The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1899-10-19
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE EMINENT DIv1NE'S SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
Subject. Tho Water Brooks-Thc Gospei
or I;efrosliinent Shows How We May
Elude tho Hounds of Trouble and
Safely rseacii the Lake of Divine solace.
lcnnrnrht. Lonla Klorsch. lsea.1

fcupyright, Louis Klopsch. 1891
WAsuryaruN. d. C.-The Gospel as II
great rcfreshtnent is here set forth by Dr..
ralmuge under figure which will be
found particularly graphic by those who
have gone out rs hunters to find game in
the mountains; te1t, Psalm KILL, |, "As the
hart pantoth after the water brooks"
Datid, who must some time have seen n
deer hunt, points us here to n hunted stag
making for tho water. The fascinating ami
NAL, called in my text the hart, is the same
animal that in sacred and proiane lltera-
ture is called the stag. the roebuck, the
hind, the gazelle, the reindeer. In central
Syria In Bible times there we're whole pas
ture fields OF them, as solomon suggests
when he says, "I charge you by the kinds
of the field" Their antlers jutted from
the long grass ms they lay down. No hunter
who has been long In "S ohm Browns tract"
will wonder that In the Bible they were
clnssed among clean animals, for the dews,
the showers tho lakes, washed them as
clean as the sky. When Isaac, tho patrl-
arch l0nged for venison, Esau shot and
brought home IL roebuck. Isaiah compares
| the sprlghtliness Of the restored cripple OF
| millennial times to the long ana quick
| jump Of the stag saying, 1.-THE lame shall
| leap as the hart" Solomon expressed his
| disgust at n hunter who, having shot
| deer Is too luzy to cook 1t, saying, ''The
| slothiul man roastCth not that which he
took in hunting"
But one dny David, while far from the
| home from whicn he had been driven and
sitting near the mouth of II lonely cave
| where he had l,dged and on the banks OF
| pond or river, hears n pack OF hounds In
| swirt pursuit. Because OF the previous
silence Of the forest tho clangor startles
! him, and he says to himself 81 wonder
! what those dogs are after" Then there is
| II cracking In the brushwood and the loud
! breathing OF some rushing wonder OF tho
| L. md Itn mil nf "A
| leaves OF th thcket, and by an instinct
! which all hunters recognize 1t plunges into
| u pond or lake OF river to cool its thirst
and at the snne time, by its capacity for
swifter and longer swimming, to get away
| from tho fonming barriers.
! David says to himself: AHA! That Is
| myself! Saul after me, Absaiom after me,
enemies without number after me. am
chased, their bloody muzzles Mt my heels,
barking at my good name, barking after
my body, barking after my soul. On, the
| hounds the houndsl But look therep'
SAYS David, "That hunted deer has splashed
into the water. 1t puts its hot lips and
| nostrlls into the cool wave that washes the
! lathered flanks, and 1t swms away from
tho fiery canines, and 1t Is free at last.
oh, that | might find In the deep, wide
lake OF Gods mercy and consolation es-
cape from my pursuers Oh, for the
waters of life and rescued AS the hart
paHtoth after the water brooks, so panteth
my soul after thee, o God!"
Some of you have just come from the
Adirondacks, and the breath of the basam
| and spruce and pine is still on you. The
Adlrondacks are now populous with
| hunters, and the deer are being slain by
the score. Once while there talking with u
hunter ! thought | would like to SEQ
whether my text was accurate In its allu-
sion and ms | heard the dogs baylng lit
tie way off and supposed they were on the
/ track OF n deer said to tue hunter in rough
| corduroy "Do the deer always mako for
| the water when they are pursuedF' He
said: ooh, yes, msterl You see, they are
n hot and thirsty animal, and they know
where the water is, and when they hear
danger in the distance they lift their ant.
lers and snui n the breeze and start for Rae
quet or Loon or Snranac, and we get into
our cedar shell boat or stand by the runway
with rAe loaded ready to blaze away"
My friends, that Is one reason why like
the Bible so much. Its illusions are sc
true to nature. Its partridgcs ARE real part-
ridges, its ostriches real ostriches and its
Ielndeer real reindeer. do not Won
der that this untlered glory OF the text
makes the hunters eye sparkle and his
cheek glow and his respiration quicken, to
say nothing of its usefulness, although 1t Il
the most useful of all game, its flesh deli
cious its skin turned Into human apparel
its sinews fashioned into bow strings, Its
antlers putting handles on cutlery ant
the shavlngs of it's horns used rs restora
tive, it's name taken from tho hart ant
called hnrtshorn. BY putting aside it,
usefulness this enchanting creature seems
| made out of gracefulness and elasticity
! What an eye, with liquid brightness as 1
| gathered up from Il hundred lakes at sun
setl Tho horns coronal branching into
| every possible curve, and, after 1t seems
done, ascending into other projections o
: eXquisiteness, u tree OF polished bone, up
| lifted in pride or swung down for awIu
, combat 1t is velocity embodied, timidit.
impersonRted, the enchantment OF tn
woods eye lustrous in life and pathetic II
death, tho splendid animal complete
rhythm Of muscle and bone and color an'
! attitude and locomotion, whether couchet
in the grass among the shadows or alivint
bolt shot through the forest or turning n
bay to attack the hounds or rearing Tor 1T
last fall under the buGKshot OF the trapper
1t is II splendid appearance, that th
painters pencil fails to sketch, and only
hunters dream on II pillow OF hemlocks II
the foot of st. Regis is nblo to picture
When twenty miles from any settlement
it comes down mt eventde to the lake
edge to drink among the lilypads, and
with its shnrp-edged hoof, shutters thu
crystal of Long lake, II is very picturesque
But only when after miles OF pursuit, Wit
= heavirg sides and boiling tongue and eye
= swimming in denth, the stag leaps frou
cliff to cliff into Upper Saranuc eau you re
lns troubles and how much he wanted Co
!, when ho expressed himself In the words
Gas the hart pHntcth after the waite
. brooks, 50 panteth my soul after Thee,
God"
Well, now, let all those who have comm
after them the lean hounds of poverty o
the black hounds OF persecution or tn
spotted hounds of vicssitude or the pal
hounds Of death or who are in any wis
pursued run to the wide, deep gloriou
lake OF divine soacc aud rescue. Th
most OF the men and women whom l har
pen TO know, at different times, II not nov
have had trouble after them, sharI
mu2zled troubles swift troubles, all dc
Youring troubles. Many OF you hav
made tine mistake OF trying 10 fight then
Somebody meanly attacked you, and yo
attacked them. They depreciated you, IN
YOU deprecated them, or they overreache
you in Il bargain, and you tried, In wa
street parlnnce, to get II corner on then
Or you have had bereavement, and II
stead OF being submissive you are fghtln
that bereavement. You charge ON the do'
tors who have failed to effect II cure, {
YOU charge on the careiessnesS OF the raj
road company through which tho accideI
occurred. Or you nre chronic inVal'
and you fret and worry and scold ana VOL
der why YOU cannCt be well like other pee
pie, and YOU angri!y charge on the net
rnlrln or the laryngitis or the ugue or I'll
sick headache. The fact is you are DEF
ut bay. Instead of running to the waite
of divine consolation and shaking yol
thirst and cooling your body ana soul
the good cheer OF the gospel ana swim
ming away into the mighty deeps OF God
lova Won uro lighting Il whole kennel