The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1896-09-17
REY. DR.. TALMAGR.
.uNDAy,s DISCOURSE BIZ tn
MoIED DIvIAk
Subject GA Shadow on the Harvest
Field,o


to the reapers. Ard he said unto his father
my head, my head! And he said to lad.
carry him to his mother. And when he had
taken him and brought him to his mother he
sat on her knees till noon, and then died. -
ii Kings w., 1S, 10, ~,
There is at least one happy home in shu-
mem. To tina lnxurianca and spendor OF a
great house bad been given the advent Of n
c'ild. Even when the Angel Of Life brings
new soul to the poor mans hut. star Of
jov shin over the manger Infancy. with
it. helplessness and innocence. had passed
away. DAYS OF boyhood had comc--days Of
laughter and frolic, DAYS OF sunshine and
promise. days OF strange questions and
curiosity an gu ok development. l suppose
among all the treasures Of the house the
brightest was the boy. One dav there is the
shout o. rea0ers heard aael1. A boys
heart always bounds at tho sonnd Of sickle
or scythe. No sooner have the harvest ers
cut swath across the field than the lad
joins them and the s~athy reapers feel
young AGAIN as thew look down AZ that
lad, as young ard beautiful as was Ruth
in the harvest fields OF Bethlehem
cleaning after the reapers. But the sun
was too hot for hun. Congestion Of the brain
seized on him. I see the swarthv laborers
/ drop their sickles; aua thnv rush ont to see
what is the matter, and they IAN him and
49, ny W WI Nus pFOWs nut All Is OF no
avail, IN the instant % consciousness, he
puts his hands against his temples AMI cries
, out: MY headi nv headr' And the father
, said: Garry him to his mother" inst ne ahv
father would have said: for onr hand IL too
| rough. and our voice Is too harsh, and our
foot is too loud to doctor n sick child. If
there be in our home p Venter voice ana n
gentIer hand IN stiler footstep. But all
| 81 no avail. While the reapers of Shnnem
wArp bnSv in tbu o hos 81,
reaper that wav, with keener scvthe and for
richer harvest. He reRped only one shpaf.
| but on, what COLLEEN sheaf was thatl do
| not want TO know any more about that heart
| breaEing scene than what | see in lust this
| one pathetic sentence "He sat on her knees
| TIL noon. and then died" Though hundreds
! OF years have passed away since that boy
| skipped 10 the harvest-held and then was
brought home and died on his mothprs lap.
| the story still thrills us. Indeed. childhood
! oas charm always and everywhPr'. I shall
now speak to YOU of childhood; its beauty
its Susceptibility to impression, its power
over the parental hearr, and its bisslul
transition from earth TO heaven
| The chi DIS beauty does not depend unou
| FORM or feature or romp EXON or apparel
| Ihat destitute one that Won saw on the
| street. bruised with unkindness and in rags.
mas charm about her, even under her des-
Itution. You have forgotten great many
| persons whom you met. of finely cut features
and with erect posture and with iautless
| conn eIion while YOU will always r,mem-
Dor the poor girl who, on co d, moonlight
night. as YOU were passing late home, in her
thln shaw and barefoot on the pavement.
put out her hand ano said: "Please to give
me penny" Ali how often we have
walked on and said: sob, that is nothing
bnt street va abondism:" hui after we got a
n'ork or two on. we stopped and said: "Ah.
mat is not right:" and we passed M that
same way and dropped II mite into that SUI
ferjng hand. as though it were not a matter
OF second thought. so ashamed were we of
our hard hearedness. With what admira-
tioh we all look upon group of children
| On Inc play ground or in the school, and
we clap our hands almost iuvolun-
Iar.!y, and say: Glow beautifulr All
sVnhess and dignity are gone. and
YOUR shout is heard with theirs and
| you trundle their hoop, and fly
their kite. and strike their ball. and all your
WEAKNESS and anxiety are gone as when Il
! ch''u you bounded over the playground
| Yourself That father who stands rigid and
unsNmpathetic amid the sportfulness of chill
dren ought never TO have cen tempted out
| OF crusty and unre eemable solitariness.
| Inc waters leap down the rocks. but thew
nave not the graceful step of childhood.
us morning comes out OF The gates of the
| East, throwing its silver on the lake and its
| Soid on the towers AM its fire on the cloud
out II IS not so bright and beautiful as the
morning of life! There is no light like that
N'In is klndled in child's 'ye, no color
ike mat which blooms on a child'S cheek
no music like the sound OF child's voice.
LIS lace IN the poorest picture redeems any
| ]mpenectlon in art. When we are weary
with toll, their little hands pun the burdens
on our back. Oh. what du !, ST ale, mean
world this would be without the sportful-
ness OF children. When l find people that
| 10 not like children, immediately doubt
| their moral and Christian character. But
| "heh the grace OF God comes unon child,
| how unspeakably attractive. When Samuel
oeSlhs 10 pray, and Timothy begins to read
| the scriptures, and Joseph shows himself
| lnvunerahe to tempIation-how beautiful
me scene. know that parents sometimes
sst nervous when Their children become
plous. because they have the idea that good
| emu rem always die. The strange questions
ABOUT God and eternity and the dead. excite
| apprehension in the parental mind rather
| than congratulaton. Indeed. there are
some people that seem marked for heaven.
| IalS world is too poor a garden for them to
| D DOM in. The hues of heaven are in the
petal. There is something about their fore
head thar makes yuu think that the hand of
ohflst mas been on it, saying: "Lpt this one
ooLne 10 NE, ana let 1t come to Ne soon.
While that one tarried in the house you felt
there was an angel in the room, and YOU
thought that every sickness would be the
last; and when, finally the winds of death
ala scatter the leaves, you were no more sur
PrlScd than to see star come out above the
cloud on dark night; for you had often
sala to your companion: MY dear, we
SNAIL never raise that child" But | scout
ne idea that good children always die.
Samuel the pious boy, became Samuel
the great prophet. Christian Timothy b
came minister a. Epnesus. Young Daniel,
cOnsecrated to God, became prime minister
oil all the realm, and there are in hun reds
OF the schools and families of this country
10 day CHILDREN who love God and keep His
commandments, and who are to be foremost
among the Christians and the philanthro-
n'stS and the re ornerS of the next century.
ne grace OF God never kills anyoLe A
"hlld viii be more apt to grow up with re-
lSlon Than ii will be apt to grow up without
/. Length Of days is promisei to the right.
eous' The religion OF Christ does not cramp
The chest or curve the spin. or weaken the
nerves There are no malarias floating M
from the river of life. The re igion ofChrist
throws over the heart and life of child
supernal beauty. "Her ways are WAYS Of
pleasanlness, and all her paths are peace"
pass on to consider the susceptibility of
CHILDHOOD. Men pride themselves on their
unchangeabiity. They will make an plabor-
ate argument to prove that they think
now just as they did twenty years ago. 1t is
charged to frailty or fraud when n man