The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-06-14
2THE THREsHING MACHINE"
The Subject Of a Sermon by Rev.
T. Dewitt Talmage, D. D.
The Human Family All Go Through Some
Kind of Threshing Process-Trouble
the Great Thresher-No Compli-
! ment to Us II We Escape
Great Trial.

lyu udUerudCle' lhS \ Ii SohAhB AVA"
chine" the text being from Isaiah
xviii, 81, 28:
-For the fitches ore not threshed with q
threshing instrument, neither is q cart wheel
turned about upon the cummin, but the ftches
are beaten out with stan, and the cummin
with o rod. Bread corn is bruised because he
will no: ever be threshing it."
There are three kinds Of seed men,
toned: fltches, cummin, and corn. OF
the last we all know. But it may be
we'll to state that the ftches and
the cummin were small seeds, like the
carraway or the chicke-pea. When
these grains or herbs wero to be
threshed they were thrown on the floor
and the workmen 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 threshed
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 the threshing-
ing floor, and so the work would be ac-
complished. Different kinds Of thresh-
ing for different products. "The fitches
are not threshed with threshiug in
strument, neither is cart-wheef turned
about upon the cummin; but the fitches
are beaten out with staff, and the
cummin with a rod. Bread corn is
bruised, because he will not ever be
threshing it,"
The great thought that the text
presses upon our souls is that we all go
through some threshing process. The
fact that you may be devoting your
life TO honorable and noble purposes
will not win you any ef,yape. Wilber-
force, the Christian e1lancipator, was
in his day derisively called tDoctor
Cantwell." Thomas Babington Mac
auley, the advocate of all that was
good long before he became the most
conspicuous historian of his day, was
caricatured in one Of the quarterly re-
views as "Babbletongue Macauley."
Norman Mcleod, the great friend OF
the Scotch poor, was industriously ma
ligned in all quarters, although on the
day when he was carried out to his
burial workman stood and looked at
the funeral procession and said, "If he
had done nothing for anybody more
than he has done for me, he should
shine as the stars forever and ever. D"
All the small wits of London had their
fling at John Wesley, the father OF
Methodism.
II such men could not escape the ma
ligning Of the world, neither can you
expect to get rid of the sharp, keer
stroke of the tribulum, All who will
live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer
persecution. Besides that, there are
the siclSnesses and the bankruptcies
and the irritations, and the disappoint
ments which are ever putting cup o.
aloes to your lip. Those wrinkles OF
your face are hieroglyphics, which, 1
deciphered, would make out thrill
ing story of trouble. The footstep o
the rabbit is seen the next morning oil
the snow, and on the white hairs Of tn,
aged are the footprints showing wher
swift trouble alighted.
Even amid the joys and hilarities o
life, trouble will sometimes break in
As when the people were assembled IL
the Charlestown theater, during tn
Revolutionary war, and while the.
were witnessing farce, and the audi
ence was in great graduation, tn
guns Of an advancing army were heard
and the audience broke up in wilt
panic and ran for their lives; so oftime
while you are seated amid the joys an
festivities Of this world you hear tn
cannonade of some great disaster. Al
the ftohes, and the cummin and tn
corn must come down on the threshin
floor and be pounded.
My subject, in the first place, teache
us that IL is no compliment to us If W
escape great trial. The fitches and tn
cummin on the threshing floor Nigh
look over TO the corn on another thresl
ing floor and say: "Look at that poo
miserable bruised corn, We have onl
been little pounded, but that hG
been almost destroyed" Well, th
corn, II it had lips, would answer an
say: "Do you know the reason yo
have not been as much pounded as
have? II is because you are not OF |
much worth as am; II you were yo
would be as severely run over" "
there are men who suppose they are Il
Lords favorites simply because the
barns are full, and their bank accoul
Is flush, and there are no funerals
the house. II may be because they a
fitches and cummin; while down at Il
end Of the lane the poor widow may
the Lords corn. You are but lit
pounded because you are but lit
worth, and she bruised and ground b
cause she is the best part Of the ha
vest.
The heft Of the threshing machine
according TO the value Of the grain.
YOU have not been much threshed
life, perhaps there Is not much
threshl II you have not been nut
shaken Of trouble, perhapsit Is becau
there Is going to be very small yiel
When there are plenty Of blackberri
the gatherers go out with large ba
kets: but when the drought has almo
consumed the fruit then quart meG
ure will do as well. II took the venoi
ous snake on Paups hand and d
Z pounding Of him with stones until
was taken up for dead, and the jal
ming against him Of prison gates, Al
the Ephesian votiferation, and I
skinned ankles Of the painful stool
and the laundering Of the Alexandr
corn-ship, and tho beheading stroke
the Roman shetiff 70 bring Paul TO !