Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1898-03-30
TALMAGE'S SERMON
PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST
THEIR WAY" THE SUBJECT.
From Gen. XXI, 10, as Follows: And
God Opened Her Eyes and She Saw a
Well of Water and She Went and Filled
the Bottle and Gave the Lad Drink

Morning breaks upon Beersheba.
There is an early stir in the house of
old Abraham. There has been trouble
among the domestics. Hagar, an as
sistant in the household, and her son,
brisk lad of sixteen years, have be-
come impudent and insolent, and Sa-
rah, the mistress of the household,
puts her foot down very hard and
says that they will have to leave the
premises. They are packing up now.
Abraham, knowing that the journey
before his servant and her son will be
very long and across desolate places.
in the kindness of his heart sets about
putting up some bread and bottle
with water in it. 1t is very plain
lunch that Abraham provides. but
warrant you there would have been
enough of it had they not lost their
way. God be with you!" said old
Abraham as he gave the lunch TO Ha-
gar and good many charges as to
how she should conduct the journey.
Ishmael, the boy, suppose. bounded
away in the morning light. Boys al
ways like change. Poor Ishmaei! he
has no idea of the disasters that are
ahead of him. Hagar gives one long.
lingering look on the familiar place
where she had spent so many happy
days, each scene associated with the
pride and Joy Of her heart. young ISM
mael.
The scorching noon comes on. Inc
air is sitting and moves across the
desert with insufferable suffocation.
Ishmael, the boy, begins to complain
and lies down, but Hagar rouses MIN
up, saying nothing about her own
WEAKNESS or the sweltering heat; LOT
mothers can endure anything. Trudge'
trudge, trudge. Crossing the dead lev
ell of the desert, how YEARLY and slow
ly the miles slip by! A tamarind that
seemed hours ago to stand only just
a little ahead, inviting the travellers TO
come under its shadow, now is as rar
off as ever, or seemingly so. Night
drops upon the desert, and the travellers
are pillowless. Ishmael, very weary,
I suppose. instantly fell asleep. Ha-
gar, as the shadows of the night be-
gin to lap over each other-Hagar hugs
her weary boy to her bosom and thinks
Of the fact that it is her fault that they
are in the desert. A star looks out, and
every falling tear it kisses with spar
kle. A wing of wind comes over the
hot earth and lifts the locks from the
fevered brow of the boy. Hagar sleeps
fitfully, and in her dreams travels over
the weary day, and half awakes her
son by crying out in her sleep. "Ish-
mael! Ishmael!"
And so they go on day after day and
night after night, for they have lost
their way. No path in the shifting
sands; no signs in the burning sky.
The sack empty of the flour; the water
gone from the bottle. What shall she
do? AS she puts her fairting Ishmael
under stunted shrub of the arid plain,
she sees the blood-shot eye, and feels
the hot hand, and watches the blood
bursting from the cracked tongue, and
there is shrek in the desert of Beer
sheba, 1--WE shall die! We shall diet"
Now, no mother was ever made strong
enough to hear her son cry in vain for
drink. Heretofore she had cheered
her boy by promising a speedy end of
the journey, and even smiled upon him
when she felt desperately enough. Now
there is nothing to do but place him
under a shrub and let him die. She
had thought that she would sit there
and watch until the spirit of her boy
would go away forever, and then she
would breathe out her own life on his
silent heart; but as the boy begins to
claw his tongue in agony of thirst and
struggle in distortion, and begs his
mother to slay him. she cannot endure
the spectacle. She puts him under a
shrub and goes off bow-shot. and be-
gins to weep until all the desert seems
sobbing, and her cry strikes clear
through the heavens; and an angel of
God comes out on cloud, and looks
down upon the appalling grief and
cries: "Hagar, what aileth thee?" She
looks up and she sees the angel point
ing to well Of water, where she fills
the bottle for the lad. Thank God!
Thank God!
I learn from this Oriental scene, in
the first place, what a sad thing IL Is
when people do not know their place.
and get too proud for their business,
Hagar was an assistant In that house
hold, but she wanted to rule there. She
ridiculed and jeered until her son. Ish-
mael, got the same tricks She dashed
out her own happiness, and threw Sa-
rah into great fret; and IL she had
stayed much longer in that household
she would have upset calm Abraham's
equilibrium. My friends, one-half Of
the trouble in the world today comes
from the fact that people do not know
their place. or, finding their place, will
not stay in 1t. When we come into the
world there is always place ready for
us. A place for Abraham. A place for
Sarah. A place for Hagar. A place
for Ishmael. A place for you and a
place for me.
Our first duty Is to find our sphere.
our second Is, to keep 1t. We NAV be