Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1886-10-22
lR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
THE BATTLE CRY.


Scattered Psalm, xviii l.
A procession was formed to carry the ark
or sacred box, which, though only three feet
nine inches In length, and two feet three
inches in breadth and depth, was the symbol
or Gods presence. As the leaders Of the pro-
cesSlon lifted this ornamented and brilliant
box by two golden poles run through four
golden rings and started for Mount Zion, all
the people chanted the battle hymn of my
text: Let God arise; let His enemies be
scAttercln
The Cameronians Of Scotland, outraged by
James the First, who forced upon them re-
hgious forms that were offensive and by the
terrible persecution of DIummond, Da ziel and
Turner, and by the oppressive laws of Charles
the First aud Charles the Second, were
driven to proclaim war against tyrants, and
went forth to fight for religious liberty, and
the purpla mountain of the heather became
red with carnage, and at Boutwell, bridge
and Ards Moss and Drumclog the battle
hymn and the battle shout Of those glorious
old Scotchmen was the text have chosen;
LET Gcd arise, let His enemies be scat
tered"
What a whirlwind of power was Oliver
Cromwell, and how with his followers, called
the ''lronsides," he went from victory to
victory Opposing armies melted as he
looked at them. He dismissed Parliament
as easily as schoolmaster a school. He
pointed his finger at Berkeley Castle and it
was taken. He ordered Lord Hopton, the
General, to dismount and he disnounted.
See Cromwell marching on with his army,
and hear the battle cry of "the IronsideS"
loud as a storm and solemn as death knell,
standards reeling before it and cavalry
horses going back on their launches and
armies flying at Marston Moor, at Winceby
fed, at Naseby, at Bridgewater and Dart
mouth. Let God arise, let His enemies be
Scatteredl"
So you see my text Is not like a compli-
mentary and tasseled sword that you some
times see hung up in parlor, sword that
was never in battle and only to be used on
general training day, but more like some
weapon carefully hung up in your home,
telling the story Of Chapultepec, Cerro Gordo
and Cherubusco and Thatchers Run and
Malvern Hill for my text hangs in the Scrip
ture armory, telling of the holy wars of three
thousand years in which it has been carried,
but as keen and mighty as when David first
unsheathed it. 1t seems to me what in the
church of God and in all styles of reformatory
work we most need row is battle Cry. We
raise our little standard and put on it the
name of some man, who only few years
ago began to live and in few years will
cease to live. We go into contest against tho
armies of iniquity depending too much on
human agencies We use for battle cry
the name of some brave Christian reformer
but after while that reformer dies or gets
old or loses his courage and then we take an
other battle cry, and this time perhaps we
put on the name of some one who plays Ar
mold and sells out TO the enemy. What we
want for Eat5le cry Is the name Of some
leader who will never betray us and will
never surrender and will never die
All respect have l for brave men and
women, but if we are going to get the vic
tory all along the line we must put God first.
We must take the hint of the Gideonites who
wiped out the Bedouin Arabs, commonly
called MidioniteS. These Gideonites had q
glorious leader in Gideon, but what was the
battle cry with which they flung their enc
mics into the worst defeat into which any
army was every tumbled! 1t was 1.-THE sword
Of the Lord and of Gideon" Put God first
whoever you put second. If the army of the
American revolution are t. free America,
1t must bs tho sword Of the Lord and Of
Washington" If the Germans want to win
the day at Sedan, it must be 'the sword OF
the Lord and Won Moltke" Waterloo was
won for the English because not only the
armed men at the front, Tut the wor-
shippers in the Cathedrals at the rear
were crying: the sword Of the Lord and
Wellington" The Methodists have gone in
triumph across nation after nation with the
cry: The sword Of the Lord and of Wes-
ley" The Presbyterians have gone from
victory to victory with the cry: "The sword
of the Lord and Of John Knox. The
Baptists have conquered mill .ons after mil
lions for Christ with the cry: 1.-The sword of
Epis'opalions have won their mighty way
with the cry: "The sword of the Lord and Of
Bishop McIvaine" The Vi tory is to those
who put God fiji ST. But as wo want a battle
cry suited to all sects Of relig;onists and to
all lands, I nominate as the battle cry Of
Christendt n in the approaching Arranged Ion
the words of my text, sounGe before the ark
as it was carried to Mount Zion: LET
God arise, let his enemies he scattered"
As far as our finite mind can Judge it seems
about tine for God to lise Does it not seem
to you that the abominatious Of this earth
have gone far enough! Was there over q
time when sin was so defant' Were there
over before so many fists lifted toward God,
telling Him to come on if He dare!
Look at the blasphemy abroad9 What
towering profanites Would it be possible
for any one to calculate the numbers of times
that tie ma re of Almighty God and of Jesus
Christ are every day taken irreverentlY on
the lirs' Socommon has BLAST henry become
that the public mind and ruOlic ear have got
used to it, and a blasphamer goes up and
down this country in his lectures deSying the
plain law against blasphemy, and there IS
not Mayor in America that has backbone
enough to interfere with him save one, and
that the Mayor of Toronto Profane swear
ing is as much forbidden by the law as theft
or arson or murder, yet who executes it
Profanity is worse than theft or arson OIL
murder, for those crimes are attacks ON hui
manlty-that is an attack on God.
This country is pre-eminent for blasphem
ing. A man travelling in Russia was sup
posed to be clergyman. why do you tax,
me to be g clergymanp said the man. "Oh,
said tho Russian, "all other American:
swear" The crime is multiplying in inten
sity. God very often shows what He think
of it, but for the most part the fatality j
hushed up. few summers ago among the
Adirondacks met the funeral procession Of
q man who, two days BEFORE had fallen un
der flash of lightning while boasting afto
a Sunday of work in the fields, that he hat
cheated God out OK one day anyhow, and the
man who worked with him on the same Sab
bath is still living, out helpless invalid un
der the same fash. On the road from Mar
gate to Ramsgate, England, you ma,
find rough monument with the inscription
"A boy was struck dead here while in tn
act of swearing Years ago in Pitt5bur.
prison two men were talking about the Bibl
and Christianity, and one Of them, Thomp
son by name, applied to jesus Christ a yer,
low and villainous epithet, and as he wa
uttering it he fell A physician was called
but no help could be given. After a day
lying with distended pupils and palse
tongue, he passed out Of this world In
cemetery in Sullivan county, in this State
are eight headstones in line and all alike
and these are the facts: In 1861 diphtheri
ragged in the village, aud physician wa
remarkably successful in curing his patients
So confident did he become that he boaste
that no case of 6iphtheria could stand befor
him, and finally he defcd Almighty God &
produce case of diphtheria that he coulC
not cure. His youngest child soon aft9
took the disease and died, and one child afte
another until all the eight had died Of diph
liberia. The blasphemer challenged Al
mighty God and God accepted the challenge
But l come later down and give you lac
that is proved by scores Of witnesses. TIL
IAaN A.,rH kop1 s,.n - -