Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-12-15
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine'S Sun.
day Sermon.
Subject; "Unhorsed."


about him a light from hedUeH, and ne Jei'
10 he earth and heard a uoioe saying unto
him. saul, Saul, ,chy persecutest thou We
And he said. Who art hOu Lord, And me
Lord said. I am Jesus 'ohOW thou perse-
cuiest Acts tx, IS.
The Damascus OF Bible times still stands,
with a population OF 135,OO0 II was gay
city Of white and glstening architecture. its
minarets and creseents and domes playing
with the light OF the morning sun; emooN-
cred in groves OF olive and cltron and orange
and pomegranate famous river plunglng
its brightness into the scene a city by the
ancients styled "a pearl surrounded by en-
eralds
A group OF horsemen are advancing upon
that city. Let the Christians Of the place
hide, for that cavalcade coming over the
hills is made up OF pers ecutors their leader
smell and unattractivc in some respects. as
leaderS sometimes are insignificant In per
sOn--witncss the Duke OF Wellington and
DR.. Archibald Alexander. But there IS
something very intent in the eye OF this
man OF the text. and the horse he rides IS
lathered with the foam OF n long and quick
travel Of 13j miles He urges on his steed.
for those Christians must be captured an
silenced, and that religion Of the cross must
be annihilated.
iii the riders arc prscpitated. Freed from
the riders the horses bound snoring away
You know that dumb animals. at the sight
Dian eclipse. or an earthquake. or anythln'
like supernatural appearance sometimes
become very uncomfortable. new sun had
been kindled in the heavens. putting out the
glare Of the ordinary sun. Christ. with the
glories OF heaven wrapped about HIM,
looked out from cloud. and the splendor
was insufTerable. and no wonder the horses
sprang and the equestrians dropped.
Dust covered and bruised. Saul attemp'sto
get up. shading his eyes with his hands from
The severe luster OFT the heavens but unsucess-
fully. for he is struck stone blind as he cries
out. who art thou, LordT' and Jesus an
swered him: II am the one you have been
chasing. H. that whips and scourSes those
Damascene Christians whips and scourges
Me. II is not their back that is bleeding it
is Mine. 1t is not their heart that is break
ing it is Mine. am Jesus whom thou per
secutest.'
From that wild. exciting aud oyerwhelm-
ing scene there rises no tho greatest
preacher OF all the ages -plul-in whose
behalf prisons were rocket down. be'or'
whom soldiers turned pale, into whose hand
Mediterranean SEA captains pat control o.
their shipwrecking craft AMI whose ep!sties
are the avant courier OF a resurrection day.
| learn from this scene that worldly fall
sometimes precedes a spiritual uplifting. \
maa does not get much sympathy by falling
OF horse. People say he ought not TO hdv'
got into the saddle If ne could not ride.
Those OF Us Who. We're brought up IN the
country remember we'll how the workmen
laughed when. on OUT way back from the
brOoS. We suddenly lost our ride. When in a
md sr4N rfa
stirrups. II became "A National merrmen-.
Here is Paul on horseback Il proud mao.
riding Oh with Government documents in his
pocket. graduate OF most famOIS school
IN which the celebrated DR.. GLmlliei ha
been a professor. perhaps having already n
tanned two OF the thrca titles OF the schOo'
rab. the first rabbi. the second. AL on the
way TO rabbak. the Thrill and highest title.
l know from his temperament that his horse
was ahead OF the other horses. But without
time 10 think Oi what posture he should
taSe, or without consideration Tor his dig
nifty. he j. tumbled into the dust. Aud yet
that was the best ride Paul ever took. out
OF that violent fall bee arose into the apostle
ship. 50 It has been in all ages. anl - il is
now.
You will never De- worth murh iOr Col an
the church until you Jose your fortune. or
have your reputation upset. or in some way.
somehow are thrown and humiliated. You
must 90 down before you 60 mp. Joseph
hnds his path to the Egyptian court through
the pit into which his brothers threw him.
