Milford chronicle., 1889-01-25
TIE MARCH HOMEWARD.
SERMON PREACHED BY REV. T. DE
WITT TALMAGE, o. D., JAN. 20.

WITT TALMAeE, o. D., JAN. 20.
The Servants OF the Lord Should Rouse
themselves as Did Dsvid and His Men
and Recover Their Loved Ones from the
Power Of the Evil Oae.
BROOKLYN, Jan 20.-The Rev. 7. De Witt
Talmage, D. D., having expounded appropri-
ate passages Of Scripture, gave out the hymn;
Who are these IN bright array.
This innumerable throug,
Round the altar night and day
Tuning their triumphant songi
The subject Of the sermon was "The March
Homeward,n and the text | Samuel, XXX, 8;
"Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them,
and without fail recover ALL" DR.. Talmage
said;
There is intense excitement in the village of
Ziklag. David and bis men are bidding
goodby to their families, and are off for the
wars. In that little village Of zIlag the de-
fenseless ones will be safe until the warriors,
flushed with victory, come home. But viii
the defenseless ones be safel The soft arms
Of children are around the necks Of the
hrouzed warriors until they shake them
selves free and start, and handkerohiefs and
lags are waved and kisses thrown until the
armed men vanish beyond the hills David
and his men soon get through with their cam
paiVn and start homeward. Every night on
their way home, no sooner does the soldier
nut his head on the lnapsack than in bis
dream he hears the welcome Of the wife
and the shout Of the child. Oh,
what long stories they will have
tc tell their families of how they
doeded Che battle axe and then will roll up
their sleeves and show their 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 hill which over
looks Zilklag, and they expect in 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 IN
voluntarily comes down on the hilt Of the
gword. 'Where is Ziklagi Where are our
hcmesf' they cry. Alasl the curling smoke
above the ruin tells the tragedy. The Amale-
kites have come down and consumed the VII
lage, and carried the mothers and the wives
and the children Of David and his men inEG
captivity. The swarthy warriors stand Tor
a few moments transiixed with horror.
Then their eyes glance to each other, ana
they burst into uncontrollable weeping; for
when strong warrior weeps, the grief Is
appalling It seems as if the emotion might
tear him to pieces. "They wopt until they had
no more power to weep" But soon their scr
row turns into rage, and David, swinging bis
sword high in air, cries: Pursue; for thou
shalt oVertake them, and without fail recover
au.n Now the march becomes a ''double
quick" Two hundred of DaYid's men stop
bv the brook Besor faint with fatigue and
Arr,0 or IhaV
are left there. But the other 400 men under
David. with a sort of panther step, march on
In sorrow and in rage They find by the side
Of the road a half dead Egyptian, and they
resuscitate him, and compel him to tell the
whole story. He says; "Yonder they went,
the captors and the captves, pointing in the
direction. Forward, ye 400 brave men Of
6rel Very soon David and his enraged com
pany come upon the Amalekitish host Yon-
der they see their own wives and children
md mothers, and under Amaleldtish guard.
+ Here are the officers Of the Annalekitish army
holding a banquet. The cups are full, the
music is reused, the dance begins. The Anal
ekitish host cheer and cheer and cheer over
their victory. But without note of bugle ql
warning Of trumpet, David and his four hun
dred men BURST upon the scene suddenly, a
Robert Bruce hurled his Seotchmen upon the
reyelers at Bannockburn. David and BIZ
men look up and one glance at their loved
ones In captivity aad under Amalekitisf
guard throws them into a very fury Of deter
mination; for you know how men will hghi
when they hght for their wives and chill
dren. Ah there are ightnings In theil
eye, and every finger is a spear, anc
their voice Is like the shout Of the whirl
wind. Amidst the upset tankards and tn
costly viands crushed under foot, th'
wounded Amalekites lie their blood mingline
with their wineD shrieking for mercy M
sooner do David and his men win the victorl
than they throw their swords down into tn
dust-what do they want with swords now
and the broken families come togethel
amidst a great shout Of joy that makes tn
parting scene in Ziklag seem very insipid II
the comparison Tho rough old warrior ha
to use some persuasion before he can get hi
child to come to him now after so long al
absence; but soon the little finger traces tn
familiar wrinkle across the Scared face
And then the empty tankards are set up, AM
they are filed with the best wine from tn
hills, and David and his men, the husbands
the wives, the brothers, the sisters, drink Z
the overthrow of the Amalekites and to tn
rebuilding Of Zilzlag. So, o Lord, let thin
enemies perish
THE LOST RECOVERED.