The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-06-27
TALMAGE's | SERMON.
PROMPT AcTloE" THE SUB
JEcT LAST UNDAY.

I
"He That Observed tho Wind Shall
! Not Sow" Fec. XII, 4-The Courage
of Conviction. . Primary Virtue In
Man-Be Bold for the Right
Copyright. 1901, by Louis Klopsch, N. W
Washington, June z3.-From a pas
sage of Scripture unobserved by most
readers DR.. Talmage in this discourse
shows the Importance of prompt action
in anything we have to do for ourselves
or others; text, Ecclesiastes XII, 4. "He
that observeth the wind shall not
SOW"
What do you find in this packed SEN
tence Of Solomon's monologue? find
In 1t farmer at his front door exam
lining the weather. 1t is seedtime. His
fields have been plowed and narrowed.
The wheat is In the barn in sacks
ready to be taken afield and. scattered.
Now Is the time to SOW. But the wind
Is not favorable. 1t may blow up
storm before night, and he may get
wet If he starts out for the sowing; or
1T may be long storm, that will wash
out the seed from the soil; or there
may have been a long drought, and the
wind may continue to blow dry wealth
er The parched fields may not take
In the grain, and the birds may pick
1t up, and the labor as we'll as the seed
may be wasted. So he gives up the
work for that day and goes into the
mouse and waits to see what it will be
on the morrow. On the morrow the
wind Is still in the wrong direction,
and for whole week and for month.
Did you ever see such long spell of
bad weather? The lethargic and over
cautious dilatory agriculturist allows
the season to pass without sowing, and
no sowing, Of course, no harvest. That
Is what Solomon means when he says
In his text, "He that observeth the
wind shall not SOW
Crisis Was Not Met.
There comes dark Sabbath morning.
The pastor looks out of the window
and sees the clouds gather and then
discharge their burdens Of rain. In
stead of full church it will be hand
full of people with wet feet and drip
ping umbrellas at the doorway or the
end of the pew. The pastor has pre-
pared one of his best sermons. 1t has
cost him great research, and he has
been much in prayer while preparing
1t. He puts the sermon aside for clear
day and talks platitudes and goes
home quite depressed, but at the same
time feeling that he has done his duty.
He did not realize that in that small
audience there were at least two per-
sons who ought to have had better
treatment. One of those hearers was
man in crisis of struggle with evil
appetite. A carefully prepared dis
course under the divine blessing would
nave been to him complete victory.
TIE fires of sin would have been ex-
| tnguished, and his keen and brilliant
mind would have been consecrated to
the gospel ministry, and he would
have been a mighty evangel, and tens
OF thousands of souls would have, un-
der the spell of his Christian eloquence
given up sin and started new life.
and throughout all the heavens there
would have been congratulation and
hosanna, and after many ages of eter-
nifty had passed there would be celebra-
tlon among the ransomed of what was
accomplished one stormy Sunday in a
cnurch on earth under mighty gos-
pei sermon delivered to Is or 20 people.
But the crisis speak of was not prop
erly met. The man in struggle with
a hoo I'd hat ~
word that moved him. He went out in
the rain unlimited and unhelped back
to his evil way and down to his over
throw. Had it been sunshiny Sabbath
he would have heard something worth
hearing. But the wind blew from a
stormy direction that Sabbath day. That
gospel husbandman noticed it and act
ed upon its suggestion and may dis
cover some day his great mistake. He
had a sack full of the finest of the
wheat, but he withheld it, and some
day he will find, when the whole story
Is told, that he was vivid illustration
of the truth of my text, "He that OBJ
serveth the wind shall not SOW"
Lacked Courage Of Conviction.
Communities and churches and ma
lions sometimes are thrown into hys-
terra, and it requires man Of great
equipoise to maintain right position.
Thirty-three years ago there came a
time of bitterness in American politics.
and the impeachment of the president
of the United States was demanded.
Two or three patriotic men, at the risk
of losing their senatorial position,
stood out against the demand of their
political associates and saved the coun-
try from that. which all people of all
parties now see would have been a ca
lamity and would have put every sub
sequent president at the mercy of his
opponents. 1t only required the waiting
of few months, when time itself re-
moved all controversy.
Let us have war with England If
needs be-" said the most of the people
Of our northern states In 1861, when
Mason and Slidell the distinguished
southerners, had been taken by our
navy from the British steamer Trent
and the English government resented
the act of our government in stopping
one of their ships. "Give up those
prisoners" said Great Britain. NO"
said the almost unanimous opinion of
the north. "Do not give them up. Lot
us have war with England rather than
surrender them" Then William H.
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