The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1898-04-09
LOST In THE DESERT.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Draws Lessons
From a Mothers Trials.
Finding Ones sphere and Keeping It
Sympathy with Women The Destinies
of Mothers Set Forth--A Wen
In Every Wilderness.

In the following sermon Rev. T. De-
Witt Talmage draws some startling
lessons from an oriental story, and
points to wells of comfort in uneXpect-
ed places. The text is:
And God opened her eyes, and she SAL q well
OF water; and she went and filed the bottle
with water and gave the lad to drink.-Genesis
xxi. 49,
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 IL years, have become
impudent and insolent, and Sarah, 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, know
ing 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 your said old Abraham, as he
gave the lunch to Hagar and good
many charges as to how she should
conduct the journey. Ishmael, the
boy, suppose, bounded away in the
morning light. Boys always like a
change Poor Ishmael! He has no
idea of the disasters that are ahead of
him. Hagar gives one long, lingering
look at the familiar place where she
had spent SO many happy days, each
scene associated with the pride and
JOY of her heart, young lshmael.
The scorching noon comes on. The
air is sitting and moves across the
desert with insufferable suffocation.
I. Ishmael, the boy, begins to complain
and lies down, but Hagar rouses him
up, saying nothing about her own
WEAKNESS or the sweltering heat for
mothers can endure anything. Trudge,
trudge, trudge. Crossing the dead
level of the desert, how YEARLY and
slowly the miles slip! A tamarind that
seemed hours ago to stand only just a
little ahead, inviting the travellers to
come under it's shadow, now is as far
off as ever, or seemingly so. Night
drops upon the desert, and the trav-
elers are pillowless. Ishmael, very
weary, suppose, instantly falls asleep.
Hagar, as the shadows of the night be-
gin to lap over each other-Hagar hugs
her weary boy to her bosom AID 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 a
sparkle. A wing of wind comes over
the hot earth and lifts the locks from
the fevered brow of the boy. Hagar
sleeps titfully, and in her dreams trav-
els over the weary day, and half
awakes her son by crying out in her
sleep, "Ishmael! 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 sign in the burning sky.
The sack empty of the flour; the water
gone from the bottle. What shall she
do? AS she puts her fainting Ishmael
under stunted shrub Of the arid plain,
she sees the bloodshot 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: "We shall die! We shall die!"
Now, no mother was ever made strong
enough to hear her son cry in vain for
drink. Heretofore abe had cheered
her boy by promising 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 SHRUB
and let him die. She had thought
that she would sit there and watch un-
til 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 the agony of thirst and strug-
gle in distortion, and begs his mother
to Stay him, she can not endure the
spectacle. She puts him under shrub
and goes off a bow-shot, and begins to
weep until all the desert seems sob
bing, 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 pointing to
well of water, where she fills the bot
tie for the lad Thank God! Than,
God!
| learn from this oriental scene, in
the first place, what a sad thing it 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 unit
her son, Ishmael, got the same tricks
She dashed out her happiness ant
threw Sarah into great fret, and il
she had stayed much longer in tha
household she would have upset calm
Abraham's equilibrium. My friends
one-half of the trouble in the world to
day comes from the fact that people dc
not know their place, or, finding theil
place. will not stay in it When W,
come into the world there is always I
place ready for us. A place for Abra
ham. A place for Sarah. A place TO
Hagar. A place for Ishmael. A plac
for you and place for me.
Our first duty is to find our sphere
our second is to keep it. We may b
bera in a sphere far off from the on
for which God finally intends us. Six
'.,s " xvaS horn on the low ground