The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-06-28
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject: ssThe Thrashing Machine"

Subject: seThe Thrashing Machine -
TEXT "For the .ftches are not hrdshed
.oith Mrashing instrument, neither is a cart
| ,1heel turned about alpon the c1In1rain. b1tt the
ftches are beaten out ,rith q staff and the cum
min aoith q rod Bread corn is bruised be.
cause he ,ciN not euer be hrGshinJ IT,
Isaiah xviii, 27, %.
There are three kinds Of seed mentioned
f1tches, cummin and corn. or the last we
oil know. But it may be we'll to state that
the fltches and the cummin were small seeds
like the carraway or the chickpea. When
these grains or herbs were to be thrashed,
they were thrown on the floor, and the work
men would come around with staff or rod or
fail and beat them until the seed would be
separated. but when the corn was to be
thrashed that was thrown on the floor. and
the men would fasten horses or oxen to a
cart with iron dented wheels. That cart
would be drawn around tho thrashing floor,
| and so the work would be accomplished.
Different kinds OF thrashing for different
products. "The ftches are not thrashed
with thrashing instrument, neither is a cart
wheel turned about upon the cummin, but the
ltches are beaten out with a staff and the
| cummin with a rod. Bread corn is bruised
because he will not ever be thrashing it."
The great thought that the text presses
upon our souls is that we all 90 through some
kind of thrashing process. The fact that you
may be devotinS your life to honorable and
noble purposes will not win you any escape.
Wilberforce, the Christian emancipator, was
in his day derisively called CDR. Cantwell." "
Thomas Babinton Macaulay. the advocate OF
all that was good long before he became the
most conspicuous historian of his day, was
| in ~ ba
as .sBabbletongue Macaulay." Norman
Mcleod. the great friend Of the Scotch poor,
was industriously maliSned in all quarters,
| although on the day when he was carried out
to his burial q workman stood and looked at
the funeral procession end said, "1f he had
done nothing for anybody more than he has
done for me, he should shine rs the stars for
ever and ever" All the small wits OF Lon
don had their fling at John Wesley, the father
OF Metbodism.
| If such men could not escape the malign-
| Ing of the world. neither can you expect to
| get rid OF the sharp, keen stroke Of the trib-
nlum. All who will live godly in Christ Jesus
must suffer persecution. Besides that there
are the sicknesses, and the bankruptcies, and
the irritations, and the disappointments
which are ever putting cup OF aloes to your
| lip. Those wrinkles on your face are hero
| glyphics which, II deciphered, would make
Of the rabbit is seen the next morning on the
snow, and on the white hairs of the aged are
| footprints showing wherc swift trouble alght-
| ed.
Even amid the Joys and hilarities OF life
| trouble will sometimes break In. As when
the people were assembled in the Charles
town theatre during the Revolutionary war
and while they were witnessing farce and
the audience was in great graduation the
guns Of an advancing army were heard and
| the audience broke up In wild panic and ran
for their lives, so ofttimes while you are
seated amid the joys and festivities OF this
world you hear the cannonade OF some great
| disaster. All the f1tches, and the cummin,
and the corn must come down on the thrash
Ing floor and be pounded.
My subject, in the first place, teaches US
that it is no compliment to us II We escape
great trial. The f1tches and the cummin oa
| the threshing floor might look over to the
corn on another thrashing floor and say:
"Look at that poor, miserable, bruised corn.
We have only been a little pounded, but that
has been almost destroyed" Well, the corn.
| If it had lips, would answer and say: "Do
you know the reason you have not been as
much pounded as have2 It is because you
are not so much worth as an. Ifyou were,
you would be as severely run over"
Yet there men who suppose they arc the
| LoId's favorites simply because their barns
are full, and their bank account Is flush, and
! there are no funerals in the house. It may be
because they are fitches and cummin, while
down vt the end OF the lane the poor widow
| may. be the Lords corn. You are but little
pounded because you are but little worth,
and she bruised and ground because she ts
/ the best part OF the harvest
The heft OF the thrashing machine is nc
! cording to the Value of the grain. If you
hG7e not been much thrashed in life, perhaps
t::srs is not much to thrash. II you have
no: been much shaken Of trouble, perhaps
there is going to be q very small yield. When
there are plenty of blackberries the gatherers
20 out with large baskets. but when the
drought has almost consumed the fruit then
O quart measure will do as well. It took the
yenomous snake on Paul's hand and the
pounding OF him with stones until he was
taken up ior dead, and the jsmming against
MIN OF prison gates, and the Ephesian Vocif-
Grafton, and the skinned ankles Of the pain
full stocks, and the laundering OF the Alex
andrlan corn ship, and the behesding stroke
Of the Roman sheriff to bring Paul to DIS
proper development.
It was not because Robert Moffat and Lady
Rachel Russell and Frederick Oberlin were
worse than other people that they had to
suffer; it was because they were better and
God wanted to make them best. By the
carefulness OF the thrashing you may al
ways conclude the value Of the grain.
Next my text teaches US thst God propor-
tions our trials to what we can bear, the
staff for the f1tches, the rou for the cummin,
the iron wheel for the corn. Sometimes
bear it2" But you did bear it, God would
not have sent it upon you il He did not know
that you could bear it. You trembiod, and
you swooned, but you got through. God
will not take from your eyes one tear TOO
many, nor from your lungs one sigh TOO
deep, nor from your temples one throD TOO
sharp. The perplextties Of your earthly
business have not In them one tangle too IN
tricate.
You sometimes ieel as II our world were
full OF bludgeons flying haphazard. On, no !;
thew are thrashing instruments that God just
suits to your case. There Is not a dollar OF
bad debts on your ledger, or disappoint-
ment about goods that you expected to 80
up, but that have gone down, or = sWindls
OF your business partner, or trick on the
part OF those who are in the same kind OF
business that you are, but God intended TO
oyerrue for your immortal help. 'Oh,
YOU say, s'there is no need talking that way
! to me. I don't like to be cheated and out
ragged" Neither does thu corn like the corn
thrasher, but after it hEs been thrashed and
winnowed it has great deal better opinion
OF vinnowinc mills and corn thrashers.
"Wcll, you say, 'if 1 could choose my
troubles I would be willing to be troubled.
Alb, my brother, then it would not be trouble.
You would choose something that would not
hurt, and unless it hurts it does not get sane
titled. You- trial perhaps may be childless-
ness. You are fond OF children You say
"Why does God send children to that other
household, where they are unwelcome and
are beaten and banged about, when would
| have taken them in the arms OF my afec-