The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1897-03-20
REV. DIR. -TALMAGE.
The Eminent Dlvine's Sermon, De-
livered in Washington.


stars and Orion. AMOS ", O.
country farmer wrote this text, Amos OF
TeSon. Hesplowed the earth and threshea
the gram by a new .threshing machine luss
invented, rs formally the cattle trod uut tuo
Grain lie gathered the fruit OF the syca-
more treo and scariflei it with an iron como
inst before II was getting ripe. as II was nee
essorv and customary in that way 10 take
from IL the bitterness. He was the son OF
moor shepherd aud suffered. but before me |
stammering rustic the Philtsflnes anu ofIians
and Ph9nicians and Noaoites ana Awinoh-
;fes and Fiomjtes and Iaraelites trembled.
Moses was "A law giver, Danlei was
nrlnee. Isaiah Il courter and David king,
hus Amos the author OF my text, WAS peas.
ant. and. as might be supposei, nearly al
| his parallelisms are pastoral, MS propbecy
| full of the odor OF new mown nay, anu tho
| rattle of iocusts and the rumble OF carts
with sheaves, and the roar OF wild beasts de-
vourino the flock while the shepherd came
| ont in their defence. He watched the herds
| nv dsy and by night Inhabited Il booth maze
| out of pushes, so that through theSep rahches
| he could see the stars all night long, anu
| was more familiar with them IMAM we WHO
| have tight roofs TO our houses ana haruiy
ever see the stars except among tne tan
brick chimueys of the great towns. But az
! seasons of the year when the herds wers IN
| special danger he would stay out in the
open field all through the darkness, MS oniy
shelter the curtain OF the night heaven, WAN
the stellar embroideries and silyered tasseis
of lunar light.
What n life OF solitude, all alone with his
herdsi Poor Amos And at IL O'Clock at
night bark to the VOLTS bark, and the iions
| roar and the bears growl, and the OWLS te-
whit. te-who, and the serpent's hiss as ne
unwitiingly steps too near while moving
J through tue thicketsl So Amos, like other
herdsmep, got the habit OF studying the map
OF the heavens because 1t was so much OF the
time spread out before him. He noiieea
} some stars advancing and others recedlng.
; He associated their dawn and setting with
! certain seasons OF the year. He had poetic
: nature, aud he r al night by night, and
: month by month, and year by year, the poem
: OF the consultations, divinity rhythmic:
:, But two rosettes OF stars especially attracted
: his attention while seated on the ground or
Q living on his back under the open scroll OF
! the midnight heavens-the Pleiades. OF
q seven stars, and Orion. The former group
Q this rustic prophet associated with spring,
$ as 1t rises about the LIST OF May. The latter
8 he associated with the winter, as 1t comes TO
the meridian in January. The Plelades, or
seven stars. connected with all sweetness
and Joy; Orion. the herald Of the tempest.
Tho ancients were the more apt to study the
r. physiognomy and juxtaposition OF the
heavenly bodies because they thought they
had special influence upon the earth, and
perhaps they were right. II the moon every
o lew hours lifts and lets down the tides OF
~ the Atlantic ocean and the electric storms IL
!; the sun. by all scientific admission. affect
;" the earth. why not the stars have proper
tionate effect!
nt And there are some things which make me
think that 1t may not have been all super.
stitution which connected the movements
d and appearance OF the heavenly bodies witt
great moral events on earth. Did not G
meteor run on evangeiistic errand on th'
sIaasd 20 =,
rough cradle OF our Lordf Did not the star:
in their course fight against Sisera? Was i,
\. merely coincidental that before the destruc
.. ton of Jerusalem the moon was hidden f0l
twelve consecutive nights2 Did 1t merel.
"' happen so that new star appeared In con
stelation Cassiopeia, and then disappeared
!. lust before Charles TX Of France, who wa
~ responsible for the st. Bartholomew mas
sacre died? Was 1t without significance
en- that In the days OF the Roman Empero
Justinian war and.fanine were preceded b,
the dimness OF the sun, which for nearly ,
=. wear gave no more light than the moon, al
though there were no clouds to obscure itP
Astrology, after all, may have been some
- thing more than brilliant heathenism. N
u wonder that Amos of the text, having Fear
these two anthems OF the stars, put dow
the stout, rough staff Of the herdsman an
On took Into his brown hand and cut an
Ia knotted fingers the pen OF prophet and ad
~ turn to God, saying. ''Seek him that maket
TT .r the seven stars and Orion" This command
a.. which Amos gave 7S5 years B. G., Is just {
20. appropriate for us, 1897 A. d.
In the first place Amos saw, as we mu
m see, tina. the God who made the Pleiades an
90 Orion must be the God OF order. 1t was NJ
SO much q star here and a star there that IN
pressed the inspired herdsman, but seven
. one group and seven in another group. Il
saw that night after night and season ait
season, and decade after decade, they hf
y kept step of light, each one in its own place,
sislerhood never clashing and never eontes
ing precedence. From the time Hesiod CALF
the Pleiades the .'seven daughters Of Atlas
and Virgil wrote In his "Eueid" OF "storn
Orion, until now. they have observed Il
pa order established for their coming and G
'Ae ing; order written, not in manuscript tn
they may be pigeon-holed, but with the hal
Of the Almighty on the dome OF the sky,
- that all Nations may read it-order, persts
ent order, sublime order, omnipotenf orde
~ What fedative 10 you and me. to who
Il communities and Nations sometimes see
going pellmeli, and the world ruled by sol
fiend at hsphazard. and in oil directions mi
administration! The God who keeps sew
Ter worlds in right circuit for 5000 years c
-, certainly keep all the affairs OF individuf
la and Nations and continents in adjustmel
We had not better fret much, for the pc;
ants argument ofthe text was right. Ii g
can take care of the seven worlds OF
Pleades and the four chief worlds OF Oric
He can probably take care OF the one VOL
we inhabt.
So feel very much as my father fclt Q
day when we were going to the country n
TO get grist ground, and i, a boy Of sew
re years. sat in the back part of the wagon, a
our yoke OF oxen ran away with us,
IN along q labyrinthine road through
woods, so that l thought every moment
us would be dashed TO pieces, and l mad
3, terrible cutlery of fright, and my fail
ed. turned to mo with face perfectly calm O
D., said: ode Witt, what are you crying abo
Ia I guess we can ride as fast as the oxen c
rum" And, my hearers, why should we
DIV affrighted and lose our equilibrium in
swift movement of worldly events, especia
when we are assured that it is not yoke
upbroken steers that ara drawing us on,
that order and wise government are in
yoke?
sphere, DO the best you can and then fr
TO God, and il things are all mixed and {
~ quleting and your brain Is hot and =
III heart sick get some one to go out with ,
into the starlight and point out to you
Pleiades, or, better than that, get into SO
ex. observatory, and through the telescope
sis farther than Amos with the naked eye co
adly namely 900 stars in the Peiades, and
crit in what is called the sword OF Orion Their
nebula computed to be two trillion
X. hundred thousand billion OF times lar
. than the sun. Oh, be ut peace with tho
who made that and controls all that,
wheel of the consultations turning in