Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-06-10
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun.
day Sermon.
Subject: "Icssons Learned From the
Story OF Ehud.''

| cried unto the Lord the Lord raised them up a
| deiirerer, Ehud, the son of Geyd, Benjanr
tie, a man left handed. Judges Ill, 49,
Ehud was a ruler in Israel. He was leA
| handed, and what was peculiar about the
| tribe of BENJAMIN, to which he belonged.
| there were in it 700 left handed men, and
! yet SO dexterous had they all become In the
use Of the left hand that the Bible says they
could sling stones at a hairs breadth and
| not miss.
Well, there was king OF the name oil
! Eglon who was an oppressor of Israel. He
| imposed upon them most outrageous tax.
| Ehud, the man OF whom I first spoke, had d
| divine commission to destroy that oppressor.
He came, pretending that he was going to
| pay the tax, and asked to see King Eglon. He
| was told he was in the summer house, the
| place to which the king retired when it was
too hot to SIT in the palace. This summer
house was place surrounded by flowers and
Trees and springing fountains and warbling
birds
Ehud entered the summer house and said
to King Eglon that he had secret erran1
with him. Immediately all the attendants
! were waved out of the royal presence. King
Egfon rises up to receive the messenger
Ehud, the left handed man, puts his left hand
| TO his right side, pulls out a dagger and
thrusts Eglen through until the halt went
In after the Blade. Egloh falls. Ehud comes
forth to blow a trumpet of recruit amid the
| mountains Of Ephraim, and great host is
marshaled, and proud Moab submits to the
conqueror, and Israel Is free. So, o Lord,
| let all Thy enemies perish So, o Lord, let
all Thy friends triumph,
learn first from this subject the power of
| left handed men. There are some men who
by physical organization have as much
strength in their left hand as in their rig
hand, but there is something in the writing
of this text which implies that Ehud had
fift,x ~ i Xxi L
| PEELED him to use the left. Oh, the power Of
| left handed men Genius is often self o5ser.
want. careful Of itself, not given to much toll,
burning incense TO its own ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
| while many man with no natural endow-
ments, actually defective in physical and
mental organization, has an earnsstnsss for
the right, patient industry an all consum-
ing perseverance which achieve marvels for
the Kingdom of Christ. Though left handed
as Ehud, they can strike down sin as great
and imperial as Eglon.
have seen men of wealth gathering about
them all theft treasures. snuffing at the cause
| of a world lying in wickedness. roughly
| ordering Lazarus off their doorstep, sending
their dogs, not TO lick his sores, but to hound
| him of their premises, catching all the pure
rain OF Gods blessing into the stagnant; ropy;
| frog-inhabited pool of their own selfshness
-rteht-handed men, worse than Useless
| while many man with large heart and little
1
! poverty leap for joy and started an influence
that oyerspans the grave and will swing
round and round the throne of God world
| without end, amen
| All, me, ii is high time that you left handed
men who have been longing for this gilt and
/ that eloduehce and the other mans wealth
/ should take your left hand out of your pock-
! ct. Who made all these railroads? Whoset
/ up all these cities? Who started all these
| churches and schools and asylims? Who
has done all the Juggling and running and
! pulling? Men Of no wonderful endowments,
thousands of them acknowledging themselves
to be left handed, and yet they were earnest,
and yet they were determined; and yet they
were triumphant.
! But do not suppose that Ehud the first
time he took sling in his hand could throw
stone hairs breadth and not miss. |
suppose it was practice that gave him the
wonderful dexterty. Go forth TO your
spheres OF duty and be not discouraged if in
your flrst attempts you miss the mark. Ehud
missed it. Take another stone, put it care
July into the sling, swing it around your
mead take better aim, and the next time you
will strike the center. The first time that
mason rings his trowel upon the brick he
does not expect to put up a perfect wall
Tho first time carpenter sends plane over
board or drives bit through beam he
does not expect to make perfect execution.
