Milford chronicle., 1906-10-12
almaSe
krmcn
By Rev.
lk De Witt Talmase, D. D.

Angeles. Cal, Oct. lin this
the preacher utters a whole
Farming against the common sin
haritable judgment Of others,
#sbv such means, miss the bless
lcomes Of "entertaining angels
s." The text is Genesis xviii, 2,
three men stood by him."
gentleman travels in the far
does not stop at a public inn,
les with the people he meets on
# Thus one day Abraham was
Lad the door Of his tent. OF in
ltance he sees three travel stain
approaching. At once, accord
the social customs then practiced
Ith the cordial hospitality of the
Abraham runs toward these three
ers and kneels at their feet and
"Come and lodge with we. Tarry
rest yourselves and eat of my
After refreshing yourselves you
continue on your journey" The
travellers accepted this kind invi-
n. Abraham spread before his
IS the best food he had. He killed
If His wife baked for them some
bread After the meal was over
of the strangers said, 'Where IS
wife?" Abraham went and called
nh. Then. as the three men were
ut to 60 they said practically these
rds: ooh. ye aged ana childless ones,
dearest wish of your hearts is about
be fulfilled. In your old age you
I'M have a SON." To make a long
,ry short. Abraham and Sarah found
that & guests in human form
ere not +4)ly three men, but three
lgelic messengers of God. What an
conceivable privilege that was. Let
think about it this morning. reinem-
Herring that we, too, can entertain an
8eIic messengers almost every day if
he will. We can entertain them, as
bid Abraham, when strange travellers
approach our dwellings, and perhaps
knock. at the door for admittance. You
NAV think these strangers are men, as
did Abraham, but they are not. They
are messengers of God. Thus the ques-
tions which now confront us all are:
''Wfll we let in these angelic visitors!
VIII we receive from them the spiritual
blessings which God intends us to getT
Shall we. in the first place, receive
the angelic visitors who come from
God dressed i'll the rough garments of
moor men? These messengers come to
us almost daily. as the three strangers
came to Abraham in olden time. As
we approach the Hebrew patriarchs
tent we see him sitting under the shad-
ow. 1t IL almost noon. The intense
Syrian sun is beating down upon the
plains Most of the work was done.
The shepherds or the cattleman's day
does not begin, as with many of us,
at 8 or 8 o'clock These men start
their work very early in the morning.
While it is yet dark the busy wives
and daughters are up preparing the
early breakfast. Then with the first
light of the day the sheep and the
cows and the horses begin to get rest
less. They want to get out and feed
upon the rich grasses. Then the fiocks
andA Sie herds begin to move, and by
10 o'clock the animals are well fed
and are resting themselves under the
shadows Of the trees until late in the
afternoon. Abraham, like Il wise mas
ter, had seen that his herdsmen and
shepherds had cared well for his stock.
Then when the hot sun begins to beat
down he goes back to his tent to pre-
pare for dinner and take rest and
have a quiet chat with his dear wife
Sarah, for, though Abraham at this
time was over ninety years Of age and
Sarah had passed her threescore years
and ten, yet they were still lovers as
when in their youth they had taken q
Journey into faroff Egypt and the
kings messenger wanted to select
Sarah for PharRoh's bride.
The Three Travellers.
While the busy Sarah is preparing
the ml6noon meal Abraham, sitting by
mis- tent, suddenly puts his hand oveI
his brow and begins to look. He seemi
to lie watching something afar of
'What is it, AbrahamT" says his wife
"Do you see any one comingT' "Yes,
answers the aged lover. Il think se'
three travellers. They are strangers t.
me. They must be poor men. They
are coming afoot. In this country
horses are so cheap that all except th'
poorest can own one. These men have
not even donkey with them. Thel
must truly be very poor. wonder i
they have enough food along. Poo
fellows! See how tired and hungr!
they lOokg Sarah. We have so much
let US give them a good meal and star
them on their journey sfresh. No NAL
ought to be travelling In this awfu
heat" "All right. Abraham" think
hear Sarah say. "All right. You g
and ask them to tarry. will hurry u
and prepare some meal, and you sem
and kill calf, and we will give then
a feast at for a king" Thus AbrahaE
runs and salutes these strangers VIII
are travelling afoOt. He says. "strar
gers, will you come and lodge wit
met" Lesson the first. These thre
angelic messengers came TO Abraham
tent afoot. They came as poor mel
They came as Gods messengers ofte
come to US, when they locl, up into ou