The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1893-09-16

be brought ont it might take the pub
lie iniquities of the day by the throat
| and make them bite the dust. If hui
| man eloquence were consecrated to
the Lord Jesus Christ, it could
in a few years persuade this
whole earth to surrender to God.
There is enough undeveloped Christian
energy in the United States to bring
the whole world to Christ; but it is
buried under strata of indifference and
under whole mountains of sloth.
Now, is it not time for the mining to
begin, and the pickaxes to plunge, and
for this buried metal to be brought
out and put into the furnaces, and be
turned into howitzers and carbines for
the Lords host? The vast majority of
Christians in this day are useless.
The most of the Lords battalion be-
long to the reserve corps. The most
of the crew are asleep in the ham,
mocks. The most of the metal
is under the hills. Oh, it is not time
for the church of God to rouse up and
understand that we want all the ener
giles, all the talent and all the wealth
SHi1Stcu lOI SIIIlSi SdhC. Il lihc
the nickname that the English sol
diers gave to Blucher, the commander.
They called him "Old Forwards" We
have had enough retreats in the church
of Christ; let us have glorious adj
vance. And / say to you now. as the
general said when his troops were af-
frighted. Rising up in his stirrups, his
L -. a., -, L.. I.
voice until twenty thousand troops
heard him crying out: Forward, the
whole line!"
Again learn from this subject, that
we sometime do well to take advan-
tage of the worlds sharpening instru-
ments. 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, and the Israelites
did right when they went over to
the Philistines to nse their grind
stones. My friends, is it not right for
us to employ the worlds grindstones?
If there be art, if 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 dull weapons, and we work
with too dull implements. We hack
and maui when we ought to make
clean stroke. Let us go 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
acumen, and we will use their grind
stones, and we will borrow their
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 borrow their ships to transport our
That was what made
Paul such master in his day. He not
only got all the learning he could get
of DIR. Gamaliel, but ,afterward, stand
ing on Mars hill, and in
crowded thoroughfare, quoted their
poetry and grasped their logic,
and welded their eloquence and
employed their mythology until Diony-
sius, 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 astronomy and compelled it
to ring out the wisdom and greatness
of the Lord, until for the second time,
the morning stars sang together, and
all the sons shouted for joy. That was
what gave to Jonathan Edwards his in
fluence in his day. He conquered
the worlds metaphysics and forced
til not only the old meeting
house in Northampton, Mass, but
all Christendom felt thrilled by his
Christian power. Well, now, my
friends, we all have tools of Christian
Do not let them lose their
edges. We want no rusty blades in
this fight We want no coulter that
can not rip up the glebe. We want no
AK that can not fell the trees. We
want no goad that can not start the
lazy team. Let us get the very best
we can find, though they
be in the possession of the Philistines,
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 bright, keen, sharp,
glittering edge.
Again, my subject teaches us on
what small allowance Philistine in
EQUITY puts man. Yes, these Philis-
tines 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. it grabs everything. 1t
begins with robbery and it ends with
1t despoils this faculty and
that faculty, and keeps on until the
whole nature is gone. Was the man
before, it generally thick
ems his tongue. Was he fine
IN personal appearance, it mars his
visage. Was he affiuent, it sends
the sheriff to sell him out. Was he in
duentiai, it destroys his popularity.
Was he placid, and genial. and loving.