Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-10-16


prayers, or critirise our religious work
lhat our anxiety for the worlds redcmp-
,'ol! is lost in the fear we will get our
hahd i'lrt. while E!eazar went into tho
coh'llr', land his hand caye unto the
sword" '''' '"'
but see in the next place what hard
tl'ng 1t was for Eleazar to get his hand
ana ms sword parted. The muscles and
1he slhews had been SO long graspcd
atouha the sword he could not drop it,,
a'u MS three comrades [ suppose, came
up ana tried to help him, and they
oathed the back part OF the hand. hop
ing Tue sinewS and muscles would relax.
l'ut no. "His hand ciave unto the
sword" Then they tried to pull open
Tie hngrrs and to pull back the thumb;
out no sooner were they pulled back than
'hey closed again, land his hand clave
unto the sword" But after awhile they
were successful, and then they noticed
t'1:lt the curve in the palm of the hand
sofresponded exactly with the curve Of
the nut. ellis hand clave unto the
sword
You and have seen it many time.
They are in the United States to-day
MANY aged ministers of the Gospel. They
are too feeble to preach. In the church
records the word opposite their name is
emeritus or the words are, ga minis
ter without charge They were an
heroic race. They had small salaries
and but few books, and they swan
spring freshets to meet their appoint-
ments. But they did IN their day
mighty work for God. They took off
more OF the heads of Philistine iniquity
than yol could count from noon to sun
down. You put the old minister of tho
Gospel now into prayer meeting or oc-
caslohal Eulpit or sick room where
IS some t'"c to be comforted, and it is tho
same old ring to his voice and the same
o'c story Of pardon and peace and Christ
AMI Heasen. His hand had so long
c'"tchcd sac sword in Christian conflict
nc cannpt drop it. HAS hand clave
unto the Sword
had in my parish in Philadelphia
very aged. who, in his early life, had
been the companion and adviser of the
early Presidents, Madison and Monroe
lie had winlded vast influence, butt only
knew him as very aged man. The
most remarkable thing about him was
his ardor }pr Christ. When he could not
stand up il. the meetings without prop
| ping he would throw his arm around
pillar of the church, and though his
mind was partially gone his love for
Christ was so great that all We're in deep
respect and profound admiration, and
| were moved when he spoke. 1 was called
to see him die. / entered the room and
he said. ''Mr. Talmage, cannot speak
to you now He was in very pleasant
dclirilm, as he imagined he had an au-
dience before him. He said, 81 must
! tell these people to come to Christ and
prepare for Heaven" And then in this
pleasant delirium, both arms lifted, this
octogcnarian 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, ii there ever was anybody who had
a 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 dstin-
| guished themselves, and it is a very ap-
propriate inscription. Look at the flag
of old Gen. Joshua. On it, Jericho, Glib
con, Hazar, City of All, and instead of
the stars sprinkled on the flag, the sun
and the moon which stood Still. There
he is. 40 years old. He is lying flat on
his back, but he is preaching. His dying
words are battle charge against idola-
try, and rallyng cry for the Lord of
Hosts, and he says, ''Behold, this day
go the way Of all the earth, and God
hath not failed to fulfill His promise con-
corning Israel" His dying hand clavc
unto the sword.
There is the headless body OF Paul on
the road to Ostea. His great brain and
his great heart have been severed. The
elmwood rods had stung him fearfull:.
When the corn ship broke up he swa'n
ashore, coming up drenched with the
brine. Every day since that day when
the horse reared under him i'll the
suburbs Of Damascus, as the super
natural light fell, down to this day when
decrepit from the prison cell of the
Mamertine, he has been outraseously
treated, and he is waiting to die. How
does he spend his last hours? Telling
the world how badly he feels, and do
scribing the rheumatism that he got in
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: II
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 in the front room on the second
+ floor that my father lay a-dying. 1t was
! Saturday morning, 4 o'clock. just three
wears before that day my mother had
!. left him for the skies, and he had been
e homesick to join her company. He was
/ So years of age. Ministers OF the Gospel
a came in to comfort him, but he comforted
: them. How wonderfully the words
/ sounded out from his dying pillow. II
have been young and now am old, vet
/, have l never seen the righteous forsaken
or his seed begging bread" They bathed
his brow, and they bathed his hands,
and they bathed his feet and they sue
! ceeded in Strengthening out the feet, but
they did not succeed in bathing open the
, hand, so it would stay open. They
+ bathed the hand open, but it came shut.
They bathed it open again, but it came
; shut What was the matter with tho
thumb and the fingers of that old hand:
All. it had so long clutched the sword OF
Christian conflict that "Hls hand clare
unto the sword"
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Decay of Catholic Nations.
I admit that Catholic nations are de
: cayipg. The sixteenth century was an