Milford chronicle., 1893-07-28
ears persuade this whole earth tosurrenug.

energy IN the lnlIeu states TO uflng Une
whole world to Christ, but it is buried un-
der strata Of indifference and under whole
mountains of sloth. Now, is it not time
for the mining to begin, and the piekaxes to
plunge, and for this buried metal to be
brought ont and put into the furnaces and be
turned into howitzers and earbines for the
Lords host2 The vast majority of Chris.
tians 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 understand that we want
all the energies, all the talent and all the
wealth enlisted for Christ's sake2 l like
thenickname that the English soldiers gave
to Blueher, the commander. They called
him Old ForN ards We have had enough
retreats in the church of Christ. let US have
a glorious advance. And / say to you now
as the general said when his troops were
affrighted Rising up in his stirrups, his
hair flying in the wind, be lifted up his
voice until 10000 troops heard him crying
out, Forward, the whole linep
PAUL, THE PHILOSOPHER.
Again, learn from this subject that we
sometimes do well to take advantage of
the worlds sharpening instruments. These
Israelites were reduced to a 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. ard the Israelites did right when
they went over to the Philistines to use
their grindstones. Ny friends, is it not
right for us to employ the worlds grind
stones? II there be art, il there be logic, if
there be business faculty on the other side,
let us go over and employ it for Christ S
sake The fact is, we fight with too duh
weapons, and we work with too dull imple-
ments We hack and we maui when we
ought to make a clean stroke.
Let us 20 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 aeumen, and we
will use their grindstones, and we Will bor-
row their philosophical apparatus to make
our experiments, and we will borrow their
printing presses to publish our Bibles, and
we will borrow their rail trains to carry
our Christian literature, and we will bor-
row their ships to transport our missiOna-
ries.
That was what made Paul such master
in his day. He not only got all the learn
ing he could get of DR.. Gamaliel, but after
ward, standing on Mars hill and in a crowd
ed thoroughfare, quoted their poetry, and
grasped their logic, and welded their elo-
auence, and employed their mythology un-
til Dionysius, the Areopagite, learned in the
schools of Athens and Heliopolis, went
down under his tremendous powers. That
was what gave Thomas Chalmers his power
In his day He conquered the worlds as
tronOmy and compelled it to ring out the
wisdom and greatness Of the Lord until for
the second time the morning stars sang to-
eether and all the sons of God shouted for
JOY
THE LEARNED EDWARDS.
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 meet
ing house in Northampton, Mass, but all
felt thrilled by his Christian
power. Well, now, my friends, we all have
tools Of Christian usefulness. Do not let
them lose their edges. We want no rusty
blades in this fight. We want no Golfer
that cannot rip up the glebe. We want no
ak that cannot fell the trees. We want no
goad that cannot start the lazy team. Let
us get the very best grindstones we can find
though they be in the possession of the
compelling them to turn the
crank while we bear down with all our
might on the swift revolving wheel until all
our energies and faculties shall be brought
up to a bright, keen, sharp, glittering edge.
Again my subject teaches us on what
small allowance Philistine iniquity puts
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 everything but a file. Oh, that is the
way sin works. 1t grabs everything. 1t be
gins with robbery aud it ends with robbery.
It despoils this faculty and that faculty and
keeps on until the whole nature is gone.
Was the man eloquent before, it generally
his tongue. Was he fine in per
sonal appearance, it mars his visage. Was
be aifluent, it sends the sheriff to sell him
put Was he influential, it destroys his
popularity. Was he placid and genial and
loving, it makes him splenetic and cross,
and so utterly is he changed that you can
see he is sarcastic and rasping and that the
Philistines have left him nothing but q file
Oh. "the way of the transgressor is hard"
His cup is bitter His night IS dark. His
Dangs are deep. His end is terrific. Philis-
line iniquity says to that man, Nov, sur
render to me, and l will give you all you
- ffvs 1aa af
.he race, imperial couch to slumber on, and
7ou shall be refreshed with the rarest fruits,
IN baskets Of golden fligree." He lies
The music turns out to be a groan. The
lruits burst the rind with rank poison. The
iligree is made up Of twisted snakes. The
couch is a grave. Small allowance of rest,
small allowance of peace, small allowance of
comfort Cold, hard, rough--nothing but a
lie. So it was with Voltaire, the most APP
Dlauded man Of his day:
The Scripture was his jestbook, whence he
drew
Bonmots to gall the Christian and the Jew.
An infidel when we'll, but what when sick?
Oh, then a text would touch him to the quick.
THE DEATH OF voLTAIRE.
Seized with hemorrhage Of the lungs in
Paris, where he had gone to be crowned in
jhe theGter as an idol Of all France, he sends
/ messenger to get priest that he may be
to the church before he dies A
great terror falls upon him. He makes the
llaee all round about him so dismal that
ihe nurse declares that she would not for
III she wealth of Europe see another inidel
lie Philistine iniquity had promised him
IN the worlds garlands, but in the last
lour of hts life, when he needed solacing,
ent tearing across his conscience AID his
lerves a file, a file.
So 1t was with Lord Byron, his unclean-
less in England only surpassed by his un-
in Venice then going on to end
lis brilliant misery at Missolonghi, fret
ing at his nurse, Fletcher. fretting at him
elf, fretting at the world, fretting at God,
md. he who gave TO the world "Childe
Harold" and ''Sardanapalusn and "The
Prisoner Of Chillon7 and 1.-THE Siege of
corinth" reduced to nothing but a filel
)h, sin has great facility for making prom
ses, but it has just as great facility for
,reaking them. A Christian life is the
,nly cheerful life, while life of wicked
fs ,.s.,,.,.s., v.4.fr nr1 1nnth Tta