The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1896-03-13
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE NOTED DTvINRs SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
subIecti "An Men Arc Autray."

TEXT, can We, like sheep. have gone
astrny. We have turned every one 10 his
own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the
inlquity Of as all"-Isaiah 49,, G.
Once more ring the old gospel bell The
INST hali OF my next text Is an indictment.
All we, Ike sheep, have gone astray. Some
one sayH Giant you drop that first word2
mat II TOO general; that sweeps too groat a.
elfcle. Some man rises In th6 audience,
aud he looks over on the opposite side ofth8
house aud says, "There "a a blasphemer.
and understand how ho has gone astray.
ana there In another part Of tho house iB a
oeiauiter and no has gone astray. And there
~ an impure person, and he has gone Astrny."
Bit down, my brother, and look AZ home Ny
text takes us all in. Il starts behind the
pulpit, sweeps the circuit Of the room, and
comes back 10 the point where Il started,
when Il says, All we, like sheep, have gone
astray.
can very easily understand why Martin
Luther threw up bis hands after he had
found the Bible and cried out, "Oh, myslns.
my sins!' and why the publican, according
70 the custom 10 this day In the East, when
they have any great grief, began 10 beat
hlmselt and cry, as he smote upon his breast,
God be m2rciiul 10 me. q sinner" / was.
like many Of you, brought up IN the country.
and know some Of the habits OF sheep, and
how they Iet astray and what my text means
when It says, can we, like sheep, have gone
astray." Sheep get astray In two ways
either by trying TO get into other pasture, or
from being scared by dogs. In the former
way some Of as got astray. We thought the
religion Of Jesus Christ put us on short COM
mons We thought there was better pastur-
age somewhere else. We thought II we could
only lie down on the banks OF distant
stream, or under great oaks on the other
side OF some hill, we might be better fed. We
wanted other pasturaga than that which
God, through Jesus Christ. gave oursoul. and
I we wandered on and we wandered on and
We were lost, We wanted bread, and we
found garbage. The farther we wandered,
instead Of finding rich pasturage, we found
blasted heath and sharper rocks and more
stinging nettles. No pasture How was It
IN the club house when you lost your child?
Did they come around and help you very
much2 Did your worldly associates console
| you very much? Did not the plain Christian
man who came into your house and sat up
/ With your darling child give you more COM
fort than all worldly associates2 Did all the
| conviVial songs you ever heard comfort you
| IN that day Of bereavement so much as the
/ song they sang to you2-perhaps the very
song that was sung by your little child the
last Sabbath afternoon of her life;
There Is happy land
Far, far away,
Where saints immortal reign
Bright, bright as day.
! Did your business associates In that day
OF darkness and trouble give you any especial
condolence2 Business exasperated you,
business wore you out, business left you
limp as a rag, business made you mad. You
got dollars, but you gotno peace. God have
mercy on the man who has nothing but
business to comfort him! The world afforded
you no luxuriant pasturage. Afamous Eng
fish actor stood on the stage impersonating,
and thunders OF applause came down from
the galleries, and many thought It was the
proudest moment Of all his life, but there
was man asleep just In front Of him, and
the fact that that man was Indifferent and
somnolent spoiled all the occasion for him,
and he cried, awake up, wake up" So one
little annoyance in life has been more per-
Yading to your mind than all the brilliant
congratulations and success. Poor pastur.
age for your soul you find in shis world
The world has cheated you, the world ha,
belied you, the world has misinterpreteC
you, the world has prosecuted you. Il
never comforted you. Oh, this world Is
good rack from which a hose may picl
his food. 1t is a good trough from which
the swine may crunch their mess, bu
1t gives but little food to a soul BLOOD
bought and immortal. What is a soul? I
is hope high as the throne of God. Wha
is a man? You say, 1T Is only a man." I
is only man gone overheard in sin. It /
only man gone overheard in business life
What Is a man? The battle-ground OF thre
worlds, with his hands taking hold OF des
A4v.4a, anlg sv1.N H. A
can measure him. Noslimit can bound him
The archangel before the throne cannot out
live him. The stars shall die, but he vii
watch their extinguishment. The world wi
burn, but hewill gaze at the conHagration
Endless ages will march on. He will waite
the/procession. A man! The masterpiece
of God Almighty. Yet you say, ut is onl
a man." Can nature like that be fed O
husks Of the wilderness?
Substantial comforts will not grow
On natures barren soil; y
All we can boast till Christ we know
Is vanity and toll.
Some Of you got astray by looking for bel
ter pasturage; others by being scared by til
dogs. The hound gets over into the pastur
field, The poor things fly in every direC
tlon. In few moments they are torn Of tn
hedges and they are splashed of the ditcl
and the lost sheep never gets home unles
the farmer goes after It, There Is nothin
80 thoroughly lost as lost sheep. II ma
have been in 1857, during the flnaneil
panic. or during the financial stress in tn
fall Of 1873 when you got astray. You almo
became an atheist You said, "Whereis Ga
that honest men go down and thieves pro
peri" You were logged OF creditors, yC
were logged Of the banks, you were doggC
, ofworldly disaster, and some Of you wei
into misanthropy and some Of you took
strong drink and others OF you fed out
Christian association, and you got astra
Oh, man, that was the last time when yC
ought to have forsaken God. Standir
amid the foundering OF your early failure
. how could you get along without a God
comfort you and God to deliver you and