Inc first time boy attempts a rhyme he
does not expect to chime ''Lalla Rookh"
or Lady of the Lake" Do not be sur
prised if in your first efforts at doing good
you are not very largely successful. Under
stand that usefulness is an art, a science,
trade.
There was an oculist performing a very
difficult operation on the human eye.
young doctor stood by and said ''How easily
you do that. 1t doesn't seem to cause you
any trouble at all" ''Ah," said the old ocu-
Z lie IN,.+T Id 49,
full Of eyes to learn that" Be not surprised
If it takes some practice before we can help
men to moral eyesight and bring them to a
vision of the cross. Left handed men to the
work Take the gospel for sling and faith
and repentance for the smooth stone from
the brook, take sure aim, God direct the
weapon, and great Goliaths will tumble be-
fore you.
learn also from this subject the danger
of worldly elevation. This Eglon was what
the world called a great man. There were
hundreds of men who would have considered
1t the greatest honor of their life lust to have
him SPEAK to them. Yet, although he IS 81
high up in worldly position, he is not beyond
the reach of Ehud's dagger. 1 see a great
many people trying to climb up in social
position, having an idea that there is safe
place somewhere far above, rot knowing that
the mountain of fame has top like Mount
We laugh at the children of Shinar for try
ing to build tower that could reach to the
heavens, but 1 think if our eyesight were
only good enough we could see Babel in
many dooryard. Oh, the struggle is fierce
1t IS store against store, house against
house, street against street, Nation against
Nation. The goal for which men are run
ming is chairs and chandeliers and mirrors
and houses and lands and presidential equip
ments. If they get what they anticipate,
what have they got? Men are not safe from
calumny while they live, and, worse than
that, they are not safe after they are dead,
Tor have seen swine root up graveyards.
one day man goes up into publicity
and the world does him honor, and
people climb up into sycamore trees to
watch him as he passes, and as he
goes along on the shoulders of the people
there is waving of hats and wild huzza.
Tomorrow the same man is caught between
the Jaws OF the printing press and manglei
and bruised, and the very same persons who
npplauded him before cry. Down with the
traitor Down with him p
Belshazzar sits at the feast, the mighty men
OF Babylon sitting all around him Wit
sparkles like the Wine and the wine like the
wit Music rolls up among tho chandeliers
the chandeliers flash down on the decanters
| The breath Of hanging gardens floats in on
the night air i; the voice of reyelry floats out.
Amid wreaths and tapestry and folded ban
ners finger writes. The march of a host is
heard on the stairs. Laughter catches in the
throat. thousand hearts stop beating.
The blow is struck. The blood on the floor
is richer hued than the wine on the table.
The kingdom has departed.
Beshazzar was no worse perhaps than hun
dreds of people in Babylon, but his position
slew him. Oh, be content with just such
position as God has placed you in 1t may
not be said of us, He was a great general,
or HE was an honored chieftain," or HE
was mighty in worldly attachments" but this
thing may be said Of you and me, HE was a
good citizen, a faithful Christian. a friend of
Jesus" And that in the last day will be the
highest Of all eulogiums.
learn further from this subject that death
comes to the summer house Eglon did not
expect to die in that fine place. Amid all the
I flower leaves that drifted like snow into the
window in the tinkle and dash OF the foun-
tains in the sound of thousand leaves fiut-
tering on one tree branch in the cool breeze
that came up to shake feverish trouble out Of
the kings locks, there was nothing that spake
Of DEATH but there he died In the winter
when the snow is a shroud, and when the
wind is dirge. it is easy to think of our
mortality, but when the weather is pleasant
and all our surroundings are agreeable how
difficult 1t is for US to appreciate the truth
that we are mortal And yet my text teaches
that death does sometimes come to the sum
mer house
He is blind and cannot see the leaves He
Is deaf and cannot hear the fountains Oh,
II death would ask US for Victims we could
point him to hundreds of people who would
rejoice to have him come. Push back the