The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1895-12-12
TALMAGE,S SERMON

II. .rH
The American congress is assemb-
ling. Arriving or already arrived are
the representatives Of all sections OF
this beloved land. Let us welcome
them with prayers and benedictlons.
A nobler group of men never entered
Washington than those who will to-.
morrow take their places In the Sen
ate chamber and the House of Repre-
gentatives. Whether they come alone,
or leave their families at the home
stead far away, may the blessing OF
the Eternal God be upon them! We
invite them to our churches, and to-
gether, they in political spheres and
we in religious circles, will give the
coming months to consideration OF
the best interests CT this country
which God has blessed so much In
the past that propose to show you
and show them so far as l may now
reach their ear, or tomorrow their eye
through the printing press, that God
will be with them to- help them as
in the text he filled the mountains
with help for Elisha.
AS it cost England many regiments
and 100000 year to- keep safely
troublesome captive at st. Helena,
so the King of Syria sends out whole
army to capture one minister OF re-
ligion-perhaps $4,000 men-to take
Elisha. During the night the army
of Syrians came around the village
of Dothan where the prophet was
staying At early daybreak the man
servant of Elisha rushed in and said:
"What shall we do?' There is
whole army come to destroy you! We
must die! we must die!' But Elisha
was not scared bit, for he looked up
and saw the mountains all around
full of supernatural forces. and he
knew that if there were $4,000 Syrl-
ans against him there We're 100000
angels for him; and in answer to- the
prophets prayer in behalf of his at
frightee man servant, the young man
saw it, too. Horses of fire harnessed
to chariots of fire. and drivers of fire
pulling reins of fire on bits of fire,
and warriors of fire with brandished
swords Of fire, and the brllllance OF
that morning sunrise was eclipsed by
the galloping splendors of the celes-
tial cavalcade "And the Lord opened
the eyes of the young man; and he
saw: and, behold, the mountain was
full of horses and chariOts of fire
round about Elisha.' I speak Of the
upper forces Of the text that are to
fight on our side as a nation. If all
the low levels are filled with armed
threats, I have to tell you that the
mountains of our hope and courage
and faith are full Of the horses and
chariOtS Of Divine rescue
You will notice that the Divine equi-
page is always represented as char
lot of fire. Ezekial and Isaiah and
John, when they come to describe
the Divine equipage always represent
it as a wheeled, harnessed, all up
holstered conaagration. It is not
chariot like kings and conquerers of
earth mount, but an organized and
compressed fire. That means purity,
justice. chastisement, deliverance
through burning escapes. Chariot Of
rescue? Yes, but chariot Of fire,
All our national observation-disclosures have
been through scorching agonies and
red disasters. Through tribulation the
individual rises. Through tribulation
nations rise. Chariots of rescue. but
chariots of fire. But how do I know
that the Divine equipage is on the side
of our institutions? I know it by the
history of the last one hundred and
nineteen years. The American revo-
luton started from the pen of John
Hancock in Independence hall in
1776. The colonies, without ships with
out ammunition, without gubs. with
out trained warriors, without money,
without prestige. On the other side,
the mightiest nation Of the earth, the
largest armies, Ii" grandest navies,
and the most distinguished command
ers and resources inexhaustible, and
nearly all the nations ready to back
them up in the fight. Nothing, as
against immensely.
The cause of the American colonies,
which started at zero, dropped still
lower through the quarreling of Cen
erals, and through the jealousies at
small successes, and through the win
tiers which surpassed all predecessors
in depth Of snow and horrors Of con-
gealment. Elisha surrounded by the
whole Syrian army did not seem to
be worse off than did the thirteen
colonies encOmpasSed and Overshad-
owed by foreign assault What de-
cided the contest in our favor? The
upper forces, the upper armies. The
Green and White mountains of New
England, the Highlands along the
Hudson, the mountains of Virginia,
all the Appalachian ranges were full
Of re-enforcements which the young
man Washington saw by faith; and
his men endured the frozen feet, the
gangrened wounds, and the exhaust
ing hunger, and the long march, be-
cause "the Lord opened the eyes Of
the young man; and he saw: and, be-
hold, the mountains were full Of
horses and chariots Of fire round about
Elisha" Washington himself was a
miracle. What Joshua was in sacred
history, the first American president
was in secular history. A thousand
other men excelled him in different
things, but he excelled them all in
roundness and completeness Of char
acter.' The world never saw his like.
and probably never will see his like
again, because there probably never
will be another such exigency. He
was let down a Divine interposition.
He was from God direct. ..
I do not know how many can read
the history of those times without
admitting the contest was decided by