The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-09-02
miscellaneous.
REV, 7. DEWITT TALMAGE.
MAN THE GUNS FOR THE WAR
FARE WITH THE DEVIL
Earnest. Fighting Christians the Demand Of the
HOur-Camp Followers and Feather'Bed Sold
iers Ordered TO the Rear.
stand up stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the cross;
Lin high the royal banner,
1t must not suffer loss. WESLEY.

sUBJRcT-"THE TIMES WE LIVE IN"
Text-Esther Ala: "Who knoweth
whether thou art come to the Kingdom
for such time as this?"
Esther, the beautiful, was the wife OF
Ahssueres, the abominable. The time
had come for her to present a petition
to her Infamous husband in behalf OF
the Jewish nation, to which she once
belonged, She was afraid to undertake
the work lest she should lose her own
life: but her uncle, Mordecai, who had
brought her up, encouraged her with
the suggestion that probably she had
been raised up by God for that peculiar
mission. "Who knoweth whether thou
art come to the kingdom for such time
as this2"
Esther had her God.appoiDted work;
you and have ours. 1t is my business
to tell you what style of men and women
you ought to be, in order that you may
meet the demand of the age in which
God has cast your lot.
If YOU have come, expecting to hear
distractions discussed, or dry technicali-
ties of religion glorifed, you have come
to the wrong place but if you re-
ally would like to know what this age
has a right to expect of you as Christian
men and women, then I am ready, in
the Lords name, to look you in the face.
When two armies have rushed into bat
tie, the officers of either army do not
want a philosophical discussion about
the chemical properties of human blood,
or the nature of gunpowder; they want
some one to m2n the batteries and swab
out the guns. And now, when all the
forces of light and darkness, of heaven
and hell, have plunged into the fight,
it is no time to give ourselves to the def
nitions and formulas and teChniCalities
and Conventionalities of religion. What
we want is practical, earnest, Concentra'
ted, enthusiastic and triumphant help.
In the first place, in order to meet the
special demand of this age, you need to
be an mistakable, aggressive Christ
ian. OF half and. half Christians re do
not want any more. The Church of Je-
sus Christ will be better without ten
thousand of them. They are the chief
obstacle to the churCh's advancement. l
am speaking Of another kind of Christ.
ian. All the appliances for your becom-
ing an earnest Christian are at your
hand, and there is a straight path for
you into the broad daylight of Gods for
giveness You may have come into the
church the bondmen of the word, and
yet before you 60 out you may become
Princes of the Lord God Almighty. You
remember what excitement there was
in this country some years ago when
the Prince of Wales came here, how the
people rushed out by hundreds of thou
sands to see him? Why? Because they
expected some day he would sit upon
the throne of England. But what was
all that honor compared with the honor
to which God calls you-to be sons and
daughters of the Lord God Almighty;
yea, to be Kings and Queens unto God!
"They shall reign with Him forever and
forever"
But, my friends, you need to be ag-
gressive Christians, and not like those
persons who spend their lives hugging
their Christian graces, and wondering
why they do not make any progress,
How much robustness of health would a
man have if he hid himself in a dark
closet? A great deal of the piety of the
day is too exclusive. 1t hides itself. 1t
needs more fresh air, more outdoor ex.
erCise, There are many Christians who
are giving their entire life to selfexam.
ination. They are feeling their pulses
to see what is the condition of their spir-
itual health. How long would man have
robust, physical health, if he spent his
whole life feeling his pulse instead of
going out into earnest, active, every day
work.
l have been amid the wonderful and
bewitChing cactus growths Of North Car
olina, where never was more bewild.
cred with the beauty of flowers. Yet,
when would take up one of those CaCti
and pull the leaves apart, the beauty was
all gone. You could hardly tell that it
had ever been flower. And there are
a great many Christian people in this
day just pulling apart their own Christ.
ian experiences to see what there is in
them, and there is nothing left Of them.
This sort of self.examinstion is dam
age instead of benefit to their Christ
ian character. remember when l was
a boy l used to have small place in the
garden called my own, and l planted
corn there, and every few days 1 would
pull it up to see how fast it was growing.
Now, there are great many Christian
people in this day, whose self examina-
tion merely amounts to the pulling up
Of that which they only yesterday or the
day before planted. 0, my friends, if
you want stalwart Christian character,
nlunt II riUbk sc la.-, -, H.
field OF Christian usefulness, and tho'h
some storms may come upon it, and the
hot sun Of trial may come and try to
consume 1t, it will thrive until it bee jmes
a great tree, in which the fowls of heav.
en- may have their hahitation. have
no patience with these Aower-pot Christ.
ians. They keep themselves under shell
ter, and all their Christian experience in
a small and exclusive circle, when they
ought to plant it in the great garden of