Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1901-08-16
is VERY REFRESHING
DR.. Talmage, in This Discourse, So
Represents Religion.
He Invites All the World to Come and
Receive It-Christ's Eternal
Fountains Satisfy the
Soul.
Copyright, 1901. by Louis Ropsch. N. IL
washington Aug IL

Washington. Aug. II.
sents religion as a great refreshment,
and invites all the world to come and
receive it; text, Genesis, 29:s. eve
cannot until all the focks be gathered
together and till they roll the stone
from the wells mouth; then we water
the sheep"
A scene in Mesopotamia, beautifully
pastoral. A well of water of great
value in that region. The fields around
about it white with three f1ocks of
sheep lying down waiting for the wa
tering. 1 hear their blea ting comm g
on the bright air and the laughter of
young men and maidens indulging in
rustic repartee. look off, and see
other focks of sheep coming. Mean
while Jacob, stranger, on the inter-
esting errand of looking for a wife,
comes to the we'll. A beautiful shep-
her approaching, followed by her ia
theirs sheep. It was memorable
meeting. Jacob married that shep-
herdess. The Bible account of it is:
Jacob kissed Rachel and lifted up his
voice and wept." 1t has always been a
mystery to me what he found to cry
about! But before that scene oc-
Cured Jacob accosts the shepherds and
asks them why they postpone the
shaking of the thirst of their sheep
and why they did not imme dia te1y pro-
coed to water them. The shepherds
reply to the effect: 1--WE are all good
neighbors, and as a matter of cour-
tesy we wait until all the sheep of the
neighborhood come up. Besides that,
this stone on the wells mouth is some
what heavy, and several of us take hold
of it and push it aside, and then the
buckets and the troughs are filed and
the sheep are satisfied" eve cannot
until all the fiocks are gathered to-
gether and till they roll the stone from
the wells mouth; then we water the
sheep"
Oh, this is thirsty world! Hot for
the head, and blistering for the feet,
and parching for the tongue. The
worlds great want is a cool, refresh
around and we find the cistern empty.
Long and tedious drought has dried
up the worlds fountain, but CEN
turtles ago a Shepherd, with crook in
the shape of cross and feet cut to
the bleeding, explored the desert pas
sages of the world and one day came
across a well a thousand feet deep,
bubbling and bright and opalescent,
and looked to the north, and the south,
and the east, and the west, and cried
out with voice strong and musical,
that rang through the ages: "Ho,
everyone that thirsteth, come We to the
waters!"
Now great flock of sheep to-day
gather around this Gospel well. There
are great many thirsty souls. Iwon-
der why the fiocks of all nations do
not gather, why SO many stay thirsty,
and while am wondering about it my
text breaks forth in the explanation,
saying: ''We cannot until all the f1ocks
be gathered together and till they roll
the stone from the wells mouth; then
we water the sheep"
If herd of swine come to a well.
they angrily jostle each other for the
to well, they hook each other back
from the water, but when a flock of
sheep come. though a hundred of them
shall be disappointed, they only ex-
press it by sad bleating, they come to-
gether peaceably.. We want a great
multitude to come around the Gospel
well. I know there are those who do
not like crowd; they think a crowd
is vulgar. If they are oppressed for
room in church, it makes them posi-
lively impatient and belligerent. We
have had people permanently leave
church because so many other people
came to it. Not so did these oriental
shepherds. They waited until all the
hocks were gathered, and the more
focks that came the better they liked
1T. And so we ought to be anxious
that all the people should come. Go
out into the highways and the hedges
and compel them to come in. Go to
the rich and tell them they are indi-
gent without the Gospel of Jesus. Go
to the poor and tell them the affiuence
there is in Christ. Go to the blind
and tell them of the touch that gives
eternal illumina ton. Go to the lame
and tell them of the joy that will make
the lame man leap like hart. Gather
all the sheep off all the mountains,
None SO torn of the dogs, none so sick,
none so worried, none so dying as to
be omitted. Why not gather a great
flock? All this city is a flock, all New
York is flock, all London is a flock,
all the world is flock.
This we'll of the Gospel is deep
enough to put out the burning thirst
of the 1000 200, 900 of the race. Do
not let the church by spirit of ex-
clusiveness keep the world out. Let
down all the bars, swing open all the
gates, scatter all the invitations.
''Whosoever will, let him come" Come.
white and black. Come, red men of
the forest. Come Laplander, out
of the snow Come Pafau nnian o,,t % e