Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1893-08-09

i
Samuel xiii 1921.
Ny loving and glad sn'utation TO this IN.
counted host. Chautauquans, Christian En-.
deavors. gospel workers and their friend.
from all parts o. Wisconsin md Arerjco
saints and sinners Ny text il glorionsIy
appropriate. What n calling subiugation
the IsraeliteS We're sufTerinyl The PhiIistina,
had carried OF all the hlacksmiths and torn
down all the hlacksmiths' shops and abolished
the hlGcksmith's trade in the land of Israel
These Philistines had n particular grudrs
against hlacksmiths. although have ALWAYS
admired them and have sometimes thourh,
I ought to have been one myself. The Phil.
istines would not even allow these parties TO
work their valuable mines of brass and iron
nor might thev make any swords or spears
There wore only two swords left in all the
land. Yea. these philistinas went on until
they hat taken all the "rjndstones from TIE
land Of Israel, so TINT II an ISr9elitish farmer
wanted to sharpen his plOw or his aS he ha
70 go over to the garrison of the PE.listi1cs
10 get Il done. There Was only one sharpe.-
ing instrument left in the land, and tbst was
file. The farmers ani the mechanics hay.
Ing nothing to whet up the coulter, and the
gOat, and the pickaN save simple file in
disgraced.
The great idea OF these Philistines was 70
keep the Israsltes disarmei They might
get iron ont ofthe hills to make swords OF.
but they would not have any blacksmiths to
weld this iron. II they got the iron welded
they would have no Vrindstones on which tc
bring the instruments of agriculture or the
military weapons up to an edge. Oh, you
poor. weEpOnless Israelites. reduced to a i1le.
how pity you But these Philistines were
not forever to keep their heel on the neck OF
Gods children. Jonathan, on his hands AMI
knees. climbs up a great rock beyond which
were the Philistines. and his armor bearer.
on his hands and knees. climbs up the same
rock, and these two men. with their two
swords. hew 10 pieces the philistines, the
Lord throwing great terror upon them. So
II was then so 1t is now. The two men o.
God on their knees miGhtier than a Philistine
host on their feet.
I learn FIRST from this subject how danger
Gus II il for the church OF God to all Dw its
weapons to stay in the hands Of its enemies.
These Israelites might again and again
have obtained a supply of swords and
weapons, rs for instance, when they
took the spoils OF the Ammonites. but
these Israslites seemed content to have
no swords. no spears, no blacksmths,
no Srindstouos. no active iron mines until il
was too late for them to make any resistance.
I see the farmers tugCing along with their
pickaNes and plows. and ! say. "Where are
you going with those things?' They say,
"Oh, we are going over to the garrison OF
the Phllistines to get these things sharp
ened." | say, 'GOu foolish men why don't
you sharpen them Mt homer "Oh," they
say, ''the blarksmiths' shops are all torn
down, and We have nothing left Us but
nla"
So IT ls IN the church of Christ to-day. We
are too willing to give up our weapons 10 the
enemy The world boasts that il has COB
bled up the schools, and the colleges, and
the arts, and the sciences, and the literature,
and the printing press. Infldelity is making
a mighty attempt to get all our weapons in
tfa nd hon, fp Eaar
II is making this boast all the time, and after
q while, when the great battle between sin
and righteousness has opened, If We do not
look out we will be as badly off rs these Is
raelites, without any swords TO fight with
and without any sharpened Instruments.
1 call upon the superintendents OF literary
institutions to see TO 1t that the men who go
into the classrooms 10 stand beside the Ley
den jars, and the electric batteries, and the
microscopes or telescopes be children OF
God, not Philistines. The atheistic thinkers
Of this day are trying to get all the intel
lsctual weapons OF this century in their own
grasp. What we want is scientific Christians
to capture the science and scholastic Chris
tiRns to capture the scholarship, and philOso-
phic Christians TO capture the philosophy,
and lecturing Christians 10 take baHk the
lecturlng platform.
We want to send out against Schenkel
and Strauss and Renln OF the past men like
the late Theodore Christlieb of Bonn, and
against the infldel scientists God worship
ing Silliman and Hitchcock and AgasSiZ.
We want TO capture all the philosophical
apparatus and swing around the telescopes
on the swivel until through them we can see
the morning star OF the Redeemer, and with
mineralogicat hammer discover the "Rock
OF Ages" and amid the dora OF the realms
find the Crosse of Sharon and the Lily OF
the Valley"
We want clergy learned enough to dis
course OF the human eye, showing It to be
microscope aud telescope in one instrument,
with 500 wonderful cOntrivanccs and lids
closing 30. .OO0 or 10000 times a day, all its
muscles and nerves and bones showing the
infinite skill of an infinite God, and then
winding up with the peroration, He that
formed the eye, shall He not seer And
then we want to discourse about the human
ear its wonderful integuments, membranes
and vibration. and its chain OF small bones,
and its auditory nerves, closing with the
question, He that planted the ear, shall He
not hear?"
And we want some one able to eIpound
the first chapter of Genesis, bringing TO It
the geology and the astronomy OF the worh,
until. as Job suggested, 'the stones OF the
field shall be in league" with the truth, and
'.the stars in their courses shall light against
Sisera." Oh, church OF God, go out and re-
capture these weapons. Let men OF God go
out and take possession OF the platform. Let
all the printing press of this country speak
out for Christ, and the reporters, and the
tvnes.tters. and the editors and publishers
swear allegiance to the Lord God OF truth;
All. nv friend, that day must come, ana II
the great body of Christian men have not the
faith, or the courage, or the consecrltion TO
do II then let some Jonathan on his busy
hands and on his praying knees climb up on
the rock OF hindrance, and IN the name VI
the Lord God of Israel slash to pieces thoss
literary Philistines. ii these men viii
not be converted to God, then they must be
Again. learn from this subject what
large amount of the church's resources Is
actually hidden and buried and undevelopel.
The Bible intimRteS that that was very
rich Iand-ths land of Israel. It says,
1'The stones are iron, and out OF the mis-
thou shalt dig brass" and yet hundreds oi
thousands OF dollars worth OF tins metal Wa
kent under the hills. Wen, that Is the DIM
Guilty with the church OF God Mt rms Gay its
talent is not developed. II one-iaiI Oh ,ts
energy could be brought out, II might taAe
the public iniduities of the day by the throat
and make Them bite the dust. III human
eloauence were consecrated TO the Lorh
Jesus Christ. it could in few years lersuane
this whole earth to surrender TO Goi;
There is enough undeve!Oped Christian
energy in the United States 10 pr!hS tne
whole world TO Christ, but II Is buried un-
der str,,fa of Indifference and under whole
mountains of sloth. Now. is It not time ior
the mining to begin, and the pickaNeS 10
plunge. and for this buried metal TO De
brought out and put into the furnaces ana
be turned into howitaers and carDlhts lot
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 are
asleep in the hammOcks. The most o' inc
metal is under the hills.
Oh, Is 1t not time Tor the church OF O'ou ~, ~
rouse up and understand that we want az
the energies all the talents and all the WSaitn
enlisted for Christ's sake? I like the nick-
name that the English soldiers gave TO BIN,
cher. the commander, They called him "oic
Forwards" We have had enough retreats I'D
the church of Christ {; let US have glorious
advance. And l say to you now as He
general said when histroops were afrri-htei.
Rising up in his strrups, his hair lying IN IN
the wind, he lifted his voice until 2o,oOJ
troops heard him, crying out, "Forward, the
whole line 20
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