The Dickinson press., 1893-08-05
DIR. TAIN AGES SERMON.
CHRISTIAN WEAPONS IN THE
HANDS OF II ENEMY.

LAND vi 11IE En- EINls
Lessons From the SubjugatiOn of
the %IxrnelitcS 10y the Phiiistines-
Undcvelopcd Resources of the
C~hurch-Sin's Promises Always
Broken.
Madison. Wis. Special: A great
throng Of many thousands from all
parts of the North and West We're
gathered ut the Monona Lake assem-
bly,. a ChautauQua held near this city.
Rev. DIR. Talmage preached to this
great multitude on "%Sharprncd Axes"
the text hring l. Samuel. xiii. 1921:
"Now there was nu smith found
throughout all the land of Israel etc.
My loving and glad Salutation to his
uncomtrd host of ChautailquanS.
Christian Endravors, Gospel workers
and their friends from all parts or
Wisconsin and America, ain anu
sinners. My text is %gloriously appr"-
pirate. What Il Scalding snb.lugatlon
the %lSrarlitrS We're suffering. lne
pliliStincs had carried off all the black
smiths shops, and abolished the black
smiths trade in the land of Israel.
These IhiliStincS had Il peculiar grndse
against blackSmiths. although l have
always admired them. and have some
times thought | ought to have been INC
myself. The rhiliSlinrS would not
ever allow these parties to work their
valuable mines of brass and iron nor
might they make amy swords or
spears. There were only two swords
lief, in I'LL the land. Yea. these PhiliS-
tines went on until they had taken all
the grinlStonrs from the land of Israel.
so that if an lsraclitiSh farmer wanted
to sharpen his pillow or his aX he had to
20 over to the garrison OF the Pllilis-
tines to get it dollr. There WAS only
one sharpening instrument left i'll the
land. and that WAS Il file. This farmers
and the mechanics having nothing to
whct up the coulter. and tho goad. and
the pickHN. save Il simple file. indus
try was hinirrrd. and work practically
disgraccd. The great idea of these
PhiliStinrS was To keep the ~lSraelltcs
diSarmrd. They might got iron out OF
the hills To make swords of. but they
would not have any blacksmitlls to
weld this iron. If they got the iron
welded they would have no grind
stones on which to bring the instru-
mcnts of agriculture or the military
weapons up 10 the edge. oh, you poor,
wcapoulrSS ISrarlilcS. reduced To Il file,
how l pity YOU. But these rhilistines
were not forever to keep their heel on
the neck of Gods children. Jonathan
on his hands and knees. climbs up Il
great rock beyond which We're the
PlilistinrS. and his nrmour-bcarcr, on
his hands and knees. climbs up the
same rock. and these Two men. With
their two swords. how to pieces the
PhiliSlincS. the Lord throwing IL great
terror upon them. So il WAS then; so
it is now. The two men of God on
their knees. miglticr than Il Thilistinc
host on their feet.
learn first from this subject. how
dangerous it is for the church of God
to allow its weapons to stay i'll the
hands of its enemies. These lsraclitcs
might again and again have obtained
IL supply of swords and weapons. as for
instance when they took the spells of
the AmmonitrS; but these lSraelites
seemed content to have no swords. III
spears, no blackSmi,hs. no g%rindStoncs,
no active iron mines. until it vas too
late for them to make any resistance.
j see the farmers Juggling along with
their p%ickaNcs and plows, and 1 say,
Where are you going with those
things:' They say. "Oh, we nre going
over to the garrison of the Philistincs
to get these things %sharpcned." l say,
You foolish men. why don't you
sharpen them at homc:" OH" they
say, the blacksmith shops are all
torn down. and we have nothing left
us but Il file So it is in the church
of Christ to-day. We are too willing
to give up Il weapons to the enemy.
The world boasts that it has gobbled
up the schools, and the colleges, and the
arts, and the sciences, and the. litcra-
ture, and the printing press. Intidclity
is making Il mighty attempt to get all
our weapons in its hand. and then to
keep them. You know it is making
this boast all the time; and after
awhile. when the great battle between
sin and Righteousness has opened, if
we do not look o II we will be as badly
off as these ISracliteS. without any
swords to fight with. and without any
the superintendent of literary institu-
lions to see to it that the men who 20
into the class roOmS to stand beside
the Leyden jars. and the electric bat.
teries. and the microscopes or tcle.
scopes, be children Of God, not philis.
tines. The atheistic thinkers of this
day are trying to get all the intellectual
weapons Of this century in their OWL
grasp. What we want is scientific
Christians to capture the science, and
scholastic Christians to capture tho
scholarship, and %philosophic Christians
to capture the philosophy, and lectur
ing platform.
We want to send out against Schenke
and Strauss and Jtenan of the past
men like the late Theodore Christlicl
Of Bonn; and against the inlidcl scien
fists, God worslliping Silliman ant
Hitchcock a:ia Agas$iZ. We want t
capture all tlnH philosophical apparatus
and swing around the telescopes on TIL
swivel, until through them we can Sc
the morning star Of the RWlccmel
and with meteorological hammer dis
cover the Rock of Ages and ami
the flora of the realm find the 'Isos
Of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.
We want Il clergy learned enough to Iii.
COURSE on the human eye. showing
to be {: microscope and telescope i
one Instrument, With 500 wondcrf,
j. co%ntrlvullceS. and lids closing 10000 {
: 10000 times Il day; all its muscles al
nerves AMI bones showing the intinit
I skill Of an infinite God, and then wine
ing uD With the pcroration: lie til;
formed the eye. shall he o sec?' An
then VIC want to discourse about I'll
, human ear, its wonderful intcgument
membranes and vibration. and its chat
of small bones. and its auditory nerve
closing with the question: "He til;
planted the ear. shall he not hear:
And we want some one able to @.
pound the first chapter Of Grncsi
; bringing to it the theology and I'll
astronomy of the world. until, as JIG
suggested. 1.-The stones Of the field sha
be in league" with the truth, and 18th
stars in their courses shall fight again.
Sisera.". Oh, Church Of God, go out an
recapture these weapons. Let men
God 20 out and. take possession {
the platform. Let all the printing-pre
Of this country speak out for Chris
and the reporters. and the ~type-setter!
and the editors. and publishers, swea
allegiance to the Lord God of trutl
All, my friend. that day must come
and if the great body of Christian me