Daniel would never have walked among the
bronzed lions that adorned the Blbyl0nish
throne if he had not first walked among th'
real lions OF the cave. AMI Paul marshals
all the generations Of Christendom 10y fall
ing fiat on his face on the road TO Damascus.
Men who have been always prospered may
be- Ell tent servants of the world. but will Dee
o. no advantage % Christ. You may ride
maiesiicailv seated Oa vouf charger. rein il
hand. foot IN stirrdp but yoU viii never b'
worth anything spiritually until YOU fall OF.
They who gradual" from the school oi Chr'si
with the highest holors have on th"ir dip.o-
ma the seal Ola lions muddy paw. or th'
plssh OF an angry wave. or the drop ..
stray tear. or th" brown 'orcu of q per- DO
cutting fire. lr 200 cases ont Of 1000 there D.
no moral or spiritual elevation until therr
has been thorough worldly upstitiuc
Again. learn from the sul iect that tho
religion of Chris; j. not pu-iiauimol7
thing. People in this day try t. make ms nr-
lieye that Christianity j. something for men
OF small cAihcr. iOr women with 10 capacity
10 reason. 'or children in the infant cl">
under six years D. age. bat not for stalw4r.
men. Look at this man %, the text Do you
not think that the religion that could cap
ture such mum rs that must have 50 uc
power IN IL! lie was q logician F.; he was y
metaphysician s he was an all cOnquerinc
orator he was q poet Of the highest type.
He had IN nature that could swamp the lead
ing med 81 his own day. and hurled against
the sanhedrn he made it tremble.
He ldarned all that he could got in tho
school o. his native village then he had
gone u p higher school AMI there mastered
the Gteek and the Hebrew and perfected
himself in bellies leitres, until in after years
he asionished the Creians and the COrintn-
ians. ana the Athenians by quotations from
their own authors have never found any
thing in Carlyle or GOeth or Herbert Spencer
that could compare in strength or beauty
with Paul's cpistles. ] do not think there Is
anything in the writings OF Sir William Ham
ilton that shows such mental discipline as
you find in Paul's argument about justinca-
tion and the resurrection. have not found
anything in Milton finer in the way OF imag-
ination than ] can find in Paul's illustrations
drawn from the amphitheater.
There was nothing in Robert Emmett plead
ing for his life. or in Edmund Burke ar
raigning Warren Hastings in Westminster
Hall. that compared with the scene in the
courtroom when. before robed officials. Paul
bowed and began his speech. saying. IL
think myself happy. King Agrippa. because
shall answer for myself this day. repeat
that religion that can capture a man like
that must have some power in it. 1t Is timo
you stopped talking Is though all the brain
OF the world were opposed to Christianity.
Where Paul leads. we can afford to follow.
| am glad TO know that Christ has in tho
different ages OF the world had in His disci-
pleship lfozart and Handel in music. a
Raphael and Reynolds in painting, an An
gelo and n Canovl in sculpture, a Rush and
. Harvey I'm medicine. a Grotius an1a Wash
ingtcn in craftsmanship q blackstone, a
Marshall and a Kent in law. And the time
will come when the religion OF Christ will
conquer all the observatories and universe
lies, and philosophy will through her tele-
scope behold the morning star OF Jesus. and
in her laboratory sec 'that all things work
together for good. and with her geological
hammer discover the Rock Of Ages"
Oh. insleld OF covering and shyering
when the skeptic stands before you and
talks OF religion asthough It were pusillani
nous thing-instead Of that take your New
Testament from your pocket and SHOW him
the picture Of the intellectual giant OF all the
ages Frustrated on the road 10 Damascus
while his horse is flying wildly away. Then
ask Your skeptic what it was that frightened
the one and threw the other. Oh, no, it T.
no weak gospel II is glorious gospel. II