Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1893-07-29

Let all tine prin..ing press of this coun-
try speak out for Christ, and the report
ers, and the typesotters, end the editors
and publishers swear allegiance to the
Lord God of truth.
All, my friend, that day must come,
and if tho great body Of Christian men
have not the fnith, or the courage, or the
conservation to do it, then Let some JON
athan on his busy hands and on his
praying knees climb up on the rock of
hindrance, and in the name of the Lord
God of Israel slash to pieces those liter
ary Philistines. If these men will not
be converted to God, then they must be
destroyed.
MORE CHRISTIAN ENERGY NEEDED.
Again, learn from this subject what
o large amount of the church's resources
is actually hidden and buried and I'M
developed. The Bible intimates that
that was q very rich land-this land of
Israel. It says, 1.-THE stones are iron, and
out of tho hills~thou shalt dig brass, "
and yet hundreds of thousands of dollars
worth of this metal was kept under the
hills. Well, that is the difficulty with
the church Of God at this day. Its tai
emit 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.
Thurman cloquence were consecrated to
the Lord Jesus Christ, it could in few
years persuade this whole earth to sur.
render 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 il
not time for the mining to begin, and
the pickaxcs to plunge, and for this bur-
led metal to be brought out and putlntc
the furnaces and be turned into how.
itzers and carbines for the Lords hosti
The vast minority of Christians IN this
day are useless. The most of the Lords
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 1t not time for the church OF
God to rouse up and understand that we
want all the energies, all the talents and
all the wealth enlisted for Christ's sakei
like the nickname that the English SOL
diers gave to Butcher, the commander.
They called him "Old Forwards" We
have had enough retreats in the church
of Christ; let us have o glorious adj
vance. And / sey to you now as the
general said when his troops were af-
frighted. Rising up in.his stirrups, his
hair flying in the wind, he lifted his
voice until 20 900 troops heard him, cry.
ing out, forward, the whole Incl"
THE LoGICIANs OF THE CHURCH.
Again, 1 learn from this subject that
we sometimes do well to take advantage
of the worlds sharpening instruments.
These Israelites were reduced to q file,
and.so they went over to the garrison Of
the Philistines to gettheir 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 use their gTindstones. My
friends, is it not right for us to employ
the worlds grihdstones2 If there lbe art,
ifsthcre be,logic, if there be business fac.
Esul on e;otbers sid G lesJls go yer,asnd
employ It. for Christ's sake: IS
The fact is We fight with too dull
weapons, and.we work with too dull i'm
plements. We hack and we maui when
we ought to mako clean stroke. Let
us 90 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 en-
ploy the worlds grindstones. We will
listen to their music, and we will watch
their acunen, and we will use their
erindstones, and we will borrow their
philosophical apparatus to make our ex-
.periments, 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
missionaries.
That was what made Paul such mas
ter in his day. He not only got all the
learning he could get of DR.. 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 mythology until Dionysius, the
Areopagite, learned in the schools of
Athens and Heliopois, 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 of God shouted for joy. That was
what gave to Jonathan Edwards his in
fuence in his day. He conquered the
worlds metaphysics and forced it into
the service Of God, until not only the
old meeting house in Northampton,
Mass, but all Christendom, felt thrilled
by his Christian power.
Well, now, my friends, we oil have
tools of Christian usefulness. Do notlet
them lose their edges. We want no rusty
blades in this fight. We want no Golfer
that cannot rip up the glebe. We want
no az that cannot fell the trees. We
want no goad that cannot start the lazy
team. Let us get the very best grind
stones we can find, though they be in the
possession of the Philistines, compelling
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 q
bright, keen, sharp. glittering edge.
Again, my subject teaches us On what
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