The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1896-10-31
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Beauties OF Rural Life Dis
coursed Upon.
The Farmer IL King of the Earth aud Lord
of the Soii-iiis Is the Life OF
Freedom, Power and
Broad Usefulness.

his text.
My father is the husbandman.-John XVII
This last simmer having gone in
different directions over between
5000 and 5000 miles of harvest fields,
can hardly open my Bible without
smelling the breath of new mown hay
and seeing the golden light of the
wheat field. And when L open my
Bible to take my text, the Scripture
eaf rustles like the tassels of the CORE.
We were nearly all of us born in the
country. We droppedcorn in the hill,
and went on Saturday to the mill, ty-
ing the grist in the center of the sack
SO that the contents on either side the
horse balanced each other; and drove
the cattle atield, our bare feet wet
with the dew; and rode the horses
with the halter to the brook until we
fell off; and hunted the NOW for nests
the fcathered occupants went cacl<-
ling away. We were nearly all of us
born in the country, and all would
aave stayed there had not some adj
venturous lad on his vacation come
back with better clothes and softer
nands, and set the whole village on
fire with ambition for city life. So we
all UNDERSTOOD rustic illusions. The
Bible is full OF them. In Christ's SER
mon on the mount you could see the
full-bown lilies and the glossy black
of the crows wing as it flies over
Mount Olivet. David and John, Paul
and Isaiah, find in country life
source of frequent illustration, while
Christ in the text takes the RESPONSE
bitity OF calling God farmer, declar-
ing: My Father is the husbaudman."
Noah was the first iurmcr. We say
nothing about Cain, the tiller OF the
soil Adam was 4 gardener on Il large
scale. but 10 Noah was given all the
acYeS of the earth. Elisha was I'M az
rlculturalist, not cultiyatiug ten
acre lot, for we find him piowing with
u yoke OF oxen. In NbIc times the
land was SO plenty and the inhabitunts
So few that Noah was right when he
gave TO every inhabitaut u certain por-
ton OF land; that land, il cultivated,
ever after 10 be his own possession.
just rs in Nebraska the United States
government ON payment of $40 years
ago gave presumption right to lGOacres
to any man who would settle there
and cultivate the soil.
Al classes of pe3ple were expected
to cultivate ground except minister's
O; religion. IT was supposed that they
would have their time entirely occu-
pied with their own profession, al
though l am told that sometimes min
listers 30 plunge SO deeply into world
illness that they remind one of what
Thomas Fraser said in regard to a
man IN his day who preached very
well, but lived very i'll: "When he is
out of the pulpit, it is a pity he shonld
ever go into il; ana when he is in the
pulpit, it is pity he should ever come
out of it,"
They were 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 flax,
and all kinds of grain, came up at the
call OF the harvesters. Pliny tells of
one stalk of grain that had on it be-
tween 800 and 400 ears. The rivers aud
the BROOKS, through artificial chan
nels, were brought down to the roots
of the corn, and To this habit of turn
ing river wherever 1T was wanted
Solomon refers when he says: THE
kings rheart is in the hand of the
Lord, and he turneth it as the rivers of
water are turned, whithersoever He
will"
The wild beasts were caught, and
then Il hook was put into their nose.
and then they were led over the field,
and to that God refers when He saws
wicked Sennacherib: Il will put "a
hook in thy nose and l will bring thee
back by the way which thou earnest.
And God has a hook in every bad mans
nose whether it be Northumberland
or Ahab or Herod lie may think him
selt very independent, but some Time
in his life, or in the hour of his death,
he will find that the Lord Almighty
has a hook in his nose.
This was the rule in regard to the
culture of the ground: Thou shalt
not pillow with an OK and an ass to-
gether," illustrating the folly of ever
putting intelligent and useful and pill
able men in association with the stub
born and the unmanageable. The vast
majority of troubles in the churches
and in reformatory institutions comes
from the disregard of this command of
the Lord, Thou shalt not pillow With
an OK and an ass together"
There were large amounts of prop
erty invested in cattle. The Moabites |
paid 100, 600 sheep as an annual tax
Job had 1000 sheep, 5000 camels, 500
yoke OF oxen. The time of village 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 gar
ments were saturated with the wine
and had become the emblems of slaugh-
ter. Christ himself, wounded until
covered with the blood of crucitiSion,
making use of this allusion when the |
question was asked, Wherefore art
Thou red in Thine apparel and Thy |
garments like one who treadeth the |
wine vat?" He responded, Il have
trodden the wine press alone"
In all ages there has been great
4. Ia