The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-10-27
DR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
NHE STOLEN GRINDSTONES.

I'LL lhuM1uED DGllMuN'
IHE STOLEN GRINDSTONES.
Text: "Now there was no smith found
throughout all the land Of Israel; for the
Philistines said, lest the Hebrews make them
Words or spears But all the Israelites Went
down to the Philistines to sharpen every man
bis share and his coulter aud his axe aud his
mattock Yet they had file for the mat
tocks and for the coulters and for the forks
and for the axes and to sharpen the goads.
II Samuel xiii, 1921.
What CALLING subj1gation for the Israel.
ties! The Philistines had carried OFF all the
hiacksmiths and torn down all the black
smiths shops and abolished the blacksmith's
trade in the land of Israel The Fhilistlnes
would not even allow these parties to work
their valuable mines Of brass and iron, nor
blight they make any swords or spears.
There were only twoswords leftin all the land:
Yea, these PhilistineS went on until they had
taken all the grindstones from the land OF
Israel so that if an ISraelitish farmer wanted
TO sharpen his plow or his axe, he had to 60
over to tn, garrison of the Philistines to get
It done, There was only one sharpening In
strument left in the land and that was lille.
The farmers and the mechanics having moth
ing to whet up the coulter and the goad and
the pickaye save single file, industry was
hinde. ed and WORK practically disgraced. The
GREAT idea of these PhilStines was to keep the
Israelites disarmed. They might get iron out
Of the hills to make swords of, but they would
not have any blacksmiths to weld this iron.
II they got the iron welded they would have
no grindStoneS on which to bring the lnStru-
nnents of agriculture OF the military weapons
qp to an edge. Oh, you poor, weaponless
fsrae'ites, reduced to file, how l pity you'll
But these Philistines were not forever to keep
their heel on thu neck of Gods children.
Jonathan on his hands and knees climbs up q
great rock beyond which were the Philistines,
and his armor- bearer, on his hands and knees,
climbs up the same rock and these two men
with their two swords hew to pieces the
Philistines, the Lord throwing great terror
upon them. So it was then: so it IS now. Two
men OF God on their knees, mightier than
Phiistine host on their feet.
learn first from this subject how danger
ons it is for the church OF God to allow Its
weapons to stay in the hands of its enemies.
These Israelites might again and again have
obtained supply Of swords and weapons, as
TOR instance when they took the spoils OF the
Ammonites; but these Israel.tes seemed con-
tent to have no swords, no spears, no black.
smiths, no grindstones, no active iron mines
until it was too late for them to make any
resistance. see the farmers tugging along
with their pickaxes and ploughs. and say:
oWtere are you going with those things"
They say: "Oh, we are going over to the gar
rison Of the Philistnes to get these things
sharpened." say: "You foolish men; why
don't you sharpen them at home!" Oh"
they say 'the blacksmith's shops are all torn
down and we have nothing left US but file"
So it is in the Church Of Jesus Christ to-
day. We are too willing to give up our
weapons to the enemy. The world boasts
that it has gobbled up the schools and the
colleges and the arts and the sciences, and
the literature aud the printing-press Inf
deity is making mighty attempt to get all
them. You know it is making this boast all
the time; and after awhile, when the great
battle between sin and Righteousness has
opened, if we do not look out We will be as
badly off as these IsraeliteS without any
swords to fight with and without any sharp
ening instruments I call upon the superin-
tendents Of literary institutions to see to it
that the men who 60 into the class-rooms to
stand beside the Leyden jars and the electric
batteries and the microscopes and telescopes
be children Of God, not Philistines. The
Tyrdallean thinkers of this day are
trying to get all the intellectual weapons Of
this century in their own grasp. What we
want is scientific Christians to capture the
science and scholastic Christians to capture
capture the philosophy, and lecturing Chris
tans to take back the lecturing platform.
We want to send out against S .henkel and
Strauss and Renau Theodore Christlieb. Of
Bonn, and against the infidel scientists of the
day a God-worshiping Silliman and Hit b.
cock and AgaSsiz. We want to capture all
the philosophical apparatus and swing around
the telescopes on the swivel until through
them we can see the morning star Of the
pnAoaOoar nd wit min ha
discover the Rock Of Ages. and amid the
fora Of all realms find the Rose of Sharon
and the Lily Of the Valley.
We want O clegy learned enough to dis
course OF the human eye, showing it to be
microscope and telescope in one instrument,
with eight wonderful contrivances and lids
closing thirty thousand or forty thousand
times day; all its mus lies and nerves and
bones showing the infinite skill of an infinite
God and then winding up with the perora-
Gon: "He that formed the eye, shall he not
seef" And then we want to discouse about
the human ear, its wonderful integumeuts,
membranes and vibration and its chain Of
small bones and its auditory nerve, closing
with the question: "He that planted the ear,
shall he not hearW And we want some one
able to expound the first chapter Of Genesis
Of the world until, as lob suggested, ''the
stones of the field shall be in league with
the truth. and the stars in their course shall
fight against Sisera." o Church of God, go
out and recapture these weapons
Let men OF God 60 out and take possession
Of the platform Letany printing presses that
have been caUtured by the enemy be recap
tured for God and the reporters and the type
settlers and tie editors and publishers swear
allegiance to the Lord God Of truth. All,
my friends, that day must come, and if the
great body Of Christian men have not tho
faith nor the courage nor the conservation to
do it, then let some Jonathan on his busy
hands and on his praying knees climb up on
the rock of hindrance and in the name Of
the Lord God Of Israel slash to pieces those
literary Philistines. If these men will not
be converted to God, then they must be over
thrown.
Again I learn from this subject what
large amount Of the church's resources is
actually hidden AMI buried aud undeveloped.
The Bibe intimates that that was a very
rich land, this land of Israel. 1t says: The
stones a"e iron and out Of the hills thou shalt
dig brass" and yet hundreds aud thousands
Of dollars worth Of this metal was kept
under the hills Well, that is the difficulty
with the church Of God at this day. Its
talent is not developed. If one-half of its
energy could be brought out it might take
the public iniquities of the day by the throat
and make them bite the dust. If human
eloluence were consecrated to the Lord
Jesus Chri,t it could in few years rer-
suade this whole earth to surrender to God
There is enough undeveloped energy in this
enough uudeveloped Christian energy in the
city Of Brooklyn to bring all the United
States to Christ enough undeyeloped Chris
tian energy in the United States to bring
the whole world to Christ; but it is buried
under strata of Indifference and under whole