The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-01-21
ZIKLAGSOF OUR OWNDAY
THE MARCH HoMEWARD OFTEN
TURNED TO SORROW.

approp'i late passages Of Scripture, gave out
the hymn:
who are these in bright array,
This lnnumerabe throng,
Round the altar night and day,
Tuning their triumphant songf"
The subject of tho sermon was "Ths
March Homeward,n y and the text /. Samuel.
Xxx, s: Pursue; for thou shalt surely
overtake them, and without fail recover
ALL DIR. Talmage said:
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 defeI4seless ones will be safe until the
warriors, flushed with victory, come home.
| But will the defenseless ones be safe2 The
soft arms of children are around the necks
| of the bronzed warriors until they shake
themselves free and start, and handkerchefs
and flags are waved and kisses thrown
| until tho armed men vanish beyond the
| hills. David and his men soon get through
| with their campaign and start homeward.
Every night on their way home, no sooner
does the soldier put his head on the knap-
sack than in his dream he hears the well
come 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 bat
| tleaxle and then will roll up their sleeves
and show the half-healed wound With
glad, quick step, they march on, David and
his men, for they are marching nome. Now
| they come up to the last hill which
overlooks Hiklag, land they expect
in moment to see the 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 hilt Of the sword. "Where is Ziklagi
| Whe 70 are our homesn they cry AlasI
/ tho aI, h., Ill A..
tragedy. The Amalekites have come down
and consumed the village, and carried the
| mothers aud the wives and the children OF
David and his men into captivity. The
swarthY warriors stand for few moments
tronsflxed with horror. Then their eyes
glance to each other, and they burst into
| uncomfortable weeping for when a strong
warrior weeps the grief is appalling. II
seems as if the emotion might tear him to
pieces. They "wept until they had no
| moro power to weep.n But soon their sor-
row turns into rage, and David, swinging
his sword highin air, cries: Pursue, for thou
shalt overtake them, and without fail re-
cover all" Now the march becomes a
''double-quicK. Two hundred of David's
men stop by the brook Besor, faint with
fatigue and grief They cannot go a step
| farther They are left there. But the
other 400 men under David, with sort Of
panther step, march on in sorrow and in
rage. They find by the side Of the road
| ha f-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 400 brave men of firel Very
soon David and his enraged company come
| upon the Amalekitish host. Yonder they
see their own wives and children and
mothers, and under Amalekitish guard
Here are the officers of the Amaleldtish
army holding banquet. The cups are full,
the music is reused, the dance begins
| The Alnalekitish host cheer, and
cheer, and cheer over their vic
tory. But, without note of bugle
or warning Of trumpet, David kand his four
| hundred men burst upon the scene, sud-
denly as Robert Bruce hurled his Scotch
men upon the revelers at Bannookbdrn.
David and his men look uD, and one glance
at their loved ones in captivity and under
Amalektish guard throws them into very
fury OF determinations for you know how
men will fight when they fight for their
wives and children. All, there are light
nings in their eyes, and every finger Is a
| spear, and their voice is like the shout of
| the whirlwind. Amidst the upset tankards
| and the costly viands crushed underfoot,
the wounded Amalekites lie their blood
mingling with their winel shriehing for
mercy. No sooner do David and his
men win the victory than they
dust-what do they want with
swords nowl-and the broken families come
| together amidst great shout OF joy that
| makes the parting scene in Ziklag seem very
insipid in the comparison. The rough old
warrior has to use some persuasion before
he can get his child 20 come TO him now
after so long an absence; but soon the little
finger traces the familiar wrinkle across the
| scarr d face. And then the empty tankards
are set up, and they are filed with the best
wine from the hills, and David and his men,
the husbands, the wives the brothers, the
sisters, drink to the overthrow Of the
| Amalekites and to the rebuilding of Ziklag.
So, o Lord, let thine enemies perish
Now they are coming home, David and
his men and their families-a long process
sion. Men, women and children loaded
with Jewels and robes, and with all kinds of
trophies that the Amalekites had gathered
1 up in years Of quest--everything now
in tho hands Of David and his men. When
they come by the brook Besor, the place
where stayed the men sick and incompeteDt
| 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 a robe for this pale
faced warrior. Here Is pillow for this
dying man. Here is handful Of gold for
tno wasted trumueter. / really think that
these men who tainted by the brook Besor
may have endured as much as those men
who went into battle Some mean fellows
objected to the sick ones having any Of the
spoIls The objeciors said: ''These men did
not fight" David, with magnanimous
heart, replies: LAS bis part Is that goeth
down 10 the battle, 50 shall his part be that
tarrieth by the stufl.n
This subject Is practically suggestive to
me. Thank God, in those times man can
go Off on a journey, and be- gone weeks and
months, and come back and see his house
untouched Of incendiary, and have his fam
lily on the step TO greet him, II by telegram
| he has fOretold the moment Of his coming.
Bat there are Amalekitish disasters aud
there are Amnlekitish diseases, that some
times come down upon ones home, making
as devastating work as the day when Ziklag
took fire. There are families In my con-
gregation whose homes have been broken
| up. No battering-ram smote In the door,
no iconoclast crumbled the statues, no
fisme leaped amidst the curtains; but so far
as all tho Joy and merriment that once be-
longed TO that house is concerned, the home
has departed. Armed diseases came down
upon the quistness Of the scene-scarlet
fevers, or pleurisies, or consumptions, or
underlined disorders came and seized upon
some members OF that family aud carried
them away. Ziklag in asaesl And you 20
about, sometimes weeping aud sometimes
| euraged wanting 10 get back your loved
/ ...... - ,.,,,-k hfa r,at, fttad