The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1893-07-28
T|'ALNAGE
Preach at Lake Monona,
Wisconsin.

t7--ftttt-t 70 SiNeU IN 1Qil IN EE1H l<eut.
II was. delivered so far from OlarksLurp
that It's ppearanee this week Is d result
OF considerable hnstling on the part d
soe : tess association.
a great thrcng Of many thousands
rom AL parts OF the north and west
are gathered at the Monona Lake as.
sembly. . chautauqua held near Madi.
son, Wis. Rev. DR.. Ialmage Sunday
forenoon preached to this great multi.
tude on "Sharpened Axes, = the text be
ing ]. Samuel xiii, 1881: Nov there
was NO smith found throughout all the
land OF Israel = etc.
My loving and glad salutation TO this
amounted host. Chautauqunns Chris
tan Endeayors Gospel workers and
their friends from an parts Of wiscon-
sin and America, saints and sinnersl
Ny text i gloriously appropriate.
What scalding subjugat ion the Israel
ties were suffering. The Philistines
had carried Off all the blacksmiths,
and torn down all the blaclksmiths'
shops, and abolished the blaclssniths,
trade in the land Of Israel. These Phil
istines had q particular eruiipe against
blacl<smiths, although / have always
admired them, and have sometimes
thought 4 ought to have been one my.
SELF The Philistines would not even
allow these parties to work their vain.
able mines OF brass and iron, nor might
they make any swords or spears. There
were only two swords left in NIL tl,e
land Yea, these Philistines went an
until they had taken 5aiI The grind.
stones from the land q Israel! % am,
II an Israelite TANNER wanted "a shnrnen
his pillow or his AZ. he had to 90 over Il
the garrison OF the Philistines Il, get 4
done. There was only one sharnenine
instrument left Il, the land. md tiiai
wns q file. The farmers ana thes me
chanics having nj thing 10 yyhet. nm IN,
coulter. save a, sirnnle Ala. Industry WA,
hindered ana work pr,,acticallv dis
eraced.
: The great idea Of the Phflistines wa,
TO keep the Israelites disarmed. The,
might get iron out oftthe hills 10 max.
swords Of. but they would not have Al,
Sblacksmiths 10 weld this iron. II the,
got the iron welded. thew would hay.
no erindstones ON which to bring d,
Instruments Of agriculture or the mis-
tary weapons np to an edge. Oh. yor
{ poor, weaponless Israelites, reduced "a
a4iie, how ! pity voul But these PIN.
istmcs were not forever to lrecn thei,
heel on The neck Of Gods children.
Johatlan. On lis hands and Knees,
climbs up d great rock beyond which
wtsre the Philistines; and his arnaor.
bearer, on his hands and knees, climbs
up the same rock, and these two men,
with their two swords, .hew to pieces
the Philistines, the Lord throwing a
great terror upon them. 50 It was
then; SO it is now. The two men Of
God on their knees, mightier than a
Philistine host on their feet.
/ learn first from this subject, how
dangerous It Is for the Church OF God
to allow Its weapons TO stay In the
hands Of its enemies, These israelites
might again and again have obtained a
supply Of swords and Weapons, asfor
instance when they, took the spoils Of
the Ammonities; but these israiites
seemed content to have no swords, nc
spears, no blacksmiths, no grindstones,
no active iron mines, until It was toe
late for them 70 make any Resistance. ]
see the farmers tugging along with
their pick-axes and plows, and ] say:
"Where are you going with those
things? They say: s.oh, we are go
ing over to the garrison 4of the Philis-
tines to get these things sharpened,'
say: aYou foolish men, why don't you
sharpen them ut home?" .oh, they
say, "the blacksmiths' shops are all
torn down, and we have nothing left Vi
but a file. "
So 1t is in the church Of Christ to-day.
We are too willing to give up our weap.
ons to the enemy. The world boasts
that 1t has gobbled up the schools, and
the colleges, and the arts, and the SOD,
cnces, and the I literature, and the
printing press. Infidelity is making .
mighty, attempt to get alllour weapon,
in It's hand and then to keep them.
You know 1t is making this boast all
the time; and after awhile, when the
great battle between sin and righteous
ness has opened. II we do not look out
we will be Us badly of as those Israel
ties, without any swords TO fight with
and without any sharpening instru'
ments. ! call upon the superintendent
of literary institutions to see to II that
the men who go into the class-rooms "a
stand beside the Leyden jars, and the
electric batteries, and the microscope,
or telescopes, be children OF God, no,
Philistines. The atheistic thinkers o.
this day are trying to get all the intel
lectnal weapons OF this century in theii