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

into the conflict he was so anxious for the
victory he forgot himself, and that hlt
might 20 never SO deeply into the palm of
of his hand it could not disturb him.
ellis hand clave unto the sword" Oh, my
brothers and sisters, let us go into Chris
tian conflict with the spirit of self abnega-
ton. Who cares whether the world
praises us or dsuounces usf What do we
care for Misrepresentation, or abuse or per-
secuton in a conflict like this? Let us
forget ourselves. That man who is afraid
of getting his hand hurt will never kill
Philistine. Who cares whether you get
hurt or not if you get the victory Oh,
how many Christians there are who are all
the time worrying about the way the world
treats them. They are SO tired, and they
are so abused, and they are so tempted,
when Eeazer did not think whether he
had hand, or an arm or n foot. All he
wanted was victory.
We see how men forget themselves in
worldly achievement. We have often seen
men who in order to achieve worldly sue.
cess will forget all physical fatigue aud all
annoyance and all obstacles. just after
the battle of Yorktown, in the American
Revolution, musician, wounded, was told
he must have his limbs amputated, and
they were about to fasten him to the sur
geon's TABLETOP it was long before the
merciful discovery Of annsthetics. He
said, "No, don't fasten me to that table;
get me violin" A violin was brought to
him and he said, "Now 20 to work as be-
gin to play" and for forty minutes, during
the awful pangs of amputation, he moved
not muscle nor dropped note while he
played some sweet tune. Oh, is it not
4 / Il. e
of Jesus Christ and with this grand march
Of the church militant on the way to be-
come the church triumphant, we cannot
forget ourselves and forget all pang and
all sorrow and ali persecution and all per.
turbations
THE ENDURANCE OF HEROIC MEN.
We know what men accomplish under
worldly opposition. Men do not shrink
back for antagonism or for hardship. You
have admired Prescotts Conquest of
Mexico" as brilliant and beautiful his
tory as was ever written; but some of you
may not know under what disadvantages
it was written-that conquest of Mexico"
for Prescott was totally blind and he had
two pieces of wood parallel to each other
fastened, and totally blind, with his pen
between those pieces of wood he wrote, the
stroke against one piece of wood telling
how far the pen must 20 in one way, the
stroke against the other piece of wood tell
ing how far the pen must go in the other
way. Oh, how much men will endure for
worldly knowledge and for worldly success,
and yet how little we endure for Jesus
Christ. How many Christians there are
that go around saying, ION, my hand, my
hand, my hurt hand; don't you see there
is blood on the hand, and there is blood on
the sword?" while Eeazar, with the hilt
imbeGded in the flesh OF his right hand,
does not know it,
Must be carried to the skies
On tloWery beds OF ease,
While others fought to win the prize
Or sailed through bloody seas?
What have we suffered in comparison
with those who expired with suifocation,
or were burned, or We're chopped to pieces
for the truth sake? We talk of the per
secution of olden times There is just as
much persecution going on now in various
ways. In lS49, i'll Madagascar, eighteen
men We're put to death Tor Christs sake
They were to be hurled over the rocks, and
before they were hurled over the rocks, in
order TO make their death the more dread
full III anticipation, they were put in bas-
kets and swung to and fro over the preci-
pice that they might see how many hun
dred feet they would have to be dashed
down, and while they We're swinging in
these baskets over the rocks they sang:
Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me TO Thy bosom fly,
While the pillows near me roll,
While the tempest still is high.
Then they were dashed down to death
Oh, how much others have endured for
Christ, and how little we endure for Christi
We want to ride to heaven in IA Pullman
sleeping car, our feet on soft plush, the bed
made up early so We can sleep all the way,
the black porter of death to wake us up
only in time to enter the golden city, We
want all the surgeons to fix our hand up.
Let them bring on all the lint, and all the
bdndages, and all the salve, for our hand is
hurt, while Eleazar docs not know his
hand is hurt. His hand clave unto the
sword"
AS | look at Eleazar's hand come to the
conclusion that he has done great deal OF
hard hitting. | am not surprised when
see that these four men--E,eazar and his
three pauions-drove back the army OF
philistines that EleaZar's sword cave tc
his hand, for every time he struck au
enemy with one end of the sword the thel
end of the sword wounded him, When be
took hold Of the sword the sword took hold
of him. Oh, we have found an enemy who
cannot be conquered by rose water and soft
speeches. 1t must be sharp stroke and
straight thrust. There is intern perauce
and there is fraud, and there is gambling
and there is lust, and there are ten thou
sand battalons of iniquity, armed Philis
tine iniquity. How are they TO be captured
and overthrown2 Soft sermons in mcroc
co cases laid down in front of an exquisite
audience will not do it. You have got &c
call things by their right names.
! IMPERATIVE NEED OF AN AWAKENING.
/ We have got to eXpel from our churches
Christians who eat the sacrament on Sun
day and devour widows houses all the
! week. We have got to stop our indigna-
ton against the Hitttes and the Jebuste.
and the Gergishites, and let those poor
wretches go. and apply our indignation tc
| the modern transgressions which need tC
/ be dragged out and slain. Ahabs here
| Herods here. ,Jezebels here. The massa
Gro of the infants here. Strike for God Sc
hard that while you Stay the sin the sword
will adhere to your own hand. | tell you
my friends, we want a few John knoxes
and John Wesleys in the Christian church
today. The whole tendency is to refine or