Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-06-09
THE JUDGES TEXT.
DR. TALMAoE breaches. ON
THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL.
Ehud, the Ruler, and the Strength Phs-
sIcally and Morally-The Great Dam
age A.:-Adant UlSA Worldly Eleva-
ton.

BROOKLYN, June 4.-The sermon selected
by the Rev. DR.. Talmage for this forenoon
Is founded on the text. Judges 3; 10: But
when the children of Israel cried unto the
Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer,
Ehud, the son of Gera, Benjamite, man
left-handed."
Ehud was a ruler in Israel He was
left-handed and, what was peculiar
about the tribe of BENJAMIN, to which
he belonged, there were in it 700 left
handed men and yet, so deHterous had
they all become in the use of the LETT
hand that the Bible says they could
sling stones at a hairs breadth, and
not miss.
Well, there was a King by the name
of Eglon,- who was an oppressor of
Israel. lie imposed upon them most
outrageous tax. Ehud, the man of
whom | first spoke. had n divine COM
mission to destroy that oppressor. lie
came, pretending that he was going to
pay the tax, and asked to see King
Eglon. lie was told he was in the
summer-house, the place to which the
King retired when it was too hot TO
sit IN the palace. This summer-house
was place surrounded by flowers,
and trees, and springing fountains, and
warblng birds. Ehud entered the sum-
I
that he had a secret errand with him.
Immediately all the attendants were
waved out of the royal presence King
Eglon rises up to receive the messen-
ger. Ehud, the left-handed man, puts
his left hand to his right side, pulls
out a dagger, and thrusts Eglon through
until the haft went in after the blade
Eglon falls. Ehu2 comes forth 10
blow trumpet of recruit amidst the
mountains of Ephraim; and a great
host is marshalled, and proud Moab
submits to the conquerer, and Israel IS
free. SO, o Lord, let all thy enemies
perish! SO, o Lord, let all thy friends
triumph!
arm first from this subject, the
power of lie t-handed men. There are
some men who, by physical organiza-
ton, have as much strength in their
left hand as in their right hand; but
there is someth M in the writing of
this text which implies that Ehud had
some defect in his right hand, which
compelled I'm to u~e the left. Oh,
the power of left-handed IN IN! Genius
is often sclf-observant. careful of itself,
not given to much toll, burning in
cense TO its own aggrandizemcnt;
while many man, w tn no natural
endowments, actually defective in ply
steal and mental organization, has an
earnestness for the right, patient in
dustrv, an all onsuming perseverance,
which achieve marvrls for tn, king
dom of Christ. Though left-handed as
| Ehud, they can strike down sin as
| great and imperial as EglOn.
! | have seen men OF wealth gathering
! about them all their treasures, snutjng
at the cause of world lying N wick
| edness, roughly ordering Lazarus off
| their doorstep, sending their d pgs,
not to lick his sores, but to hound him
off their premises; catching all the
/ pure rain of Gods bles sings into the
stagnant, ropy. frog-inhabited pool of
/ their own seltshness-right-h handed
men, worse than jacksonville many
n man, with large heart and little
| purse, has, out of his limited means,
made poverty leap for jo,, and started
an influence that overSpans the grave,
/ and will swing round and round the
/ throne of God, world without end:
Amen.
All me, it is high time that YOU left
/ handed men, who have been longing
! for this gift, and that eloquence, and
the other mans wealth, should take
your left hand out of your pockets.
Who made all these railroads? Who
set no all these cities? Who started
all these churl hes, and schools, and
asylums? Who has done the Juggling,
and running, and pulling? Men of no
wonderful endowments, thousands of
them aclnowled ying themselves to be
left-handed, and yet they were earn
est, and yet they were determined, and
yet they were triumphant.
But do not suppose that Ehud, the
6rst time he took sling in his left
hand, could throw stone a hair S
breadth, and not miss. l suppose it
was practice that gave him the won
derful deXterity. Go forth to your
spheres of duty, and be not discour-
aged If, in your first attempts, you
miss the mark. Ehud missed it. Take
another stone, put it carefully into the
sling, swing it around your head, take
better aim, and the next time you will
strike the center. The first time a
mason rings his trowel upon the brick
he does not expect to put up IA perfect
wall. The first time n carpenter sends
the plane over a board, or drives bit
through beam, he does not expect to
make perfect execution. The first
time boy attempts a rhyme, he does
| not expect 10 cnllne lJalld hOOkH,
or 'Ladysof the Lake" Do not be
surprised If, in your first efforts at
doing good, YOU are not very largely
successful. Understand hat useful
ness is an art, q science, a trade.
There was an oculist performing n
very difficult operation on the human
eye. Ayoung doctor stood by and said,
GLOW east you do that; it don't seem
TO cause you any trouble at all. "Ah,"
said the old ocullst, lit is very easy
now, but / spoiled hatful of. eyes to
learn that" BE not surprised if it
takes some practice before we can h Up
men TO moral eyesight and bring them
to a vision of the cross Left-handed
men to the work. Take the gospel for a
sling, and faith and repentance for the
smooth stone from the brook; take
sure aim, God direct the weapon, AMI
great Goliaths will tumble before you.
When Garibaldi was going out to
battle, he told his troops what he
wanted them to do and after he had
DIES ri cd what he wanted them 10 do,
they said, well General, what are
you going to give us for all this?"
WELL he replied, III don't know