The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-11-02

Ihe heavenly race demands thy zeal
And an immortal crown.
SUBJECT OF SERMON: GARRISON DUTY"
Tent. Samuel, XXX, "a: CAS- his
part is that gOeth down to the battle, so
shall his part be that tarrieth by the
stuff"
lf you have never seen an army chang
ing quarters you have no idea of the i'm
mense amount of baggage to be moved.
1t was necessary for David's army to
make a dOuble-quicl3 march in order to
recover their captured families from the
Amalekites, so they pile up by the brook
BesOr their knapsacks, their blankets,
their baggage, and leave their carriages.
Who shall be detailed to watch this
stuff? There were sick soldiers, and
wounded soldiers, and aged soldiers,
who were not able to go on that swift
military excursion, and yet who were
able to do some work. So they are ap-
pointed to do this garrison duty by the
brook BesOr. A soldier too sick to march
thirty miles in a day, and then plunge
into ten-hOur fight might, neyerthe-
less, be strong enough with drawn
sword lifted against the shoulder to pace
up and down as sentinel, to keep off
the enemy who might approach with
torch to set the baggage on fire. There
are 200 men in this Davidean garrison
"
them had bandages across the forehead,
and Others arms in slings, and others
were walking on crutches. They were
not towards Sinking duty. All their
wounds were honorable wounds. They
had shown their YalOT in many a con
test. They are now in field hospital
part of the time, and the rest on garTi-
son duty. They almost cried when David
and his men started on their expedition
hppAngp tnpV pDIIll OFn Ia fbaUn
v hlle these wounded and decrepit SEN
unels, by day and night, watched the
stuff, the Lord watched the sentinels.
Quite another scene was being enacted
in the distance. The Amalekites have
robbed vast region of country of its
treasures, and are celebrating it with
roaring carOusal, Some of them are
dancing across the lawn in all possible
gyratlOn of heel and toe, and others are
examining the spOils-ear.rin finger
rings, necklaces, wrist-lets, headbands,
diamond starred; whole Golfers Of gar
nets, and comedians, and pearls, and sap
phires, and emeralds; all styles of cut
lery, all table ware, all wealth of chalice,
and decanter, and plate; silver and gold
coins banked up on the ground in king
ly pTOfuSiOn; embrOideries, and blank
cts, and robes, and turbans, and cloaks
OF imperial wardrobe The feast has
| advanced until the banqueters are maud
| lin, and weak, and stupid, and indecent
| and lOathsOmely drunk. Good time now
| for David and his men to break in upOn
them. So the English lost the battle f
Bannockburn, for the night before, be-
ing in blbulOus celebration while the
| scotch were in prayer. So the Syrians
were OyerthrOwn by Israelitish host.
| SO ChedOrlameT and his army were over
| thrown by Abraham. So the Northern
| troops were OyeTthTOwn at Fredericks-
| burg through the drunkenness of a com
manding officer.
In the morning twilight David and his
men swept down upon the Amalekites,
| and the poor wretches that were able to
| move went staggering and beWildered
off the field, and some cTawled on the
backs of camels to speed away and 9TH
ers were hewn to pieces on the spot.
David and his men gathered up the Jew
els and the coins and the WardrObes, and
put them in wagons and on the backs
OF camels, and gathered the fOcks and
herds of which the whole land had been
robbed by the BedOuins, and the yictors
started back to the garrison by the brook
BeSOT. GOnder they come! The troops
who had tarried by the stuff came limp
ing out to greet them with wild huz-
zahs, and the Bible says David saluted
them. That is, he asked them how they
were. How is your fractured jaw?"
How is your broken aTm?" "HOw is
your injured limb?" Have you had an
other chill?" He saluted them. But now
came the question of questions. Drive
up those loaded camels. What shall Da-
vld do with the spOils of the campaign?
Some selfish ones suggested that these
SpO1ls ought to be all divided among
those who had been in active service at
the front. eve did the fighting while
those fellows stayed at home. Let ours
be the treasures" But David looked at
the faces Of the men who had stayed on
garrison duty. He noticed how clearly
everything had been kept. He saw that
the baggage was all safe. Hekuew that
these men who had taTried by the stuff
would like to have been at the front, and
t. l. - general looked out from andeI
his helmet and said "NO, no. let us have
fair play" And l see him rushing up to
man who had lost both eyes in for
mer battle, and, throwing over his shOul-
der BabylOnish garment, saying:
THAT will keep you warm;" and, telling
him to put his hands together, filing
them with gold, saying, THAT will pro.
vide for your wants" For the man who
had lost both arms in former battle,
some one holds the helmet to catch the
silver, and some one, pale and sick, and
sitting away back, expecting nothing,
has his lap filled with means of support
lOI Ille IeSI VI HIS lie, anu SOLle one W no
is emaciated and needed stimulus has
some wine out into his lips, and some
| one who had no appetite for the coarse
ratiOns of the army, has rare mOrseI
| given him from the Amalekitish ban
| quet, and some one who had lost all for
his country had two cattle and several
sheep as his portion, so that he should
lack neither food nor clothes. And the
two hundred men who stayed on garri-
son duty by the brook BesOr got as much
as any two hundred that went to the
| front. "As his part is that goeth down
to the battle, so shall his part be that
tarrieth by the stuff"
The impression abroad is that the
Christian rewards will be given to those
who render conspicuous service in the
high places in the field, and that Heaven
| is going to be place for those who have
done resOunding service. Great patri-
| OTIS, great authors, great martyrs, great
preachers, great philanthropfsts. But
my text suggests that those who stay at
home and mind their own business, and
those who, because of physical infirmity,
or crippled circumstances cBnnOt appear
at the front of celebrated movements.
but serve without much observation, and
do q wall 40 thau aan ruin iugt