The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-03-11
LIKE SHEEP ASTRAY.
AND REV. DR.. TALMAGE SAYS 1T
MEANS EVERYBODY.

Half the Text Is an Indictment--The 9th
or Opens the Door to Heaven--A Gla
aospel Sound at the Nations CAP
ital.
WASHINGTON, March 1.-The gospe
sends out its gladdest sound in thi
sermon from the nations capital. I'm
mense throngs pack and overflow tn
church to which DIR. Talmage preache
twice each Sabbath. His text thi
morning was Isaiah lii, 6: "All we
like sheep, have gone astray. w
have turned every one to his owl
way, and the Lord hath laid on hin
the iniquity of us all"
Once more I ring the old gospe
bell. The first half of my next text i
an Indictment, "All we, like sheep
have gone astray." Some one says
Cant you drop that first wordG Tha
is too general; that sweeps too great
CIRCLE Some man rises in the audi
ence, and he looks over on the othel
side of the house and says: 'There
is a blasphemer, and I understand
how he has gone astray, and there in
another part of the house is a default
er, and he has gone astray, and there
is an impure person and he has gone
astray." Sit down, my brother, and
look at home. My text takes US all In.
1t starts behind the pulpit, sweeps the
circuit of the room and comes back to
the point where it started, when 1t
says, "All we, like sheep, have gone
astray."
lean very easily understand why
Martin Luther threw up his hands
after he had found the Bible and cried
out, "Oh, my sins, my sins !" and why
the publican, according to the custom
to this day in the east, when they have
any great grief, began to beat himself
and cry as he smote upon his breast,
"God be merciful to me, sinner" l
was, like many of you, brought up in
the country, and know some of the
habits of sheep, and how they get
astray, and what my text means when
it says, "All 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 the
dogs. In the former way some of us
got astray. We thought the religion
OF Jesus Christ put us on short COM
mons. We thought there was better
pasturage somewhere else. We
thought if we could only lie down on
the banks of a distant stream or under
great oaks on the other side of some
hill We might be better fed. We
wanted other pasturage than that
which God, through Jesus Christ,
gave our soul, 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 singing
-nettles. No pasture. How was it in
the clubhouse when you lost your
child9 Did they come around and
help you very much9 Did your
worldly associate console you very
much9 Did not the plain Christian
man who came into your house and
sat up with your darling child give
you more comfort than all worldly
associatesY Did all the convivial
songs you ever heard comfort you in
that day of bereavement so much as
the song they sang to you-perhaps
the verv song that was sung by your
little child on the last sabbath after
noon of her lifea
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 condolencea
business oAasperated you, business
wore you out, business left you limp
as q rag, business made you mad. You
got dollars, but you got no peace.
God have mercy on the man who has
nothing but business to comfort him
The world afforded you no luxuriant
pasturage. A famous English actor
stood on the stage impersonating, and
thunders of applause came down from
the galleries, and many thought it
was the proudest mcment of his life,
but there was a man asleep just in
front cf him, and the fact that that
..an was Indifferent and somnolent
spoiled all the occasion for him and he
cried: "Wake up! Wake up~ So
one little annoyance in life has been
more pervading to your mind than all
the brilliant congratulations and sue
cess. Poor pasturage for your soul you
find in this world. The world has
cheated you, the world has belied you,
the world has misinterpreted you, the
world has prosecuted you. It never
comforted you. Oh, this world is
good rack from which horse may
pick his food; it is good trough from
which the swine may crunch their
mess, but it gives but little food to q
soul blood bought and immortal !
What is 4 soula 1t is hope high as
the throne of God. What is mana
You say, 1T is only a man." 1t is
only a man gone overheard in sin. 1t
is only man gone overheard in busi-
ness life. What is a mana The bat
tlepround of three worlds. with his
hands taking hold of destinies of light
or darkness. A mani No line can
measure him. No limit can bound
him. The archangel before the throne
cannot outlive him. The stars shall
die. but he will watch their extinguish-
ment. The world will burn, but he
will gaze at the confagration. End
less ages will march on. He will
watch the procession. A man! The
masterpiece of God Almighty. Yet