The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-08-04

Il
indifference and under whole mount
aims of sloth Now, is it not time fol
the mining to begin, and the pick-axes
| to plunge, and for this buried metal to
be brought out and put into the fur
naces, and be turned into howitzers
and carbines for the Lords host? The
vast majority of Christians in this day
are useless. The most of the Lords
battalion belong to the reserve corps.
The most of the crew are asleep in the
hammocks. The most of the metal is
under the hills. Oh, is it not time for
the church of God to rouse up and I'M
derstand that we want all the energies,
all the talent, and all the wealth en-
listed for Christ's sake?
Again learn from this subject. that
we sometimes do well to take advan-
tage of the worlds sharpening instru-
ments- These Israelites were reduced
to file, and so they went over to the
garrison of the Philistines to get their
axes and their goads and their plows
sharpened. The Bible distinctly states
in the context that they had no other
| instruments now with which to do
this work, and the Israelites did right
when they went over to the Philis-
tines to use their grindstones. My
friends, is it not right for us to employ
the. worlds grindstones? If there be
art, if there be logic, if there be bust
ness faculty on the other side, let us
go over and employ it for Christ's
sake. The fact is, we fight with
| too dull weapons, and we work with
too dull implements. We hack and
maui when we ought to make a
clean stroke. Let us go over among
sharp business men, and among sharp
literary men, and find out what their
tact is, and then transfer it to the cause
of Christ. If they have science and art
it will do us good to rub against it. In
other words, let us employ the worlds
grindstones. We will listen to their
music, and we will watch their acumen,
and we will use their grindstones, and
we will borrow their philosophical APP
paratus to make our experiments, and
we will borrow their printing presses
to publish our Bibles, and we will bor-
row their rail trains to carry our Chris
tian literature, and we will borrow
their ships to transport our mission
aries That was what made Paul
such a master in his day. He not
only got all the learning he could
get of DIR. Gamaliel, but afterward,
standing on Mars Hill, and in crowded
thoroughfare, quoted their poetry and
grasped their logic, and welded their
eloquence and employed their mythol-
ogy, until Dionysius, the Areopagite,
learned in the schools of Athens, and
Heliopolis, went down under his ire
mendous powers. That was what gave
Thomas Chalmers his power in his day.
He conquered the worlds astronomy
and compelled it to ring out the wis
dom and greatness of the Lord, until,
for the second time, the morning stars
sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted for joy. That was what gave
to Jonathan Edwards his influence in
his day. He conquered the worlds
| metaphysics and forced it into the
service of God, until not only the old
meeting house in Northampton, Mass,
! but all Christendom felt thrilled by his
Christian power.
Again, my subject teaches us on what
small allowance Philistine iniquity
| puts a man. Yes. these Philistines
shut up the mines, and then they took
the spears and the swords, then they
| took the blacksmiths, then they took
| the grindstones, and they took every
thing but a file. Oh, that is the way
sin works, it grabs everything. 1t be-
gins with robbery and it ends with
robbery. 1t despoils this faculty and
that faculty, and keeps on until the
whole nature is gone. Was the man
eloquent before, it generally thickens
his tongue. Was he fine in personal
appearance, it mars his visage. Was
| he affiuent, it sends the sheriff to sell
him out. Was he influential, it de-
stroys his popularity. Was he placid,
and genial, and loving, it makes him
| splenetic and cross. Philistine iniquity
says to that man: "Now, surrender
to me, and l will give you
all you want-music for the dance
| swift steads for the race, imperial
couch to slumber on, and you shall be
refreshed with the rarest fruits, in
baskets of golden filagree." He lies.
| The music turns out to be groan. The
fruits burst the rind with rank poison!
The filagree is made up of twisted
snakes. The couch is grave. Small
allowance of peace, small allowance of
comfort. Cold, hard, rough-nothing
but file So it is with Voltaire, the
most applauded man of his day.
The Scripture was his text book. whence he
drew
| Bon mots to gall the Christian and the Jew.
| An infidel when well, but what when sick:
| Oh then text would touch him to the quick
Seized with hemorrhage of the lungs
| in Paris, where he had gone to be
crowned in the theater as an idol of
all France, he sends messenger to get
a priest that he may be reconciled to
the church before he dies. A great
terror falls upon him. He makes the
place all about him so dismal that the
nurse declares that she would not for
all the wealth of Europe see another
infidel die Philistine iniquity had
promised him all the worlds garlands,
but in the last hour of his life when he
needed solacing, sent tearing across his
conscience and his nerves file, file.
So it was with Lord Byron, his un-
cleanness in England only surpassed
by his uncleanness in Venice,
then going on to end his
brilliant misery in Missolonghi, fret
ting at his nurse, Fletcher, fretting al
himself. fretting at the world, fretting
at God; and he who gave TO the world
s.Childe Harold" and ssSardanapalus .
and THE Prisoner of Chillon," and
THE Siege of Corinth," reduced to
nothing but file! Oh. sin has great
facility for making promises, but il
has just as great facility for breaking
them A Christian life is the only
| I.l.1.u..s..l