Blount County democrat. [volume] (Maryville, Tenn.) 1879-1883, 1880-03-17
THE DEMOCRAT.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1880.
TALMAGE.
ExTnACTs'VnoH . DIscOURss oy Rev.
r.. DEWITT TALIACE.

"iEc lame taFe tie u. .'-lsal.h ~2--l-l. ~.
The utter demolition Of The AEsyri-
IN host was here predicted. Not only
robust men should 60 forth and gath
or the spoils of conquest, but even
men crippled Of ara and crippled of
foot should go cut and capture much
that was valuable. Their physical
disadvantages should not hinder their
great enrichment. So it has been in
she past, so 1t 10 now, 50 ii viii be in
the future. So It Is IN all departments.
Men labor under seemingly great dis
advantages, and amid the most UNI
favorable circumstances, yet making
grand achievements, getting great
blessing for the world, great blessing
for the church and co "the lame take
the prey" There are those
in all communities who toll nightly
for A livelihood. They have scant
wages. Perhaps they are diseased, or
have physical in1rmities, so that they
are hindered from doing Z continuous
DAYS work. Il city missionary finds
them up the dark alley, with 10 fire,
with thin clothing, with very coarse
bread. They never ride In the street
car; they cannot afford the five cents.
They never see any pictures save
those in the show-Window ON the
street. from which they are often JOS
tied and looked at by some one, who
seems to say in look; "Move on !
Whist are you doing here looking at
pictures 2" Yet many of them live
on mountains of TRANSPORTATION. AT
their rough table He who fed the five
thousand breaks the bread. They
talk often of the good times that are
coming. This world has no charm
for them, but heaven entrances their
spirit. They often divide their scant
crust with some forlorn wretch who
knocks at their door at night, and on
the blast of the night wind, as the
door opens to let them in, is heard the
voice of Him who said, 81 was hungry
and We fed me-" No cohort of heaven
will be too bright TO transport them.
BY Gods help they have vanquished
the Assyrian host. They have divid-
cd among them the spoilS. Lame,
very lame, yet they took tho prey.
: There are thosS who would
like 10 do good. They say, ooh, if 1
only had wealth, or if had cloquence,
or If had high social position, how
much I would accomplish for Cod and
the church" ] stand here to-day to
tell you that you have great opportu-
mites for usefulness. Who built the
pyramids? The king who ordered
them built? No; the plain workmen
who added stone after stone. Who
built the dykes Of Holland! The gov
ernmcnt that ordered the enterprise?
No: the plain workmen who carried
the stuff and rung their trowels on the
wall. Who arc those who have built
these vast citios3 Tho capitalists?
No; the carpenters, the masons, the
plumbers, the plasters, the timers, the
roofers, dependent upon days. wages
for livelihood. And so in the great
work of agsauging human suffering
and enlightening human ignorance
and hating human iniouity. In that
great work, the chief part ia to be
done by ordinary men, with ordinary
speech, in an ordinary manner, and
by ordinary means. The trouble is
that in the army Of Christ we all want
to be captains, and colonies and briga-
dier-generals. We are not willing to
march with the rank and file and do
duty with private soldiers. We want
to belong to the reserve-corps, and
read about the battle while warming
ourselves at the campfire, or on fur
Tough at home, our feet upon an otto
man, we saggling back into an arm
chair. AS you go down the street
you SEQ an excavation, and four or
i've men are working, and perhaps
twenty or thirty leaning OF the rail
looking over at them. That is the
way il is in the Church OF God to-day /
where you and one Christian hard at |
work there are fifty men watching the
iobi Obi my friends, why do you
not so to work and preach this gospel ?
You say, IL have no pulpit" You
have. 1t may DO the carpenters |
bench, it may be this mason's wall. !
The robo in which you are to proclaim |
this gospel may be shocmaker's |
apron. But woe unto you if you do
not preach that gospel somewhere, |
somehow. If thiR world is ever
brought to Christ it viii be by the |
unanimous and long-continuod efforts
of men who, waiting for no special !
endowment, consecrate TO God what
they have. Among the useless people
in the world are men with ten talents,
while men with oAly two talents, or
none at all, are doing a great work,
and SO "the lame take the prey"
There are thousands of ministers CT
whom you have never. heard-in log
cabins in the west, in mission-chapels |
In the east-who are warning against
the legions of darkness, successfully |
warning. You do not know their 60
ing and their coming; but the foot
falls of their ministry are heard in the
palaces OF heaven. "Oh,"
aaUn gonna man Hif ebnul5 two 10 10 !