The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-11-11
REV. DIR. TAIMAGE
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE
NOTED DIVINE.
Subject: "Gospel Farming"

ooopOA - 80 AS~'
TEXT: "My Father Is the husbandman."-
John xv., /.
This last summer, having gone in different
directions over between five and sixthousano
miles Of harvest fields, I can hardly open my
Bible without smelling the breath OF new
mown hay and seeing the golden light OF the
wheat field. And when open my Bible TO
take my text, the Scripture leaf rustles ike
the tassels OF the corn.
We were nearly all of US born In the coun-
try. We dropped corn In the hill, and went
on Saturday to the mill, tying the grist In
the centre OF the sack 80 that the contents on
either side the horse balanced each other;
and drove the cattle afield, our bare feet wet
with the dew, and rode the horses with the
ilalter to the brook until we fell of, and
hunted the NOW for nests until the feathered
occupants went cackling away. We were
nearly all OF US born In the country, aud all
would have stayed there had not some i'd
venturous lad on his vacation come back
with better clothes and softer hands and set
the whole village on fire with ambition for
city life. So we all understand rustic allus-
ions. The Bible Is full OF them. In Christ's
Sermon on the Mount you could see the full
blown lilies and the glossy back OF the crows
wings as II flies over Mount Olivet. David
and John, Paul and Isaiah find In country
life a source of frequent illustration, while
Christ in the text takes the responsibility OF
calling God farmer, declaring: "My Father
is the husbandman."
Noah was the first farmer. We soy nothing
about Cain, the tlller Of the soil. Adam was
gardener on large scale, but to Noah WAS
given all the acres OF the earth. Elisha was
an agriculturist, not cultivating ten-acre
lot, for we find him plowlng with twelve
yoke OF oxen. In Bible times the land was
80 plenty and the inhabitants 80 few that
Noah was right when he gave to every in
habitant certain portion Of land, that land
II cultivated ever after to be his own posses
sion.
They we're not small crops raised In those
times. for though the arts were rude, the
plow turned up very rich soil, and barley
and cotton and fax and ali KINDS OF grain
came up at the call ofthe harvesters. Pllny
tells Of one stalk Of grain that had on it be-
tween three and tour hundred ears. The
rivers and the brooks, through artificial
channels, were brought down to the roots OF
the corn, and to this habit OF turning river
wherever it was wanted, Solomon refers
when he says: 1.-THE kings heart Is in the
hand Of the Lord, and BE turne,h It as the
rivers OF water are turned, whithersoeVer He
will"
The wild beasts were caught, and then a
hook was put into their nose. and then they
were led over the field, An to that God re-
fers when He says to wicked Sennacherib:
81 will put hook In thy nose and will
bring thee back by the way which thou
camest." And God has hook In every bad
mans nose. whether 1t be Nebuchadnezzar or
Ahab or Herod. he may think himself very
independent, but some time In his life, or IN
the hour Uf his death, he will find that the
Lord Almighty has hook In his nose.
This was the rule in regard to the culture
OF the ground: "Thou shalt not plow with
An OK and an ass together" illustrating the
folly Of ever putting Intelligent and usetul
and pliable men In association with the
stubborn and unmanageatle. The vast ma
jority Of troubles in the churches and In re-
formatory institution2 comes from the disre'
gard of this command OF the Lord, Thou
shalt not plow with an OK and an ass to-
gether."
There were large amounts Of property In
vested In cattle. The Moabites paid 100, 900
sheep as an annual tax. Job had 1000 sheep,
5000 camals, 500 yoke Of oxen. The time OF
vintage was ushered In with mirth and
music. The clusters OF the vine were put
into the wine press, and then five men would
get into the press and trample out the juice
from the grape until their garments were
saturated with the wine and bad become the
emblems OF slaughter. Christ Himself,
wounded until covered with the blood OF
cruciflxion, making use OF this alluslon when
the question was asked: wherefore art
Thou red In Thine apparel and Thy garments
like one who treadeth he wine vat?" He re-
sponded: ~ have trodden the wine press
alone"
In all ages there has been great honor paid
to agriculture. Seven-eights OF the people
In every country are disciples OF the plow
a government ls strong In proportion as 1t Is
supported by an athletic and Industrious
yeomanry. SO long ago as before the fall OF
Carthage, Strabo wrote twenty-eight books
same subject 1.-THE Weeks and Days" Cato
was prouder of his work on husbandry than
Of ali his military conquests. But must
not be tempted into discussion OF agricul.
tural conouests. Standinga midthe harvests
and orchards and vineyards OF the Bible. and
standing amid the harvests and orchards and
vineyards of our own country-larger har-
vests than have ever before been gathsred-i
want to run out the analogy between the
production of crops and the growth OF grace
In the soul-all these sacred writers making.
use of that analogy.
In the first place, remark, in grace as In
the fields, there must be q plow. That which
theologians call conviction ls only the plow-
share turning up the sins that have been
rooted and matted In the soul. farmer
said to his indolent son: "There are a
hundred dollars buried deep in that field: /"
The son went to work and plowed the field
from fence to fence, and he plowed 1t very
deep. and then complained that he had not
found the money: but when the crop had
been gathered and sold for a hundred dollars
more than any previous year, then the young
man took the hint as to what his father
meant when he said there were hundred
dollars buried down In that field. Deep
blowing for crop. Deep plowing for a
soul. He who makes light OF sin will never
amount to anything In the church or IN the
world. II a man speaks OF sin as though II
were an inaccuracy or mistake, instead OF
the loathsome, abominable. consuming and
damning thing that God hates, that man
will never yield a harvest OF usefulness.
a team OF spirited horses. I plowed 1t very
quickly. Once in while passed over
some OF the sod without turning it, but did
not jerk back the plow with its rafting de-
vices. I thought 1t made no difference.
After awhile my father came along and said,
"Wby, this will never do: this isn't plowed
deep enough; there you have missed this
and you have missed that" And he plowed
1t over again. The difficulty with great
many people is that they are only scratched
with conviction when the subsoil plow OF
Gods truth ought to be put IN up to the
beam.
My word Is to all Sabbath-school teachers,
10 all parents, to all Chrlstisn workers.
Plow deep! .Plow deep!
But what means all this crooked plowing,
these crooked burrows, the repentance that
amounts 10 nothingI Men groan over their
sins but get no better. They weep, but their
tears are not coupted. They get convicted,
but not converted. What is the reason? l
remember that on the farm we set stand
ard With red flag at the other end OF the
field. We kept our eye on that. We aimed
at that. We plowed up to that. Losing
1n