The Penn's Grove record., 1901-08-16
DR., TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: Religion a Great RefreShmcnt -
Water For the Thirsty - God a foun-
tain of JOY That is Unappreciated -
An Everlasting Well OF Giadness.

3 ave cannot until ali the hocks be gath
cred together and till they roll the stone
from the wells mouth; then we water the
sheep" r
A scene in Mesopotamia. beautifully
pastoral. A well Of water OF great y,aiue
IN that region. The fields around about
it white with three flocks of sheep lying
down waiting for the watering. hear
their bleating coming on the bright air
and the laughter of young men and mad
ems indulging in rustic repartee. / look
off, and / see other hocks of sheep com
ing. Meanwhile Jacob, a stranger, on an
interesting GRAND of looking for, a wife,
comes to the well. A beautiful shephefa-
ess comes to the same well. see her APP
preaching followed by her fathers flock
of sheep. 1t was a memorable meeting.
Jacob married that shepherdess: The
Bible account of it is, Jacob kissed Rach-
ell 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
occurred Jacob aecosts the shepherds ana
asks them why they postpone the shaking
of the thirst OF these sheep and why they
did not Immediately proceed to water
them. The shepherds reply to the effect:
1--WE are all good ~neigbbors, and as q mat
ter of courtesy we wait until all the sheep
of the neighborhood come up. Besides
that, this stone ON the wells mouth is
somewhat hcHvy, and several OF us take
hold of it anu push it aside, and then the
buckets and the troughs are filed, and
the sheep are satisfied, We cannot until
all the hocks DIRE gathered together and
till they roll the stone from the wells
mouth; then we water the sheep"
Oh, this is a thirsty world! Hot for
the head and blistering for the feet and
parching for the tongue. The worlds
great want is a cool, refreshing, satisfying
lroFt Mo tuond9r nrpunh and IVn find
the cistern empty. Long and tedious
drought has dried up the worlds fountain,
but centuries ago "a shepherd, with crook
in the shape OF a cross and feet cut to
the bleeding, explored the desert passages
of this 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 a voice strong and
musical that rang through the ages, "Ho,
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters!"
Now, a great flock of sheep to-day
gather around this gospel well. There
are a great many thirsty souls. / wonder
why the hocks of all nations do not gath
er-why SO many stay thirsty-and while
l am wondering about it my text breaks
forth in the explanation, saying, 1--WE can
not until all the hocks be gathered to-
gether and till they roll the stone from
the wells mouth; then we water the
sheep"
If a herd of swine come to a well they
angrily lostle each other for the prece-
dence; if a drove of cattle come to a well
they hook each other back from the
water, but when a flock of sheep come,
though a hundred of them shall be disap-
pointed, they only express it by sad beat.
ing, they CONF together peaeeably. We
want a great multitude to come around
the gospel well. ! know there are those
who do not like a crowd; they think a
for room in church, it makes them posi-
lively impatient and belligerent. We have
-ople permanently leave church be
cause so may people come to it. Not so
did these Oriental shepherds. They wait
ed until all the loeks were gathered, and
the more hocks that came the better they
liked it. 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 INDECENT without
the gospel of Jesus; go to the poor and tell
them the affiuence there is in Christ; 20
to the blind and tell them of the touch
that gives eternal illumination; go to the
lame and tell them of the joy that will
make the lame man leap like a hart,
Gather all the sheep off all the mountains;
none so torn OF the dogs, none so sick,
none so worried, so dying, as to be omit
ted. Why not gather a great flock? All
this city in a flock; all New York in a
flock; all London in a flock; all the world
in a flock.
This well of the gospel is deep enough
to put out the burning thirst of the
1000, 000, 900 Of the race, Do not let the
church by a spirit of e-xcnsiveness keep
the world out. Let down all the bars,
swing open all the gates, scatter all the
invitations, whatsoever will let him
come" Come, white and black. Come,
red men of the forest. Come, Laplander
out of the snow. Come, P%atagouian, out
of the south. Come in furs. Come pant
ing under palm leaves. Come one. Come
potamia Jacob and Rachel were betrothed
so this morning at this well of salvation
Christ, our Shepherd, will meet you com
ing up with your long flocks of cares and
anxieties, and He will stretch out His
hand in pledge of His affection while all
the, Heaven will cry out: 'Behold the
bridegroom comethl Go We out to meet
Him."
You notice that this well of Mesopota-
MIA had q stone IN it, which must be re-
moved before the sheep could be watered.
and | find on the well of salvation to-day
impediments and obstacles which must be
removed in order that you may obtain
the refreshment and life of this gospel
In your case the impeachment is pride o.
heart. You cannot bear to come to sc
democratic a fountain. You do not want
to come with so many others. 1t is as
though you were thirsty and you were in
vited to slake your thirst at the town
pump instead of sitting in a parlor sip
plag out of a chased chalice which has
Just been lifted from a silver salveT. MOI
so many publicans and sinners. You
want to get to heaven, but you must be
in a special car. with your feet on a Turk
lsh ottoman and a band of music on boarC
the train. You do not want to be in com
paDy with rustic Jacob and Rachel and tC
be drinking out OF the fountain where 10,
0Qo sheep have been drinking before you
You viii have to remove the obstacle o.
pride, or never find your way to the well,
You will have to come as we came, will
ing to take the water of eternal life il
any way and at any hand and in any kline
OF pitcher, crying out: 80 Lord Jesus.
am dying of thirst! Give me the water O
eternal life, whether in trough or goblet
Give me the water of life. | care not il
what 1t comes to me-" Away with al
your h%indranees of pride from the we'll
mouth,
Here is another man who is kept bacl
from this water Of life by the stone of AZ
obdurate heart, which lies over the moutl
OF the well. You have no more feelin.
upon this subject than if God had yet t
do you the first kindness or you had to d,
God the first wrong. Seated on His Ian
all these years, His everlasting arms shel
terlng you, where is your gratitude
Where Is your morning and evening pray
err Where are your eonsecrated lives
| say to you, as Daniel said to Belshazzar
The God in whose hand thy breath j
and all thy way thou hast not glorifed. ,
ii you treated anybody as badly as yol
have treated God. you would have mad,
500 apologies - yea, your whole life woult
have been al apology. Three times a da,
you have been seated at Gods table
Spring, summer, autumn and winter II
has appropriately appareled you. You
health from Him, your companion from
Him, your children from Him, your HON
from Him, all the bright surroundings 0
your life from Him.
There are men who are perfectly dis
eontented. Unhappy in the past, unhapp.
to-day, to be unhappy forever unless yo'
eome to this gospel well. This Statistic
the soul with a high, deep, all absorhln
and eternal satisfaction. It comes, and j
offers the most unfortunate man so muc
Of this world as is best for him an
throws all heaven into the bargain, III
weGlth OF Croesus and of all the Rotl
sci ids is only a poor, miserable shillin
sN pared with the eternal fortunes tina
"a Hef affapg ,.nu ta-l.tr L., NIn L',y E,t