Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-10-16

into the conflict, And his mana clave unto
.he sword"
But see in the next place what n hard
thing it was for Eleazar to get his hand
and his sword parted. The muscles and
she sinews had been so long graspcd around
the sword he could not drop it when he
proposed to drop it, and bis three comrades,
suppose, came up and tried to help him,
and they bathed the back part of the hand,
hoping the sinews and muscles would re-
lax. But no. "lIis hand clave unto the
sword" Then they tried to pull open the
fingers and to pull back the thumb; but
no sooner were they pulled back than they
closed again, land his hand clave unto the
sword" But after awhile they were sue
cessful, and then they noticed that the
curve in the palm of the hand correspondent
exactly with the curve of the hilt. His
hand clave unto the sword"
You and ! have seen it many time.
There are in the United States today many
aged ministers of the Gospel. They are too
feeble now TO preach. In the church rec
ords the word opposite their names is
"emeritus," or the words are, "a minister
without charge" They were an heroic race.
They had small salaries and but few books,
and they swan spring freshets to meet
their appointments. But they did in their
day a mighty work for God. They took
of more of the heads of Philistine iniquity
than you could count from noon to sun
down. You put that old minister of the
Gospel now into a prayer meeting, or occa-
sional pulpit, or sick room where there is
some one to be comforted, and it is the
same old ring to his voice and the same old
story of pardon and peace and Christ and
heaven His hand has so long clutched the
sword in Christian conflict he cannot drop
it. Ills hand clave unto the sword"
THE AGED MINISTER'S FAITH.
I had in my parish in Philadelphia
very aged man who in his early life had
been the companion and adviser of the
early presidents, Madison and Monroe. He
had welded vast influence, but l only
knew him as Il very aged man. The most
remarkable thing about him was his ardor
for Christ. When he could not stand up
in the meetings without propping he would
throw his arms around pillar of the
church, and though his mind was partially
gone his love for Christ was so great that
all were in deep respect and profound nd
miraton, aud were moved when he spoke.
was called to see him die | entered the
room, and he said, Mr. Talmage, can
not speak to you now" he was in very
pleasant delirium, AS he imagined he had
an audience before him. He said, 81 must
tell these people to come to Christ and pre-
pnre for heaven" And then in this pleas
| ant delirium, both arms lifted, this octo-
! genarian preached Christ and told of the
/ glories of the world to come. There, lying
on his dying pillow, his dying hand clave
| to his sword.
Oh, If there ever was any one who had
right to retire from the conflict it was old
| Joshua. Soldiers come back from battle
| have the names of the battles on their flags,
! showing where they distinguished them
selves, and it is a very appropriate inscrip-
ton. Look at the flag of old General
Joshual On it Jericho, Gideon, Hazar,
/ City of Al. and instead of the stars
sprinkled on the flag Inc sun and the moon
which stood still There he is, one hun
drel and ten years old. He is lying fat on
| his back but he is preaching. His dying
words are a battle charge against id0latry
and u rallyng cry for the Lord of Hosts as
lie says, Behold, this day 90 the way OF
I'll the earth, and God hath not failed to
/ fGlill his promise concerning Israel" His
dying hand cave unto the sword.
There is the headess body of Paul on the
road to Ostea. His great brain and his
great heart have been severed. the elm
y.
the corn ship broke up he swan ashore,
coming up drenched with the brine. Every
day since that day when the horse reared
under him in the suburbs of Damascus, as
the supernatural light fell, down to this
day when he is siXty-eight years of age and
old and decrepit from the prison cell OF
the Mamertire, he has been outrageously
treated, and he is waiting to die. How doe
he spend his last hours? Telling the world
how badly he feels, and describing the
rheumatism that he got i'll prison, the
rheumatism affecting his limbs, or The
neuralgia piercing his temples, or the thirst
that fevers his tongue? Oh, no. His last
words are The battle shout for Christendom
Il am now ready to be offered, and the
time of my departure is at hand; have
fought the good fight" And so his dying
hand clave unto the sword.
1t was III the front room on the seconC
floor that my father lay a-dying. 1t was
Saturday morning, four o'clock. Just three
years before That day my mother had left
him for the skies, and he had been home
sick to join her company. He was eighty
three years of age Ministers of the Gospe
came in to comfort him, bat he comforteG
them. How wonderfully the words sounded
out from his dying pillow, 81 have beef
young and now am old, yet have | neve
seen the righteous forsakcn, or his secl
begging bread" They bathed his brow
and they bathed his hands, and they bathcC
his feet and they succeeded in straighten
ing out the feet; but they did not succeed
in bathing open the hand so it would sta,
open. They bathed the hand open, but i
came shut They bathed it open again, blu
it came shut. What was the matter with tn
thumb and the fingers of that old hand
All it had SO long clutchcd the sword o
Christian conflict that "his hand clave unit
the sword"
SPIRITS OF THE MARTYRS.
preach this sermon as a tonic. / wan
you to mold the truth with ineradicablt
grip. and want you 10 strike so hard fo
God that it will react and while you tax
the sword, the sword Will take you.
You noticed that heoiiicers of the north
ern army few years ago assembled Il
Denver, and you noticed that the officer!
Of the southern army assembled at Lex
ington. Soldiers coming together are yer!
apt to recount their experiences and t
show their scars Here is soldier VIII,
pulls up his sleeve and says, There,