The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-08-09
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S sun
| DAY SERMON.
esSharpened Axes" preached at Mad
ison, Wis.,.


}deavors. gospel workers and their friend:
from all parts o. Wisconsin and America
saints and sinners My text is gloriouSly
appropriate What CALLING subjugatior
the Israelites were suffering The Philistines
had carried off all the blacksmiths and torn
dow all the blacksmiths' shops and abolished
the blacksmith's trade in the land of Israel.
! These Philistines had a particular grudge
against blacksmiths. although have always
admired them and have sometimes thought
4 ought to have been one myself The Phil
istines would not even allow these parties to
work their valuable mines OF brass and iron,
nor might they make any swords Or spears.
There were only two swords left in all the
land. Yea, these Philistines went on until
they had taken all the grindstones from the
dand Of Israel, so that If On Israelitish farmer
wanted to sharpen his plow or his ak he had
to 90 over to the garrison of the Philistines
TO get il done. There WAS only one sharpen
ing instrument left in the land. and that was
q lle. The farmers and the mechanics hav-
ing nothing to whet up the coulter, and the
9oad. and the pickax save n simple file. in
dustry was hindered and work practically
disgraced.
The great idea OF these Philistines was to
keep the Israelites disarmed. They might
get iron out ofthe hills to make swords or,
but they would not have any blacksmiths to
they would have no Srindstones on which to
bring the instruments of agriculture or the
military weapons up to an edge. Oh. you
door, weaponless Lsraelites. reduced to file.
how pity you! But these Philistines were
not forever to keep their heel on the neck OF
Gods children. Jonathan, on bis hands and
knees. climbs up great rock beyond which
were the Philistines. and his armor bearer.
on his hands and knees. climbs up the same
1rrrD tyifh
swords, hew to pieces the Phillstines, the
Lord throwing great terror upon them. SO
1t was then so 1t Is now. The two men OF
God on their knees mightier than Ph1l1stIne
host on their feet.
I learn first from this subject how danger
ous it Is for the church of God to allow Its
weapons to stay in the hands OF its enemies.
These Israelites might again and sgain
have obtained supply of swords and
took the spoils of the Ammonites, but
these Israeiites seemed content to have
no swords, no spears, no blacksmfths,
no grindstones. no active iron mines, until it
was too late for them to make any resistance.
see the farmers tuSging along with their
pickaxes and plows, and say, Where are
you going with those things?" They say,
"Oh. we are going over to the garrison OF
the Philistines to get these things sharp
0n0Q. say, LOU lOOiloh mou WY uoA
you sharpen them at homer oh" they
say, :'the blacksmiths' shops are all torn
down, and we have nothing left US but a
file"
So it is in the church of Christ to-day. We
are too willing to give up our weapons to tho
enemy. The world boasts that 1t has COB
bled up the schools, and the colleges, and
the arts, and the sciences, and the literature,
and the printing press. Infdelity Is making
q 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
a while, when the great battle between sin
and righteousness has opened, IL we do not
look out we will be as badly of as these Is
raelites, without any swords to fight with
and without any sharpened instruments.
Il call upon the superintendents OF literary
institutions to see to 1t that the men who 90
into the classrooms to stand beside the Ley
den 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 Chris
tians to capture the scholarship, and philoso-
phic Christians to capture the philosophy,
and lecturing Christians TO take back the
lecturing platform.
We want to send out against Scheakel
and Strauss and Renan Of the past men like
the late Theodore Christlieb OF Bonn. and
against the infldel scientists God worship
ING Silliman and Hitchcock and Agassiz.
We want to capture ell 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
mineralogical 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 clergy learned enough to dis
course of the human eye, showing it to be
microscope and telescope in one instrument,
with 800 wonderful contrivances and lids
closing $4,000 or 40, 900 times day, all its
muscles and nerves and bones 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, It's wonderful integuments, membranes
and vibration. and its chain Of small bones,
and its auditory nerves, closing with the
question, she that planted the ear, shall He
not hear?'
And we want some one able to expound
the first chapter Of Genesis, bringing to it
the geology and the astronomy OF the world.
until, rs Job suggested. "the stones OF the
ssthe stars in their courses shall fight against
sisera." Oh, church of God. go out and re-
capture these weapons. Let men OF God go
out and take possession Of the platform. Let
all the printing press OF this country speak
out for Christ, and the reporters, and the
fypesetters, and tho editors and publishers
swear allegiance 20 the Lord God Of truth.
Alb, my friend, that day must come, and IL
the great body Of Christian men have notthe
faith. or the courage, or the conservation to
do it, then let some Jonathan 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
literary Philistines. II these men will
not be converted to God, then they must be
destroyed.
Again, I learn from this subject what a
large amount Of the church's resources Is
actually hidden and buried and undeyeloped.
The Bible intimates that that was very
rich land-this land of Israel. II says,
"The stones are iron, and out Of the 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 diff
Guilty with the church Of God at this day. Its
talent is not developed. II one-half OF Its
energy could be brought out it might take
the public iniquities OF tho day by the throat
and make them bite tho dust II human
eloquence were consecrated to tne Lord
Jesus Christ, it could in a few years persuade
this whole earth to surrender to God.
There is enough undeyeloped Christian
energy in the United States to bring the
whole world to Christ, but it is buried un-
der strata of Indifference and under whole
mountains Of sloth. Now. lis 1t not time for
the mining to begin, and the pickaxes to
plunge. and for this buried metal to be
hro,,pht ont md 'nut info the f,irnaces and
be turned into howitzers and carbines for
the Lords host? The vast majority oil
Christians in this day are useless. The
xac,rt oft tho L nrl,c lattnlinn hnlnny q III.