Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-09-28

/ cylinder, and those who are shiDwrecked
are saved. So at your feet, to-day, there
Is an influence with tremendous lever
age. The rope attached to 1t swings far
out into the billowy future. Your chill
dren, your children's children, and all the
generations that are to follow, will grip
that influence, and feel the long-reRching
pull long after the figures on your tomb
stone are 80 near worn out that the visitor
cannot tell whether IL was in 1875 or 1875,
or 1915, that you died.
Still further, learn from this subject
the advantage of concurred action. III
Abimelech had merely gone out with
tree branch, the work would not have
! been accomplished, or If ten, twenty or
thirty men had gone; but when all the
axes are lifted, and all the sharp edges
| fall, and all these mon carry each his
/ tree branch down and throw 1t about the
temple, the victory is gained-the temple
falls. My friends, where there is one man
IN the church of God at this day shoulder
ing his whole duty, there are great many
| who never lift an axe or swing bow.
| II seems TO me as If there were ten
drOnes in every hive to one busy bee; 0s
though there were twenty sailors sound
asleep in the ships hammock to four men
on the stormy deck. Ii seems as If there
were $4,000 men belonging TO the reserve
corps and only 1000 active combatants.
| golden sands; but the most of us are
seated either In the PROV or in the stern,
wrapped in our striped shawl, holding a
! big-handled eunshade, while others are
| bllstered in the heat, and pun until the
oar-lOcks groan and the blades bend
till they snap. Oh, religious sleepy
heads. wake uni While we have in our
church a great many who are toll
| ing tor God. there are some too lazy to
brush the flies of their heavy feyelids.
! You have laid 80 long in one place that
the ants and cateTpfllars have begun
/ TO crawl over you'll What do you know,
my brother, about living Gospel made
To storm the wOrldi Now, my idea OF a
Christian is a man on fire with zeal for
God and If your pulse ordinarily beats
/ sixty times a minute when you think OF
other themes, and talk about other
themes, II your pulse does not go up to
seventy-fve or eighty when you come 10
talk about ChT'ist and heaven, 10 to be-
cause you do not know the one, and have
poor chance Of getting to the other.
Suppose. In military circles, on the
morning of the battle the roll is called,
and out Of thousand men only a hun
dred men I'm the regiment answered.
! What excitement there would be In tn
camp! What would the colonel say?
What high talking there would be among
the captains, and majors, and the adiu-
tantsl Suppose word came to headquar-
ters that these delinquents excused them
selves on the ground that they had over
slept themselves, or that the morning
was damp and they were afraid OF getting
their feet wet. or that they we're busy
cooking ratiOns. NV friends this
is the morning OF the day Of God
Almlghty's battlesl Do you not see the
troOpsi Hear you not all the trumpets
OF heaven. and all the drums OF hellI
Which side are you on? IL you are on the
right side, to what cavalry troop, 70 what
artillery service, 10 what garrison duty
do you belongy In other words, in what
Sabbath school dc you teach? In what
prayer meeting do you exhort1 10 what
penitentiary do you declare eternal lib
ertyp to what almshouse do you announce
the riches of heaVenf What broken
bone of sorrow have you ever setY Are you
doing nothing? Is.it possible thata man
or woman sworn 10 be follower Of the
Lord Jesus Christ is doing nOthlngg Then
hide the horrible secret from the angels.
Keep it away from the book OF judgment.
II you are doing nothing do not let the
world find it out, lest they charge your
religion with being false-iace. DO not
let your cowaFdioe and treason be heard
among the martyrs about the throne, lest
they forget the sanctity of the place and
curse your betrayal OF that cause for
which they agonized and died.
May the eternal God rouse us all TO ac-
tiOnl AS for myself, / feel would be
ashamed to die now and enter heaven un-
til have accomplished something more
decisive for the Lord that bought me. j
would like to join with yeu IN an oath,
with hand high uplffted 10 heaven, swear
ing new allegiance 10 Jesus Christ, and
to work more for His cause and kingdom.
Ont brethren, how swiftly the time does
90 byl 10 seems to me | never saw such
swift summer-neVer a summer that
had such nImOle feet. / seems to me as II
the years had gained s0me new power Of
lOcOmOtion--a kind of speed electric.
II, this afternoon, you take a short
sleep, and you are entitled 10 1t, for God
intended the Sabbath not only for rest for
the soul, but rest for the body, you will
at least have one or two hours In which
70 lay out a plan for Christian work IN
this ecclesiastical year. Husband and
| wife, talk with each other. Brothers and
sisters, resolve upon some new work for
| Christ. On your knees cry unto God:
Lord, what will Thou have me TO dOV
and stay on your knees until you get the
! answer. Are you ready 70 join with me
ia some new work for Christi | feel
that there is such a thing as claus
trail piety, that there Is such n
thing ns insular work; but IL seems
! 10 me LuAL Wnhl We want INV - pph-
certed action. The temple OF Berth Is
very broad and II Is very high. 10 has
been going up by tho hands OF men and
devils and no human enginery can de-
mollsh Il; but n the fifty thousand minis
ters Of Christ IN this country should each
take n branch Of the tree Of life, and all
their congregations should do the same,
aud we should march on and throw these
! branches around the great temples OF sin
and w0rldlinoss and folly. 10 would need
| no match or coal or tOrcn Of ours 10 touch
all the pile, for, as I'm the days OF Elijah,
IRE wOu ii fall from heaven and kindle the
bonfire Of Christian victory over demOl-
ishing sin. tits kindling now! Huzzah!
The day is oursl
still further, learn from this subject
the danger Of false refugees. As soon AS
these Shechemites got into tho temple,
they thought they we're safe. They said;
"Berlth Will take care Of US. Abimelech
may batter down everything else, he can
not batter down this temple, whore we
are now hid" But very soon they heard
| the timbers cracking, and they were
smOthered with smoke, and they miser-
ably died. And you and | are Just as
! much tempted 10 false refugees. The mir
rOr this morning may have persuaded yOu
that you have comely cheek; your best
! fri0nds may have persuaded you
/ that YOU have elegant man
ners; Satnn may have told you that you
are all right, but bear with mo II / tell