The Robesonian., 1897-02-03
A farmers counsel.
DIR. TAIMAGE'S SUNDAY THEME
He Proved the Earth and Threshed
the Grain by a New Threshing Ma
chine.
TEXT. "Seek Him that maketh the seven
ttars and Orion."-Amos ", 8.

as formally the cattle trod OUT the |
grain. He gathered the fruit OF the syca-
more tree and scarihr1 it with an iron comb
lust before it was getting ripe, rs it was nec-
rs~ary and customary in t"at way to take
from it the bitterness. He was the son OF
poor shepherd and suffered, but before the
rustic the Philstlnes and SYrans
and Phencians and Moabites and Ammon-
ties and L lomi es AMI I.raalites trembled.
Moses was law giver, Daniel was
rr:rce, Isaiah courlier and David king,
hut Amos, the author of my ext, was peas.
anr, and as might be supposei nearly all
hi, paraleisms are pastoral, his prophecy
full OF thA odor of new mown hay, and the
rat 10 OF locus!s, and the rumble OF carts
with shcaves. and the roar Of wild beasts de-
vouring the flock while the shepherd came
out in their defence. He watched the herds
by Jay, ami hy night inhabited booth made
out OF bushes so that through these branches
he could see the stars all night long, and
was more familiar wi them than we who
have tight roofs to our houses and hardly
ever SEQ the stars except among the tall
brick chimneys of the great towns. But ut
seasons OF the year when the herds were in
special danger no would stay out in the
open field all through the darkness. his only
shelie tho curtain OF the night heaven, with
the stellar embroideres and silvered tassels
Of lunar light.
Whar q life of solitude, all alone with his
herds! Poor Amos! AMI at IL O'Clock Mt
night bark to The VOLTS bark, and the Hons
roar, aud he bears growi, and the owls te-
whit, te-who. and the serpent's hiss as he
unwitlingly steps too near while moving
through the thickets! So Amos, like other
herdsmen, got tho habit OF stu lying the map
OF the heavens because it was SO much OF the
time spread out before him. He nOiicei
some stars ivanc ng and oth"rs receding.
He associated their dawn an 4 setting with
certain seasons OF the year. He had poetic
nature, and he al night by night. and
month by month, and year by year, the poem
OF tho considerations, divinity rhythmic.
But two roseites OF stars especially attracted
HIS attention waiie seated on the ground or
lying on his back under the open scroll Of
The midnight heavens-the Pleiades. or
| seven stars, and Orion. The former group
! this rustic prophet associated with spring,
as it rises about the 1st Of May. Tho latter
| he associated with the winter, as it comes to
| toe meridian in January. The Pleiades, Or
| seven stars. connected with all sweetness
| and Joy; Orion, the herald OF the tempest.
! The anc.ent5 We're the more apt to study the
| physiognomy and iuxtaposition of the
heavenly bodies because they thought they
| had q special influence upon the earth. and
| perhaps they were right. Ii the moon every
| few hours lifts and let's down the tides Of
| the Atlantic ocean AMI the electric storms in
| tho sun. by al sc ent1c admission, affect
! the earth, why not the stars have proper
| tionate effecti
And there are some things which make me
think that it may not have been all SUPER
| stitutiou which connected tho movements
| and appearance OF the heavenly bodies with
| great moral events on earth. Did not a
| meteor run on evange;stic errand on the
! first Christmas niaht and designate the
rough cradle OF our Lord? Did not the stars
in their course flght against Sisera? Was it
merely coincidental that be ore the lestruc-
| CNf Tor alar z ., Fo,.
twelve consecutive n ghts? Did 1t merely
happen SO that new star appeared in con-
stPl alton CaSsiopeia, and then disappeared
just before Charles TX of France, who wae
responsible for the st. Bartholomew mas
sarre died? Was it without significance
that in the days of the Roman Emperor
Iustinian war and famine were preceded by
ths dimness OF The sun. which for nearly a
year gave no more light than the moon, al.
though there were no clouds to obscure il?
| AStrology. after all, may have been some
thing more than Il brilliant heathensm. Nc
wonder that Amos of the text, having teArt
these two anthems of the stars, put dowr
the stout, rough staff OF the herdsman auG
took into his brown hand and cut an(
linotted fingers the pen of q prophet ani a l.
vlsed the recreant people OF his time to re
turn to God. saying, "Seek him that maketl
the seven stars an Orion" This command
which Amos gave 7s5 years B. c., is just a
appropriate Tor US, 1897 A. ID.
