Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1886-10-23


against Sisera. o. church OF God,
GO OUT AND R~ECAPrURE THESE wEA-
PoNs!
III. Again: i learn from this sub
iect what \ large amount OF the
.lcrc2 ; resources is actually hidden,
and buried, and undevelopcd. The
Bible intimates that that was a very
rich land, this land OF Israel. II says:
The stones are iron, and out Of
:..e hills thou shalt dig BRASS" and yet
hundreds and 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. It's
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. IL human eloquence was
consecrated to the Lord Jesus Christ,
it would in a few years persuade this
whole earth TO surrender TO God. There
is enough undeveloped energy in this
Christ-enough undeyeloped Christian
energy in the city Of Brooklyn to bring
all the United States to Christ-enough
of undeveloped Christian energy in the
United States to bring the whole world
to Christ; but il is buried under strata
of Indifference, and under whole noun
tains of sloth. Now is it not time for
the mining to begin, and the pick-axes
to plunge, and for this buried metal to
| be brought out and put into the fur
naces, and be turned into howitzers
| and carbines for the Lords hostp The
vast majority OF Christians in this day
are useless. The most of the Lords
battalion belong to the reserve corps.
The nos Of the crew are asleep in the
hammocks. The most Of the metal is
| under the hills. Oh, is it not time for
the church of God to rouse up and
understand that we want all the ener-
gies, all the talent. and all the wealth
enlisted for Christ's sake? | like the
nickname the English soldiers gave to
Butcher, the commander. They called
him '.Old Forwards
WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH RETREATS IN
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST;
let us have a glorious advance. And |
say to you rs the general said when his
troops were afiightei; rising mp in his
,tirrups, his hair flying in the wird,
he lifted up his voice until twenty
thousand troops heard him, crying out:
Forward, t1e whole linc,"
We want all the laymen enlisted.
Ministers y puntari,.al ly too small
They do the best they can. They are
the most overworked class on earth.
Many Of them die Of dyspepsia because
they cannot get the right kind of food
to eat. or getting the right kind are so
worried that they take it down in
chunks. They die from consumption
coming from early and late exposure.
If n novelist ~ IA historian publishes
| one book "A year he is considered midas
trious. But every faithful pastor must
originate enough thought for three or
four volumes "A year. Ministers receive
enough calls every year from men who
have maps, and medicines, and light
ming rods, and pictures to sell, to *
haust their vitality. They are
BORED TO DEATH WIT AGENTS OF ALI
SORTS.
They are set in draughts at funerals,
and poisoned 10y the unventilated rooms
of invalids. and waited on by commit
tees who want addresses made, uni.
life becomes IA burden to bear. 1t is
not hard study which makes ministers
look pale. 1t is the ~ininity Of inter
ruptions and deliberations TO which
they are subjected. If | die before my
time it will be at the hands Of commit
tees that want IN address or "A lecture
A man called on me to give him y lee
ture by which he might pay the expen
SEES of his wedding trip. If there wer,
fifty hours in each day Of the year, and
| worked forty of them, | could not d,
the work of this one parish; and | an
not behind most clergymen in DISPOSE
ton to toll. Numerically too small
1t is no more the work of the pulpit t.
convert and save the world than it i,
the work Of the pew.
III. Again. | learn from this sub
ject that we sometimes do well to take
advantage of the world sharpening in
struments. These Israelites were re
duced TO Il file, and SO they went ovel
to the garrison of the Philistines to ge'
their axes, and their goads. and THEN
plows s%harpened. The Bible distinct,
! states 1.-THE text which ! read at tn,
beginning of the ~service-that they hac
no other instruments now with which
to do this work, and the Isl aelites die
right when they went over to the Phil.
istincs To use their grindstones. My
friends, is it not right for us to employ
the worlds grindstonesp !. there be
art, if there be logic. if there be bust
ness faculty on the other side, let us go
over and employ it for ChrIst's sake.
The fact is, we fight with too dull
weapons. and we work with too dull in
struments. We hack and we maui
when we ought to make a keen stroke.
Let us go over among sharp business
men, and among sharp literary men,
and find out what their tact is, and
then transfer it to the cause of Christ.
If they have science and art it will dc
us good to rub against it.
I'm other words, let us employ the
worlds grindStone. We will listen to
their music, and Wa will watch their
acumen, and we will use their grind.