The Globe-republican., 1893-07-28
Again. learn from this subject

resources is actually hidden. and bur
| led, and undeveloped. The Bible inti-
mates that that was very rich land
! this land of Israel 1t says: 1.-The
stones are iron. and out of the hills
| thou shalt dig brass" and yet hum
dreds of thousands OF dollars worth of
this metal was kept under the hills.
Well. that is the difficulty of the church
of God at this day. Its talent is not
developed. If one-half OF its energy
could be brought out it might take the
public iniquities of the day by the
throat and make them bite the dust.
If human eloquence were consecrated
| to the Lord Jesus Christ it could in a
few V ears pursuade this whole earth to
! surrender to God. There is enough un-
ted States to bring the whole world to
Christ: but it is buried under strata of
! Indifference and under whole mount
aims of sloth. Now, is it not time for
the mining to begin, and the pick-axes
to plunge, and for this buried metal to
be brought out and put into the fur
naces, 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 S
battalion belong to the reserve corps.
The most of the crew are asleep in the
| hammocks. The most of the metal is
under the hills. Oh, is it not time for
| the church of God to rouse up and un-
| derstand that we want all the energies,
all the talent, and all the wealth en-
| listed for Cnrist's sake?
Again l learn from this subject. that
we sometimes do well to take advan-
tage of the worlds sharpening instru-
| ments. These Israelites were reduced
to 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 lsraelites did right
when they went over to the PhiliS-
tines to use their grindstones. My
| friends, is it not right for US to employ
the worlds grindstones? If there be
| art, if there be logic, if there be busi-
| ness 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 a
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 tbo,- hara nd W.
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 grindstones, and
we will borrow their philosophical ap-
paratus to make our experiments, and
we will borrow their printing-presses
to publish our Bibles, and we will bor-
row their rail trains to carry our Chris
tian literature, and we will borrow
their ships to transport our mission
aries. That was what made Paul
such a master in his day. He not
only got all the learning he could
get of DIR. Gamaliel, but afterward.
standing on Mars Hill, and in crowded
thoroughfare, quoted their poetry and
grasped their logic, and welded their
eloquence and employed their mythol-
ogy, until DionysiuS, the AreOpagite,
learned in the schools of Athens, and
Heliopolis, went down under his tre-
mendous powers That was what gave
Thomas Chalmers his power in his day.
He conquered the worlds astronomy
and compelled it to ring out the wis
dom and greatness of the Lord, until.
for the second time, the morning stars
sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted for joy. That was what gave
to Jonathan Edwards his influence in
his day. He conquered the worlds
metaphysics and forced it into the
servis, of God. until not only the old
meeting house in Northampton. Mass,
Christian power.
Again, my subject teaches us on what
small allowance Philistine iniquity
puts a man. Yes, these Philistines
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 every
thing but a file. Oh, that is the way
sin works, it grabs everything. 1t be-
gins with robbery and it ends with
robbtry. 1t despoils this faculty and
that faculty, and keeps on until the
whole nature is gone. Was the man
eloquent before, it generally thickens
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 influential, it de-
stroys his popularity. Was he placid,
and genial, and loving, it makes him
splenetic and cross Philistine iniquity
saws to that man: Now. surrender
to me, and 1 will give you
all you want-music for the dance
swift steads for the race, imperial
couch to slumber on, and You shall be
refreshed with the rarest fruits, in
baskets of golden filagree." He lies
The music turns out to be a groan. The
fruits burst the rind with rank poison!
The filagree is made up of twisted
snakes The couch is a grave. Small
allowance Of peace. small allowance of
comfort Cold, hard. rough-nothing