Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1895-11-09

THE UNAPPRECIATED
REV. DR.. TALMAGE SPEAKS IN De-
HALF OF HUMBLE EFFORTS.


REV DR.. TALMAGE SPEAKS IN De-
HALF OF HUMBLE EFFORTS.
A Sermon Showing That God Rewards Ac-
coriing to Effort and Not According to
Opportunity-The Disabled In Life's Bat
tles-Inconspicuous Spheres.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 3.-Dr. Talmagc to-
day preached his second sermon since COM
ing To the national capital. II possible the
audience was even larger than last sun
day The subject was "Thc Disabled" "
the text selected being / Samuel XXX, 81,
"As his part is that gocih town to rho
battle so shall his part be that tarricth by
the stuff" j"
II You have never seen an army change
quarters, you have no idea of the amount
Of baggagc-20 loads, 80 loads, 100 loads
of baggage. David and his army wcrc
about to start ON u double quick march for
the recovery Of their captured families
from the Amalckitcs. So they left by the
brook Bcsor their blankets, their KNAPP
sacks. their baggage and their carriages.
Who shall be detailed TO watch this stuff?
diers, and aged soldiers who are not able
TO go on swift military expeditions but
who are able To do some work, and so they
are detailed To watch the baggage There
Is many soldier who is not strong enough
to march 30 miles In day and then
plunge into u ten hours fight who is able
with drawn sword lifted against his shoul-
der To pace up and down as sentinel to
keep off an enemy who might put the torch
to the baggage There are 200 of those
| crippled and aged and wounded soldiers
detailed TO watch the baggage. Some Of
them, / suppose, had handages across the
brow, and some of them had their arms in
sling, and some of them walked on
crutchcs. They Were not towards shirk-
ing duty. They had fought in many a
| fierce battle for their country and their
God They are now part of the time in
hospital and part of the time on garrison
duty. They almost cry because they can
not go with the other troops TO the front.
| While these scntincls watch the baggage
the Lord watches the scntincls.
How Battles Have Been Lost.
There is quite a different scene being
enacted in the distance. The Amalekitcs,
having ravagcd and ransackcd and robbed
whole countries, are celebrating their sue
cess In n roaring carousal. Some of them
are dancing on the lawn with wonderful
gyration of heel and toe. and somo OF them
are examining the spoils of yictory-the
finger rings and earrings, the necklaces.
the wriStlets, the hcadbands. diamond
starred, and the Golfers with coronets and
carneianS and pearls and sapphires and
emeralds and all the wealth of plate and
| jewels and dccantcrs, and the silver, and
the gold banked upon the earth in prince
ly profusion, and the embroidcrics and
the robes, and the tmbans. and the cloaks
of an imperial wardrobe The banquet
has gone on until the banquctcrs are
maudlin and weak and stupid and indie
cent and loathsomcly drunk. What
time 1t Is now for David and his men to
swoop on them! So the English lost tho
battle of Bannockburn, because the night
before they were In wassail and bibulous
celebration while the Scotch were in pray
er. So the Syrians were overihrown in
their carousal b. tho Israelites SO Che
dorlaomer and his army We're oyerthrown
in their carousal by Abraham and his
men. So in our civil war more than once
the battle was lost because one of the gen
erals was drunk. Now is the time for
David and his men to swoop upon these
caruusing Amalekitcs. Some of the
Amalekitos are hacked to pieces on the
spot, some of them are just able TO go
staggering and hiccoughing off the field,
some Of them crawl on camels and speed
off in the distance. David and his men
gather together the wardrohcs the Jewels,
and put them upon the back of camcls and
into wagons and they gather together the
sheep and cattle that had been stolen and
start back toward the garrison. Yondcr
they comel Yondcr they comel The limp
ing men of the garrison come out and
| greet them with wild huzza. The Bible
says David salutcd thcm-that is, he asked
them how they all We're. How is your
broken arm:' ''How is your fractured
jaw?' "HaS tho stiffcncd limb been I'M
limbercd?" Have you had another chilli"
"Aro you getting bctter:" He saluted
them.
Garrison Duty.
But now came very difficult thing. tho
distribution OF the spoils of victory. Drive
up those laden camcls now. Who shall
have the spoils? Well, some selfish soul
suggests that these treasures ought all TO
belong To those who had been out in active
service. "wc did all the fighting willie
these men staid at home in the garrison,
and we ought to have all the treasures"
| But David looked into the worn faces Of
| these veterans who had staid in the garri-
| son and he looked round and saw how
cleanly everything had been kept, and he
saw that the baggage was all safe, and he
knew that these wounded and crippled
men would gladly enough have been ut
| the front IL they had been able, and the
| little general looks up from under his he'll
met and says: No, no, let us have fair
| play" and hc rushcs up to one of these
men and he says, Hold your hands to-
gcther," and tho hands are held together,
and he fills them with silver. And he
rushcs up To another man who was sitting
away back and had no idea of getting any
of the spoils and throws u Babylonish gar
mcnt over him and fills his hand with
gold. And hc rushcs up To another man
who had lost all his property in serving
God and his country years before, and he
drives up some of the cattle and some of
the sheep that they had brought back
from the Amalekites and he gives two or
three of the cattle and three or four of the
sheep to this poor man, So he shall always
be fed and clothed. He sees u man so
emaciatcd and worn out and sick he needs
stimulantS and he gives him "a little of tho
wine that he brought from the Amalcll-
ties. Yondcr is n man who has no appc-
he gives him rare morsel from the Am
alekitish banquet, and the 200 crippled and
manned and aged soldiers who tarricd on
garrison dutI get just as much of the
| spoils Gf battle as any OF the goo men that
went 10 the front. 'As his part is that
gocth down to the battle. So shall his part
be- that tarricth by the stuff
The impression is abroad that the Chris
tian rewards are Tor those who do conspic-
uous service in distinguished placcs-grcat
patriots. great preachers, great phian-
thrnpiSts. But my text SITS forth the idea
that there is just rs much reward for a
man that stays at home and minds his
| own business and who, crippled and una
BILE To go forth and lead in great move
mcnts and III the high places OF the earth,
does his whn.c duty just where he is. Gar
rison duty as important and rs rcmuncr;l-
tive as service at the front. '-is his part
Is that .octi. down to the battle, so shall
his part he tiat t:.rricth by the stuff.