The Globe-republican., 1893-07-28
CHRISTIAN WEAPONS.
Dr.. Telmage DiscOurses on Their
Use in the Enemy's Hands.
Lessons from the Subjugation Of the Israel
ites-Undeveloped Resources of the
Church-Sin's Promises Al
ways Broken.

In a late sermon preached before
Monona Lake Chautauqua assembly,
held near Madison. Wis, Rev. L. De-
Witt Talmage took for his subject,
'Sharpened Axes" the text being l.
Samuel. xiii. 1921: Now there was no
Israel" etc He said:
My loving and glad salutation to this
uncounted host of Chautauquans, Chris
tlan Endeavorers, Gospel workers and
their friends from all parts of Wiscon-
sin and America. saints and sinners.
My text is gloriously appropriate What
scalding subjugation the Israelites
were suffering. The Philistines had
carried off all the blacksmiths, and torn
down all the blachsmiths' shops. and
abolished the blacksmith's trade in the
land of pIsrael. They had particu-
lar grudge against blacksmiths The
Philistines would not even allow these
parties to work their val,la ble mines of
brass and iron. nor might they make
any swords or spears There We're only
two swords left in all the land. Yea,
these PhiliStineS went on until they
had taken all the grindst3nes from the
land of Israel. SO that if an Israeiitish
farmer wanted to sharpen his plow or
his AK. he had to go over to the gar
rison of the Philistines to get il done.
There was on Y one sharpening instru-
ment left in the land. and that was
file. The farmers and the mechanics
having nothing to whet up the coulter.
and the gOad, and the picllax, save a
simple file, industry was hindered, and
work practically disgraced. The
great idea of these Philistines
was to keep the Israelites dis
the hills to make swords of. but
they would not have any blacksmiths
to weld this iron. If they got the iron
welded. they would have no grind
stones on which to bring the instru-
meIts of agriculture or the military
weapons up to the edge But these
PhilistineS We're not forever to keep
their heel on the neck of Gods chill
dren. Jonathan, on his hands and knees,
climbs up great rock. behind which
We're the Philistines and his armor-
o4I Ills lldutlS anu
up the same rock, and these two men,
with their two swords, hew to pieces
the Philistines, the Lord throwing a
great terror upon them. So it was
then: SO it is now. The two men of God
on their knees mightier than Philis-
tine host on their feet.
/ learn first from this subject how
dangerous it is for the church of God
to allow its weapons to stay in the
hands of its enemies. These Israelites
might again and again have obtained
supply of swords and weapons as for
instance when they took the spoils OF
the AmmoniteS: but these Israelites
seemed content to have no swords. no
spears, no blacksmiths, no grindstones,
no active iron mines, until it was too
late for them to make any resistance.
So it is in the church of Christ to-
day. We are too willing to give up our
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
literature. and the printing press.
Infidelity is making 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 out we
will be as badly off as these lsraelites,
without any swords to fight with, and
without any sharpening instruments
l call upon the superintendents of lit
erary institutions to see to it that the
men who go into the class rooms to
stand beside the Leyden 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
lectual weapons of this century in their
own grasp. What we want is scientific
Christians to capture the science, and
scholastic Christians to capture the
scholarship. and philosophic Christians
to capture the philosophy. and lectur-
ing Christians to take back the lectur-
ing platform.
We want to send out against Schen-
kel and Strauss and Renan of the past,
men like the late Theodore Christlieb.
of Bonn: and against the infidel scient
lists. God-worshiping 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 meteorological hammer discover
the Rock of Ages, and amid the fora
of the realms find the Rose of Sharon
and the Lily of the Valley" We want
a clergy learned enough to discourse of
the human eye, showing it to be a mic
ros0ope and telescope in one instru- |
ment, with 500 wonderful contrivances,
and lids closing 1000 or 10. 900 times a |
day: all its muscles and nerves and
bodies showing the infinite skill of an
infinite God. and then winding up with |
the peroration: He that formed the
eye, shall he not see?" And then
we want to discourse about the human |
ear, its wonderful integuments, mem
branes and vibration. and its chain of |
small bones, and the auditory nerves,
closing with the question: ''He that |