes the remem-
brance Of husking time. We waited for it
as for 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 glee- /
full company. The frosts, which had sill
vered everything during the night, began I
to melt off the top of the corn shocks. /
While the farmers were waiting for others /
they stood blowing their breath through .
their fingers or thrashing their arms
around their body to keep up warmth of .
Roaring mirth greeted the
late farmer as he crawled over the fence.
Joke and repartee and rustic salutation
abounded. All ready nowl
The men take hold of the shock of corn
and hurl it PROSTATE, while the moles and
mice which have secreted themselves there
or warmth attempt escape. The withe of
straw is unwound from the corn shock,
md the stalks heavy with the wealth of
grain are rolled into two bundles, between
which the husker sits down. The husking
reg is thrust in until it strikes the corn.
md then the fingers rip off the sheathing
# the ear, and there is a crack as the root
# the corn is snapped off from the husk,
nd the grain disimprisoned is hurled up
ntO the sunlight. The air is so tonic. the
york is so very exhilarating, the company
) so blithe that some laugh, and some /
hout, and some sing, and some banter,
nd some tease neighbor for a romantic I
ide along the edge of the woods in an I
ventide in carriage that holds but two, r
nd some prophesy as to the number of I
ushels to the field, and others go into 6
0mpetitiOn as to which shall rifle the most (
Orn shocks before sundown. n
After awhile the dinner horn sounds 6
ON the farmhouse, and the table is sur T.
FUNDED by group Of jolly and hungry n
len. From all the pantries and the eel :
rs and the perehes of fowl on the place K
le richest dainties come and there is
lrnival and neigh borhood reunion, and a ri
ene which fills our memory, part with v
niles, but more with tears, as we remem- l,
sr that the farm belongs now to other a
vners, and other hands gather in the q
I'D, and many of those who mingled in "
at merry husking scene have themselves W
en reaped like as a shock of corn COM h.
h in in his season." nj
THERE IS NO DEATH TO THE CHRISTIAN n,
There is a difference of opinion as to r,
neither the orientals knew anything II
'out the corn as it stands in our fields, pl
1t recent discoveries have found out that v,
maze. Z
there have been grains of corn picked
} out Of ancient crypts and exhumed
I'm hiding places where they were PUT hl
wn many centuries ago, and they have b
en- planted in our time and have come fiji
just such Indian maize as we raise in on
w York and Ohio; so l am right when / m
? that my text may refer to a shock of de
N just as you and l bound it; just as to
u and ] threw it; just as you and VIZ
sked it. There may come some practical an
useful and comforting lessons to all fol
r souls while we think of coming in at ca
t like a shock of corn cometh in in his ca
son." cal
t is high time that the King of Terrors cal
re thrown out of the Christian vOcab- ar,
Try. A vast multitude Of people talk Of {
lth as though it were the disaster Of we
asters, instead Of being to good man "a,
blessing of blessings. 1t is moving out bri
4 cold vestibule into a warm temple. It tae
into groves Of redOlence and me
petual fruitage. It is a change from INV
ak March to roseate June. 1t is a
.nge Of manacles for garlands. It is the str
of the iron handcuffs of pla
thly incarceration into the diamonded ing
stlets of a bridal party, or, to use the uni
gestion Of my text, it is only husking Th
t. ~ - bue TEARING ou VI bue rough eANt
ath of the body that the bright and the upl
utiful soul may go free. Coming in the
,e shock of corn cometh in in his sea cen
b" Christ broke up a funeral process wei
at the gate of Main by making a Cal
direction day for young man and his sidi
her, and I would that ! could break soil
your sadnesses and halt the long Tn,
aral procession of the worlds grief by A
e cheering and cheerful view Of the hus
transition. enc
re all know that husking time was u 70
e Of frost. Frost on the fence; frost gol'
he stubble; frost on the ground; frost Flsl
he bare branches Of the trees; frost in ear
air; frost on the hands Of the huskers. you
remember we used to hide between nov
corn stacks so as to keep off the wind, mar
still you remember how shivering was IN ~
body and how painful was the cheek, uig y,
how benumbed were the hands. But
r awhile the sun was high up, and all 3Ou