The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1894-06-07
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
The Subject: "Recovered Families"
preached at Little Rock, Ark.).

| TEXT. "Then David and the people tina
| were with him lifted up their voice and wep
| until they had no more power to weep.
David recovered all Il Samuel Xxx.
4, 10.
| There is intense excitement in the villag
| OF Zikla9 David and his men are biddin.
goodby to their families and are off for the
wars. In that little village of Ziklag the de
fenseless ones will be safe until the warriors
flushed with victory, come home. But viii
the defenseless ones be safe? The soft arms
of children are around the necks of the
bronze warriors until they shake themselve:
free and start, and handkerchiefs and flag:
are waved and kisses thrown until the armed
men vanish beyond the hills. David and his
men soon get through with their campaign
and start homeward Every night on then
way home no sooner does the soldier put his
head ON the knapsack than in his dream he
hears the welcome Of the wife and the shout
the child.
Oh, what long stories they will have to tell
their families of how they lodged the bat
tleax, and then will roll up their sleeve and
show the half healed wound. With glad,
quick step, they march on, David and his
men, for they are marching home. Now they
come up to the last hill which overlooks Xix
lag, and they expect in a moment to see the
dwelling places of their loved ones. They
look, and as they look their cheek turns pale,
and their lip quivers, and their hand invol-
unfairly comes down on the hilt of the
sword. "Where is Zklag? Where are our
homes2" they cry. Alas. the curling smoke
above the ruin tells the tragedy,
The Amalekites have come down and con
sumed the village and carried the mothers.
and the wives, and the children OF David and
his men into captivity. The swarthy war
riors stand fora few moments transfixed with
horror. Then their eyes glance to each
other, and they burst into uncomfortable
weeping, for when a strong warrior weeps
the grief is appalling. 1t seems as If the
emotion might tear him to pieces. They
"wept untilthey had no more power to weep,
But soon their sorrow turns into rage, and
David, swinging his sword high in air, cries,
pursue, for thou shalt overtake them, and
without fail recover all" Now the march
becomes ''double quick" Two hundred of
David's men stop by the brook Besor, faint
with fatigue and grief. They cannot go a
step farther. They are left there. But the
other 400 men under David, with q sort of
panther step, march on in sorrow and in
rage. They find by the side of the road half
dead Egyptian, and they resuscitate him and
compel him to tell the whole story. He says,
''Yonder they went, the captors and the cap
tives, pointing in the direction. Forward,
ye 400 brave men of fire
Very soon David and his enraged company
come upon the Amalekitish host. Yonder
they see their own wives and children and
mothers, and under Amalekitish guard. Here
are the officers OF the Amalekitish army hold
ing banquet. The cups are full the music
is reused. the dance begins. The Amalekit-
ish host cheer and cheer and cheer over their
victory. But, without note of bugle or warn
ing of trumpet, David and his 400 men burst
upon the scene. David and his men look up.
and one glance at their loved ones in captiv-
ity and under Amalekitish guard throws
them into very fury of determination, for
you know how men will fight when they fight
for their wives and children. All, there are
ightnings in their eye, and every finger is a
spear, and their voice is like the shout OF the
whirlwind! Amid the upset tankards and
the costly viands crushed underfoot. the
wounded Amalekites lie, their blood min
Cling with their wine, shrieking for
mercy. No sooner do David and his men
win the victory than they throw their swords
down into the dust-what do they want with
swords now?-and the broken families come
together amid a great shout of Joy that
makes the parting scene in Ziklag seem very
insipid in the comparison. The rough old
warrior has to use some persuasion before
he can get his child to come to him now
after so long an absence, but soon the little
finger traces the familiar wrinkle across the
Scared face. And then the empty tankards
are set up and they are filled with the best
wine from the hills, and David and his men,
the husbands, the wives. the brothers, the
sisters, drink to the overthrow OF the
Amalekites and TO the rebuilding OF Ziklag.
So. o Lord, let Thine enemies perish
Now they are coming home, David and
his men and their families-a long pro-
cession. Men, women and children, loaded
with jewels and robes and with all kinds of
trophies that the Amalekites had gathered
up in years of conquest-everything now in
the hands of David and his men. When
they come by the brook Besor, the place
where staid the men sick and incompetent
to travel, the jewels and the robes and all
kinds of treasures are divided among the
sick as we'll as among the well. Surely the
lame and exhausted ought to have some of
the treasures. Here IL a robe for a pale
faced warrior. Here is pillow for this
dying man. Here is a handful of gold fer
the wasted trumpeter. / really think that
these men who tainted by the brook Besor
may have endured as much as those men
who went into the battle Some mean fell
lows objected to the sick ones having any OF
the spois. The object)rs said, "These men
did not fight" David with magnanimous
heart, replies, las his part is that goeth
down to the battle so shall his part be that
tarrieth by the stcf."
Thissubjectis practically suggestive to me.
Thank God, in these times man can go of
on journey and be gone weeks and months
and come back and see his house untouched
of incendiary and have his family on the
step to greet him if by telegram he has fore
told the moment of his coming. But there
are Amalektish disasters. there are Amale-
kitish diseases that sometimes comes down
upon ones home, making as devastating
work as the day when Ziklag took fire.
There are families you represent broken up.
No battering. ram smote in the door, no
iconoclast crumbled the statues, no fame
leaped amid the curtains, but SO far as all
the Joy and merriment that once belonged
to that house are concerned the homo has
departed.
Armed diseases came down upon the qui-
etness OF the scene-scariet fevers or pleu-
rsies or consumptions or underlined disor-
ders came and seized upon some members
OF that family and carried them away. Xix
lag in ashes And you go about, sometimes
weeping and sometimes enraged, wanting to
get back your loved ones as much as Davit
and his men wanted to reconstruct theil
despoiled households. Ziklag in ashes
Some of you went off from home. Yor
counted the days of your absence. Ever,
day seemed as long as a week. Oh, how
glad you were when the time came for you
- -