The Washington weekly post., 1899-06-27
WELLS IN THE DESERT
DR.. Talmage's Discourse Upon
an Oriental Scene.
DEPARTURE OF HAGAR AND son
Vivid Description BY the Eloquent Divine
of the Quarrel In Abraham's House, Fol-
lowed by Comment on the General Dis
satisfaction of Modern People with the
sphere In Which They hind Themselves
Lesson of Sympathy with Woman.

sphere In " hieh They find Themselves
Lesson of Sympathy with Woman.
Rev. T. De Witt Talmage chose as his
subject Sunday Wells in the Desert. -
from text. Gen. xxi:ls: And God opened
her eyes. and she saw a well of water;
and she went and filled the bottle with
water and gave the lad drink" He said:
Morning breaks upon Beersheba. There
Is an early stir in the house of old Abra-
ham. There has been trouble among the
cOmestics. Hagar. an assistant in the
household, and her son, a brisk lad of
sixteen 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, knowing that the journey be-
fore his servant and her son will be very
long and across desolate places, in the
kindness of his heart sets about putting
uR some bread and bottle with water in
IT. II Is a very plain lunch that Abraham
provides, but l warrant you there would
have been enough of it mad they not lost
their way. God be with your said old
Abraham as he gave the lunch to Hagar
and d good many charges as to how she
should conduct the journey. Ishmael, the
boy, l 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 ia
miliar place where she had spent so many
happy days, each scene associated with
the pride and JOY of her heart, young
Ishmael
Trudging Through the Desert.
The scOrching noon comes on. The
air is sitting and moves across the desert
with insufferable suffocation Ishmael,
the boy, begins TO complain and lies down,
but Hagar rouses him up, saying nothing
about her own weariness or the swelter-
me heat; for mothers can endure any
thlng. Irudge, trudge, trudge! Crossing
the dead level of the desert. how wearily
and slowly the miles slipl A tamarind
that seemed hours ago TO stand only lust
d little ahead, inviting the travellers 10
come under its shadows, now is as far off
as ever, or seemingly so. Night drops
upon the desert, and the travellers are pill
lowiess- 1shmael, very weary, / suppose
instantly falls asleep. Hagar, as the shad-
oWs OF the night begin to lap over each
otherTHasar hugs her weary boy to her
bosom and thinks of the fact that il is her
fauit that they are in the desert. A star
looks out. and every falling tear il kisses
with sparkle. A wing of wind comes
over the hot earth and lifts the locks from
the fevered brow of the boy. Hagar
sleeps htfully, and in her dreams travels
over the weary day. and half aWakes her
Ishmaelr
Ar 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 Hour; the water gone from the bot
tit. nat snail she do? As she puts her
fainting lshmael under stunted Shrub of
lhe ARD plain she sees the bloodshot eve
ana teels the hot hand, and watches the
blood bursting from the cracked tongue.
ana tnere Is shrek in the desert of
oeersheDd, we snail die! We shall diep
Hagar'. Bitter Weeping.
NOW, no mother was ever made strong
enough to hear her son cry in vain for a
drink. Heretofore she 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 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 for
ever, 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
thlrst and struggle in distortion, and beg
ms mother TO slay him, she cannot en-
dure the spectacle. She puts him under a
shrub and goes off bow-shot, and begins
10 weep until all the desert seems sob
ping, 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 10 well of water. |
where she fills the bottle for the lad
Thank God! Thank God.
II learn from this Oriental scene in the
hrst place, what a sad thing it is when |
people do not know their place and get |
too proud for their business! Haear was
an assistant in that household, but she |
wanted TO rule there. She ridiculed and |
)eered until her son, Ishmael, got the |
same tricks. She dashed out her own |
happiness, and threw Sarah into a great |
lret, and If she had stayed much longer |
,alm Ahraham'S equilibrium NY friends |
1ne-hah OF the trouble in the world 10 /
lay comes from the fact that people do |
no. lot know their place, or, finding their /
place, viii not stay in 1t. When We come
INTO the world there is always a place /
ready for us A place for Abraham. a |
place for Sarah. A place for Hagar. a
place for lshmael. A place for you and /
place for me.
Men Who Were Called Up Higher.
"Our first dlty IS to find our snhara.
'ur second is, 10 keep it. We NAV De
BORN in sphere far on from the one for
which God finally intends US. Si<tus Y
vas born on the low ground, and was a
God called him I'D TO wave a
icepter- Ferguson spent his carly days In
ooking after sheep; Cod called him Up to
ook after stars, and be a shepherd watch
ng the fochs of light On the hilisides OF
heaven. HOgarth began by engraving
pewter pots; God raised him to stand I'm
he enchanted realm Of a painter. The
ihoem2ker's bench held Bloomfield for a
little while; but God raised him 10 sit IN !
he chair Of philosopher and Christian
scholar The sOap-bOiler OF London eOuls
lot Keep his son In that business, for God
lad decided that HaWley was to Be one
II the greatest astronomers OF England.
"On the other hand We may be born in
sphere little higher than that for
'hlch God intends Us. We may be born |
n a castle, and play in a costly conserva-
ory. and feed high-bred pointers, and
ingie for gold fish In artificial ponds. and
'e familiar with Princes; yet God may
'etter have fitted u for a carpenters
hop, or weaver's shuttle. or a black
mith's forge. The great thing Is to find !
ust the sphere for which God intended
Is. and then 70 occupy that sphere, and
eeupy II caeomplainingly. Here T. a nsan
; q man God fashiOred 10 make a con-
Iitution- The man who makes the 1
How Is Just as honorable as the man
mo makes the constitution II ne make
Re plog as veil as the otaCr man makes
ne constitution. There il woman no
vas made 20 fashion robe. and yOndcr
5 one INTENDED 10 b. a Queen and wear
/ IL seems 10 mo that In the one case
: In the other. God appoints the sphere.