Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1889-02-08
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
TIE Weekly Discourse of the Great
Brooklyn Preacher
Subject: "The March Home.
NYard.''

Sfts A9aiiAbCii AAAst
There Is intense excitement in the village
Of Ziklag. David and his men are bidding
goodbye to their families, and are off for
the wars. In that little village of Ziklag the
defenseless ones will be safe until the war
riors, flushed with victory, come home. But
will the defenseless ones be safel The soft
arms Of children are around the necks of the
bronzed warriors until they shake them
selves free and start, and handkerchief
and flags are waved and kisses thrown
until the armed men vanish beyond the
hills David and his men soon get
through with their campaign and start home
ward. Every night on their way home, no
sooner does the soldier put his head on the
knapsack than in his dream he hears the
welcome of the wife and the shout of the
child. Oh, what long stories they will have
to tell their families, of how they lodged the
battle-ax and then will roll up their sleeve
and show the half-healed wound. With glad
quick step they march on, David and his
men, for they are marching home. Now
they come up to the last bill
which overlooks Ziklag, and they expect
In a moment to see the dwelling places of
their loved ones. They look, and as they
look their cheeks turn pale, and their lip
Quivers, and their hand involuntarily comes
down on the hit of the sword. "Where is
Ziklagl Where are our homesp they cry.
Alasl the curling smoke above the ruin tells
down and consumed the village, and carried
the mothers and the wives and the children
of David and his men into captivity. The
swarthy warriors stand for few moments
transfixed with horror. Then their eyes glance
at each other, and they burst into uncon-
trolable weeping; for when strong war
rior weeps the grief is appalling. 1t seems
as if the emotion might tear him to pieces.
They swept until they had no more power to
weep" But soon their sorrow turns into
rage, and David, swinging his sword high in
the air, cries: pursue, for thou shalt over
take them, and without fail recover
ALL" Now the march becomes a
Davids men stop by the brook
Besor, faint with fatigue and grief. They
cannot go step farther They are left
there. But the other four hundred men un-
der David, with a sort of panther step, march
on in sorrow and in rage. They find by the
side of the road half-dead Egyptian, and
they resuscitate him, and compel him to tell
the whole story He says: ''Yonder they
went, the captors and the captives," pointing
in the direction. Forward, ye four hun
dred brave men Of f1rel Very soon
David and his enraged company
come upon the Amalekitish host. Yonder
they see their own wives and children and
mothers, and under Amaekitish guard. Here
are the officers Of the Amalekitish army hold
ing banquet The cups are full, the music
Is reused, the dance begins. The Amalekitish
host cheer and cheer and cheer over
their victory. But, without note of bugle
or warning of trumpet, David and his four
hundred men burst upon the scene, suddenly
as Robert Bruce hurled his Scotchmen upon
the jewellers at Bannockburn. David and
his men lcok up and one glance at their loved
ones in captivity and under Amalellitsh
guard throws them into very fury OF de-
termination; for you know how men
will fight when they fight for their
wives and children. Ah there are
lightnings in their eye, and every finger
is spear, and their voice is like the shout OF
the whirlwind. Amidst the upset tankards
and the costly viands crushed underfoot, the
wounded Analekites lie their blood ming
ling with their wine) shrekng for mercy.
No sooner do David and his men win the vic
tory than they throw their swords down
into the dust-what do they want with
swords now!-and the broken families
come together amidst a great shout OF
Joy that makes the parting scene in
Ziklag seem very insipid in the com
parison. The rough old warrior has to use
some persuasion before he can get his child
to come to him now after so long an absence
but soon the little finger traces the familiar
wrinkle across the Scared face. And then
the empty tankards are set up, and they are
filled with the best wine from the hills, anC
David and his men, the husbands, the wives
the brothers, the sisters, drink to the over
throw of the Amalekltes and to the rebuilding
of Ziklag So, o Lord, let thine enemies perish
Now they are coming home, David and hi
men and their families-a long procession
Men, women and children, loaded will
Jewels and robes and with all kinds O.
trophies that the Amalekites had gathered
up in years of onquest-everythlng now IL
the hands of David and his men. Wher
they come by the brook Besor, the plac
where staid the men sick and incompetent
to travel, the jewels and the robe
and all kinds of treasures are divided
among the sick as we'll as among the well
Surely, the lame and exhausted ought t.
have some of the treasures. Here is rob
for this pale faced warrior. Here is PILLOW
for this dying man. Here is handful o
gold for the wasted trumpeter. reall.
think that these men who tainted by tn
brook Besor may have endured as much a
those men who went into battle. Some meal
fellows objected to the sick ones having an.
of the spoils The directors said: "Thes
men did not fight" David, with magnan
nous heart replies: "As his part is tina
goeth down to the battle, so shall his part b
that tarrieth by the stuff
This subject is practically suggestive
me. Thank God, in these times a man ca
go off on a journey, and be gone weeks an
months, and come back and see his house I'm
touched Of incendiary, and have his family
on the step to greet him, if by telegram h
has foretold the moment of his coming. Blu
there are Amalekitish disasters, and Their
are Amalekitish diseases, that sometime
come down upon ones home, making as de
vastating work as the day when Ziklag too
fire. There are families in my congregatio
whose homes have been broken up. No bat
tering-ram smote in the door, no iconoclas
rumbled the statues, no flame leaped amids
the curtains; but so far as all the joy an
L L IL.
are concerned, the home has departed
Armed diseases came down upon the quiet
ness of the scene-scarlet feyers, or pleurise:
or conSumptionS, or underlined disorder
came and seized upon some members Of tina
family, and carried them away. Ziklag i
ashes And you go about, sometimes weeI
ing and sometimes enraged, wanting to ge
back your loved ones as much as Dayi
and his men wanted to reconstruct thei
despoied households. Ziklag in ashes! Som
of you went off from home You counte
the days OF your absence. Every day scenes
as long as a week Oh how glad you wer
when the time came for you to go aboard th
steamboat or rail car and start for home
You arrived. You went up the street wher
your dwelling was, and in the night you pu
your hand on the door bell, and, behold
was wrapped with the signal of bereavement
and you found that Amalekitish Deatf
which has devastated a thousand othe
households, had blasted yours You go aboJ
weeping amidst the desolation of your ono
happy home, thinking of the bright eye
closed, and the noble hearts stopped, and til
gentle hands folded, and you weep until 20
have no more power to weep Ziklag
ashes
A gentleman went to friend of mine !
the city of Washington, and asked the
through him he might get a consulshp t
some foreign port. My friend said to hin
what do you want to go away from you
beautiful home for, into a foreign port
ooh" he replied, my home is gone! My 81
children are dead l must get away, si
| can't stand it in this country any longer
Ziklag in ashesJ
Why these long shadows of bereavemer
across this audiencel Why is it that in a
most every assemblage black is the FREEDOM