In the first place Amos saw, as we mus
see, tha. the Col who made the Peiades an
Orion must be the God Of order. It was no
50 murh Il star here and Il star there that i'm
pressed the in pired herismau, but seven ii
one group and seven In another group. H
saw that night after night and season afte
season, and decade after decade, they ha
kept step light, each one in its own place,
: sslerhood never clashing and never contest
| precedence From "a aalI 10
the Pie AIDES the ''seven daughters Of Atlas,
and Virgil wrote in his "Eneid" OF 'storm
Orion" until now, they hava observed tn
order est ablisbed for their coming and e
ing; order written, not in manuscript thu
they may be pigeon-holed. but with the han
OF the Almighty on the dome Of the sky, s
that all Nations may read it-order, persist
eDt order, sublime order, omnipotent orde
What sedatiye 10 you and me, to who
communities and Nations sometimes seel
Q going pellmnll. and the word ruled by son
). hend al haphaZard and in all directions ma
= Il ministration! The God who keeps seve
worlds in right circuit for 5000 years ca
cer ainly kerp ali the affairs of individua
and Nations and continents in adjustmeu
We had not better fret much, for the pea
ants argument ofthe text was right. If &c
can take care of the seven worlds Of Il
Pleiades and the four chief worlds OF Oriol
He can probably take care of the one wor
W. inhabit.
e So feel very much as my father felt OF
: day wnen we wera going to the country M
L 10 get grist ground, and I, a boy of sew,
- years, sat in the back part OF the wagon, al
10 our yoke OF oxen ran away with US, al
! along labyrnthine read through Il
Il woods. so that thought every moment '
, would be dashed to pieces, and I made
u terrible outcry of fright, and my faith
VI, turned to me- with face perfectly calm al
" said: "De Witt, what are You crying abor
guess we can ride as fast as the oxen c,
run" And, my hearers. why should we
afr GIFTED and lose our equilibrium in t
swift movement of worldly events, especial
when we are assured that it is not yoke
uubroken steers that ara drawing us on, b
that order and wise government are in t
yoke?
nj IN your occupation. your mission, 70
sphere, do the best you can and then tr,
to Col, and If things are all mixed and q
Guieting and your brain is hot and yc
ex heart sick get some one to 20 out with v
~ into the starlight and point out to you I
,ri; Pleiades, or, b tier than that, get into Sol
-" observatory, and through the telescope
). farther than Amos with the naked eye COZ
= -namely, 2U0 stars in the Pleiades, and II
i'll what is called the sword of Orion there
nebula computed to be two trillion t
hun red thousand billion of times lara
than the sun. Oh, be at peace with the g
who made that and controls all that,
wheel OF the consultations turning in
wheel of gaIaxies for thousands of We
without the breaking of a cog. or the slipp
o band, or the snap OF an axle. For v,
j acidity and comfort through the L.
Jesus Christ charge you, "Seek Him t
maketh the seven stars and Orion"
) OF Again, Amos saw, us we must see, that
God who made these two groups of the I
16. was the God OF Light. Amos saw that {
Arc, was not satisfied with making one star
+. ~ two or three stars, but He makes seven, a
was having finished tt at group of worlds, ma
as ans another group-Sroup after group. To
" Pleiades He ADDS Orion. 1t seems that
he'd 'kes light so we'll that He keeps maxim,
Only one being in the universe knows
," a'istics OF solar, lunar, stellar, mete
"reations, and that is the Creator Hims
Anl they have all been lovingly christe
ZACH ona a name as distinct as the name
| your children. He telleth the numbe
-. ho stars. He caleth them all by
'Ih Iames." The seven Pleiades had ma
gwen TO them, and they are Alcyone, Mer
jrlBno. Electra, Sterope, Taygete and
utthiuk of the billions and trillions
'ri, 'aughters OF starry light that God call:
'en ,a'ne as they sweep by Him with bean
in row and iustrous robei So fond is CO.
by ght--natural light, moral light, spiri