Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-07-24
A CHRISTIAN MOTHER
REV. DR.. TALMAGE DRAWS A TOUGH
ING AND FAITHFUL PICTURE.

Hannah, the Mother of samuel-she Wa.
an Industrious Mother-She Was Intel
liEent, She Was a Christian, and She
Was Rewarded-Ripe For Heaven.
WASHINGTON, July 19.-This radical
discourse will no doubt have its practi-
cal result in many homesteads through
out Christendom. The text was Sam.
uel ii, 10, Moreover his mother made
him little coat and brought it to him
from year to year when she came ur
with her husband to offer the yearly
sacrifice.
The stories of Deborah and Abigail
are very apt to discourage a woman's
soul. She says within herself, ut is
impossible that ever achieve any such
grandeur of character, and don't mean
to try" as though child should refuse
to play the eight notes because he cannot
execute a "William Tell. " This Han
nah Of the text differs from the persons
Just named She was an ordinary wo-
man, with ordinary intellectual capac-
ity, placed in ordinary circumstances.
and yet, by extraordinary piety, stand
ing ont before all the ages to come the
model Christian mother Hannah was
the wife Of Elkanah, who was person
very much like herself-unromantic and
plain, never having fought a battle or
been the subject Of marvellous escape.
Neither Of them would have been called
genius Just what you and / might
be that was Elkanah and Hannah. The
brightest time in all the history Of that
family was the birth of Samuel AL
though no star ran along the heavens
pointing down to his birthplace, think
the angels of God stopped at the coming
Of so wonderful prophet As Samuel
had been given in answer 10 prayer, Ell
kanah and all his family save Hannah
started up to Shiloh to offer sacrifices
Of thanksgiving. The cradle where the
child slept was altar enough for Han
nah's grateful heart, but when the boy
was old enough she took him to Shiloh
and took three bullocks and an ephah OF
-four and a bottle of wine and made Of
fering of sacrifice unto the Lord, and
there, according TO a previous vow, she
left him, for there he was to stay all
the DAYS Of his life and minister in the
sanctuary.
Years rolled on, and every year Han
nah made with her own hand garment
for Samuel and took it over to him.
The lad would have got along well
without that garment, for l suppose he
was well clad by the ministry Of the
temple, but Hannah could not be con-
tented unless she was all the time doing
something for her darling boy. More
over. his mother made him little coat
and brought it to him from year 10
year, when she came up with her hus-
band to offer the yearly sacrifice.
Hannah's Industry.
Hannah stands before you, then, to-
day. in the first place, as an industrious
mother. There was no need that she
work. Elkanah, her husband, was far
from Door. He belonged to a distin-
guished family, for the Bible tells us
that he was the son of Jeroham, the son
of Elihu, the son Of Tohu, the son OF
Zuph. "Who were they?" you say. l dc
not know, but they were distinguished
people, no doubt, or their names would
not have been mentioned Hannah
might have seated herself in her family,
and. with folded arms and disheveled
hair. read novels, from year to year, II
there had been any to read; but, when
see her making that garment and taking
it over to Samuel. know she Is Indus
trious from principle as well as from
Measure God would not have a mother
become a drudge or slave; he would
have her employ all the helps possible
in this day in the rearing Of her chill
dren. But Hannah ought never to oe
ashamed to be found making a coat fol
Samuel. Most mothers need no counsel
in this direction. The wrinkles on then
brow, the pallor on their cheek the
thimble mark Oh their finger, attest thai
they are faithful i'll their maternal du
ties The bloom and the brightness ano
the vivacity Of Pirlhood have given
place to the grander dignity and useful
ness and industry Of motherhood But
there is a heathenish idea getting abroad
in some of the families of Americans
there are mothers who Danish them
selves from the home circle. For three
fourths of their maternal duties they
proye themselves incompetent They
are ignorant Of what their children
wear. and what their children eat, anC
what their children read. They intrus
to irresponsible persons these young I'M
mortals and allow them to be undei
influences which may cripple their bod
les. or taint their purity, or spoil then
manners, OF destroy their souls From
the awkward cut Of SamuePs Goa
Won know his mother Hannah did no
make it,
Out from under flaming chandeliers
and off from imported carpets, and dow
the granite stairs there is coming
great crowd Of children in this day. un
trained. saucy, incompetent for all tn
practical duties of life, ready to b
caught in the first whirl of crime ant
sensuality. Indolent and unfaithfu
mothers will make indoleut and unfaith
full children. You cannot expect neat
ness and order in any house where tn
daughters sec nothing but slatternlines
and upside downativeness in their par
ents Let Hannah be idle, and most Ger
tainly Samuel will grow up idle VIII
are the industrious men in all our occu
pations and professions? Who are the
managing the merchandise Of the world
building the walls, timing the roofs
weaving the carpets, making the laws
governing the nations, making the cart
to quake and heave and roar and rattl
with the tread of gigantic enterprises
Who are they? For the most part the
descended from industrious mother
: who in the old homestead used to spi
their own yarn and weave their ow
carpets and plait their own doormal
and flag their own chairs and do thel
own work The stalwart men and III
influential women Of this day, SO out
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