The west Tennessee star. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1888, 1888-08-03
SUBSCRIPTION: Sl.OO Per Year.

fervid style to phlegnatic nor try to
tickle a torrid temperament with an
icicle. You can take any man for Christ
if you know how TO get at him. Do not
send word to him that tomorrow at ten
O'Clock you propose to open your bat
teries upon him, but come upon him by
| skillful, persevering, God-directed am
buscade.
Lesson the fourth: The Importance Of
taking good aim. There is Joshua, but
how are those people in ambush up
yonder to know when they are to drop
on the city? and how are these men
around Joshua to know when they are to
stop their fight aud advance? There
must be some signal signal to stop the
one division and TO start the other.
Joshua, with spear on which were or
dinarily hung the coIors of battle, points
toward tho city. He stands in such
| conspicuous position, and there is
much of the morning light dripping from
! that spear-tip that all around the hOrizoa
| they see. It was much as to say; There
| is the city. Take it. Take il now. Roll
| down from the west. Surge up from the
/ north. 1t is ours, the City of All" God
knows and we know that great deal Of
| Christian attack amounts TO nothing,
| simply because we do not take good aim.
/ Nobody knows, and we do not know Our-
selves, which point we want to take, when
we ought TO make up our minds what God
will have Us TO do, and point our spear in
that direction, and then hurl our body,
mind, soul. time, eternity at that one tar
| get. In our pulpit and pews, and Sunday
! schools and praYer-mee etings, we want to
! get a reputation for saying pretty things,
| aud so we point our spear toward the
/ flowers; or we want reputation for say
| ing sublime things, and we ,poiAt our
! spear toward the stars; or we want to get
/ a reputation tor historical knowledge,
and we point our spear toward the pastS
/ or we want to get a reputation for Iiber-
/ ality, so we swing our spear all around;
| and it strikes all points of the horizon,
and you can make out o1 it whatever you
| please; while there is thu old world, proud,
| rebelious and armed against all right
eOusness; and instead Of running any
| further away from its pursuit, we ought
| to turn around, plant out foot in the
| strength of the eternal God, lift the old
cross and point 1t in the direction of the
| worlds conquest till the redeemed of
earth, marching up from one side and tho
! glorified of Heaven marching down from
| the other side, the last battlement OF sin
is compelled to swing out the streamers Of
! Emanuel. Oh, Church Of God, take aim
and conquer.
! have heard it said: 'Look out for a
man who has only one idea; he is irresist-
| ible." / say: Look out for the man who
has one idea, and that determination
for souI-saving / believe God would
strike me dead If dared to point the
! spear in any other direction. Oh, for
some of the courage and enthusiasm OF
JOshua He flung two armies from the
| tip of that spear. It is sinful for us 10
rest, unless it is TO get stronger muscle
and fresher brain and purer heart for
Gods work. feel on my head the hands
of Christ in a new ordination. Do you
feel the same Omnipotent pressure? There
is work for all of us. Oh, that we might
stand up side by side aud point the spear
toward the city 1t ought to be taken.
1t will be taken. Our cities are drifting
off toward loose religion, or what is
called 'sliberaI Christianity" which is so
liberal that it gives up all the cardinal
doctrines of the Bible. liberal that II
surrenders the rectitude Of the throne Of
the Almighty. That is hberality with
a vengeance. Let us decide upon the
work which we, as Christian men, have to
do, and, in the strength of God, go TO
work and do it,
1t is comparatively easy to keep on a
parade amid n shower of bouquets and
handclapping and the whole street full Of
huzzas, but it is not so easy to stand up
in the day Of battle, the face blRokened
with smoke, the uniform covered with the
earth plOwed up by whizzing bullets and
bursting shells, half the regiment cut 20
pieces, and vet the commander crying;
| Forward, marchr" Then It requires old
fashioned valor. MY friends, the great
trouble of the Kingdom of God in this
day is the towards. They do splendidly
on parade day, and at the communion,
| when they have on their best clothes Of
Christian professions; but put them ont
in the great battle oe life, at the Grst
sharpshooting of skepticsm they dodge,
they fall back, they break ranks. We
confront the enemy, we open the battle
against fraud, and loi we find on our side
a great many people that do not try TO pay
their debts. Aud we open the battle
against intemperance, and we fad on
our own side great many people who
drink too much. And we open the battle
against profanity, aud we find on our own
side great many men who make hard
speeches. And we open the battle upon
infidelity, and LOT we find on our own side
a great many men who are not quite. Bnre
about the Book Of Jonah, And while We
ought to be massing our troops and bring
ing forth more than the united courage Of
AusterIitz and Waterloo and Gettysburg,
we have TO be spending our time hunting
up ambuscades. There are great many
in the Lords army who like to go out on
a campaign with satin slippers and hold
ing umbrellas over their heads to keep of
the dew, and having rations OF canvas
back ducks and lemon custards. II they
can not have them, they want to go home.
They think 1t unhealthy among so many
bulletsI
l believe that the next twelve months
will be the most stupendous year
that Heaven ever saw. Tho nations
are duaking now with the coming
of God. Il will be year Of sue
cesses for tho men of Joshua but Of
doom for the neon Of Al. You put your
ear to the rail track aud you can bear the
train coming miles away. so / put my
ear to the ground and hear the thunder
ing on of the lightning train Of Code
mercies and judgments. The mercy Of
God is first to be tried upon this nation.
It will be preached in the pulpits, In thea
ters, on the streets, everywhere. People
will be invited 10 accept the mercy Of The
Gospel, and the story, and the song, and
the prayer, will be ''mercy." But sup
pose they do not accept the offer Of mercy
what thenR Then God will come with
His Judgments, and the grasshoPpers VIII
eat the crops, and the treshet VIII de~
! vastate the valleys, and the defaioations
will swallow the money markets, and the
: hres will burn the cities, and the earth
will ouake from pole 20 pole. Year Of mer-
cies and Of judgments. Year OF invita-
ton and of warning. Year OF lupl4ee
; and of woe Which sida are you going e
! be onf with the men OF Al or the fnen'
of Joshua1 Pass over this Sabbath into
. the ranks Of Israel / would clap my
, hands at the joy of your coming You
l will have a poor chance for this wOrla
and the world 70 come without Jesus. You
{ can not stand what is TO come upon you
aud upon the world unless you nave tne
{ nardon and the comfort and the help of
Christ. Come over. On this side IL your
a happiness and safety, on the other side e
D disqufetude and despair. Eternal defeat
I 10 the men Of All Eternal victory To tha
} men of Joshua
MExTAL and moral worth consists, not ia
{ houses and lands, or ia high station, bat "a