The national leader., 1889-02-02
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON:
The March Homeward.

~Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake
xsem, and without fan recover ALL Sam,
DDS.
THERE Is intense excitement in the
village Of Zlklag. David and his men
are bidding goodbye to their families,
md are off for the wars. In that little
village of Ziklag the defenceless ones
will be left until the warriors, flushed
with victory, come home. But will the
6efenceless ones be safer The soft
arms of children are around the necks
Of the bronZed warriors, until they
shake themselves free and start, and
Flandkerchiefs 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 homeward. Every night on
Eheir 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-axel 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
ap to the last hill which overlooks Xix
lag, and they expect in moment to
see the dwelling places Of their loved
,nes. They look, and as they look
their cheeks turn pale, and their lip
suivers, and their hand involuntarily
romes down on the hilt of the sword.
"Where is Ziklag? Where are our
homesI" they cry. Alas! the curling
smoke above the ruin tells the tragedy.
The AmalekiteS have come 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 transfxed with horror. Then
their eyes glance to each other, and
they burst into uncomfortable weeping;
Tor when
A STRONG WARRIOR wEEPs5
the grief is appalling. 1t seemSfRs if
the emotion might tear him to pieces.
They "wept until they had no more
power to weep" But soon their sor-
row turns into rage, and David in
4uires Of the Lord what he shall do,
and receives the reply: Pursue: for
thou shalt overtake them, and, without
fail, recover ALL" He swings his sword
high in air, and the march becomes a
+'double-quick." Two hundred OF
David's men stop by the brook Besor,
faint with fatigue and grief. They
cannot 60 step farther. They are left
there; but the other four hundred men
under David. With a sort Of panther
step march on in sorrow and in rage.
They find by the side Of the road half
head Egyptian, and they resuscitate
him, and compel him to tell the whole
story. He says: "Y onder they went.
the captors and the captives," pointing
an the direction. Forward, ye four
hundred brave menl
Very soon David and his enraged
company come upon the AmalekltiSh
host. Yonder they see their own wives
and children and mothers, under an
Amalekitish guard. Here are the Off
GERS of the AmalekitiSh army holding a
banquet. The cups are full, the music
lis reused, the dance begins. The Am
.alekltish 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 revelers
ut BannOckDurn. David and his men
look up; seeing their loved ones in cap
tivity. under Amalekitlsh guard,
throws them into very fury Of determ-
ination-for you know how men will
fight when they fight for their wives
and children. All, there are lightningS
in their eve, and every finger is spear.
and their voice IS like the shout Of the
~Whirlwind. Amidst the upset tankards
and the costly viands crushed under
loot, the wounded AmalekiteS lie
their blood mingling with their wine)
shrieking for mercy. No sooner do
DAVID AND HIS MEN WIN
the victory, than they throw their
swords down into the duSt-What do
they want with swords now?-and the
: broken families come together amidst
b great shout of joy that makes the
parting scene in Zlklag seem very in
sipid Ill the comparison. The rough
old warrior has to use some persuasion
before lie 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 filed with the best wine
from the hill and David and his men,
the husbands, the wives, the brothers,
the sisters, drink to the overthrow of
the Amaltkites, and 10 the rebuilding
of Ziklag. So. 0 Lord. let thine ell
e1nies perishl
Now they are coming home-Davld
and his men and their families
A LONG PROCESSION,
men, women, and children, loaded with
Jewels and robes and with all kinds of
trophies that the Amalekites had gath
cred up in years of conquest-every-
thing now in the hands Of David and
his men. When they come by the
brook Besor, the place where stayed
the men sick and incompetent to travel,
the Jewels and the robes and all kinds
Of treasures are divided among the sick
as well as among the well. Surely, the
lame and exhausted ought to have
some of the treasures. Here is robe
for this pale-faced warrior. Here is a
pillow for this dying man. Here is
handfnl of cold for the wasted trum-