The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1898-04-07
THELORD OURSHEPHERD
A Pastoral Sermon in Time Of
Public Excitement
Rev. DIR. Talmage Would Draw His Hear
ers' Towards Thoughts Of Peaceful
Scenes in the Fold OF the
Heavenly Shepherd.

In the following sermon Rev. T. De-
| Witt Talmage draws "a picture of the
earthly and the Heavenly shepherd
| The text is:
| The Lord is my shepherd. Psalms xiii, l.
| What with post and rail fences. and
our pride in Southaown Astrakhan
and Flemish varieties of sheep. there
is no ase now of the old-time shepherd
Such an one had abundance of oppor-
tunity OF becoming poet, being out of
doors II hours the day and oft-times
waking up in the night ON the hills.
Ii the stars, or the torrents. or the sun.
or the flowers had anything to say. he
was very apt to hear it. The Ettrick
| shepherd of Scotland. who afterwards
| took his seat in the brilliant circle of
| Wilson and Lockhart. got his wonder
fui poetic inspiration in the ten years
III which he was watching the hocl1s of
| Mr.. Laidlaw. There is often a sweet
| poetry in the rugged prose of the
Scotch shepherd. One of these Scotch
shepherds lost his only son, and he
! knelt down in prayer. and was over
| heard to say: ''Oh. Lord. it has seemed
| good in Thy province to take from me
the staff OF my right hand at the time
! when to us sand blind mortals | seemed
! shall climb up the hill of sorrow and
auld age without it, Thou mayst ken,
| but dinna."
David, the shepherd boy. is watch
ing his fathers sheep. They are past
uring on the very hills where after
ward a Lamb was born of which you
| have heard much: The Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the
world David, the shepherd boy, was
beautiful, brave. musical and poetic l
| think he often forgot the sheep in his
reveries. There in the solitude he
struck the harp string that is thrilling
| through all ages. David. the boy. was
| gathering the material for David the
| poet and David the man. Like other
| boys. David was fond of using his
knife among the saplings, and he had
noticed the exuding of the juice of the
| tree; and when he became a man he
said: The trees of the Lord are full
of sap" David, the boy. like other
|
birds nests. and he had driven the old
stork off the nest to find how many
| eggs were under her; and when he
| beca me a man he said: ..As for the
stOrk, the fir trees are her house. -
In his boyhood he had heard the
| terrific thunder storm that frightened
| the red deer into premature sickness;
| and when he became man he said:
| The voice of the Lord maketh the
kinds to calve" David. the boy. had
| lain upon his back looking DIP at the
stars and examining the sky, and to
| his boyish imagination the sky seemed
| like piece of divine embroidery. the
| divine fingers working in the threads
| of light and the beads of stars; and he
| became man and wrote: when
consider Thy heavens. the work of Thy
| fingers" When he became an old man.
| thinking of the goodness of God, he
seemed to hear the bleating of his
! fathers sheep across many years. and
! to think of the time when he tended
| them on the Bethlehem hills, and he
cries out in the text: The Lord is nv
| shepherd
If God will help me, will talk to
| you of the shepherds plaid, the shep-
herds crook, the shepherds dogs, the
shepherds pasture grounds. and the
shepherds iioclls.
And first: The shepherds plaid: 1t
would be preposterous for man going
| out to rough and besoiling work to put
on splendid apparel. The potter does
not work in velvet; the serving maid
| does not put on satin while toiling at
| her duties: the shepherd does not wear
| splendid robe in which to go out
| amidst the storms. and the rocks. and
the nettles; he puts on d rough apparel
| appropriate to his exposed work. The
Lord our shepherd, coming out to hunt
| the lost sheep. puts on no regal apparel,
| but the plain garment of our humanity
There was nothing pretentious about
| 1t. | know the old painters represent
| halo around the babe Jesus: but | do
| not suppose that there was any more
| halo about that child than about the
| head of any other abe that was born
that Christmas eve in Judea. Becoming
man, He wore a seamless garment,
AS SCiSSoIS Hcetle nave uO0e
| nothing to make it graceful. take
| it to have been sack with three holes
| in it: one for the neck and two for the
arms. Although the gamblers quar-
relied over it, that is no evidence of it's
value. L have seen two rag pickers
| quarrel over the refIse of an ash bar
| rel. No; in the wardrobe of Heaven
He left the sandals Of light. the Cir
dies of beauty, the robes of power, and
| put on the besoiled and tattered raj
ment of our humanity. Sometimes He
| did not even wear the seamless robe.
What is that hanging about the waist
| of Christ? Is it badge of authority?
| Is it a royal coat of arms? No. it is a
towel. The disciples feet are filthy
| from the walk on the long way. and
| are not fit to be put upon the sofas on
which they are to reciine at the meal.
| and SO Jesus washes their feet and
gathers them up in the towel to
| dry them The work cf saving
this world was rough work. rug
| ged work, hard work, and Jesus put