Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1895-10-11
REV. DR. TALMAGE
The Eminent New York Divine's Sun
day Sermon.
Subject: "GideOn's Battle with tn,
Midianites.''

held the lamps in their left hands and tn
trumpets in their right hands to blow withal
And they stood every man in his plac
round about the camp. and all the host RAJ
and cried and fed. Judges vii, 20, 81.
That is the strangest battle ever fought.
God had told Gideon to go down and THRASH
the Midianites. but his army is too large. fo
the glory must be given TO God and not t.
man. And so proclamation is made that al
those OF the troops who ara cowardly and
| want to 90 home may 90, and $4,000 oil
them scampered away, leaving only 10,OOt
| men. But God says the army is toe
large yet, and so he orders these 10000
| remaining to march down through q
| stream and command Gideon to notice in
| what manner these men drink Of the water
as they pass through II. If they get down
on all fours and drink, then they are to be
pronounced lazy and incompetent for the
campaign, but if, in passing through the
stream, they scoop up the water in the palm
Of their hand and drink AMI pass on they are
to be the men selected for the battle.
Well, the 10000 men marched down in the
stream. and the most of them come down on
all tours and plunge their mouths like horse
or an OK into the water and drink, but there
are 800 men who, instead of stopping. Just
din the palm Of their hands in the water and
bring it 10 their lips, "laDping it as dog
lappeth." Those 300 brisk, rapid. en-
thusiastic men are chosen for the
campaign. They are each to take a trumpet
in the right hand, and pitcher in the left
hand, and a lamp inside the pitcher. aud
then at given signal they are to blow the
trumpets. and throw down the pitchers, and
hold up the lamps. So it was done.
1t is night. see great host of Mdianites
sound asleep in the valley of Jezreel. Gid
xr,ifl &c
when everything is ready the signal is given
and they blow the trumpets. and they throw
down the pitchers. and hold up the lamps.
and the great host of Midiantes waking out
of a sound sleep, take thu crash of the
crockery and the glare Of the lamps for the
coming on OF an overwhelming foe. and they
run and cut thems elves tc pieces and horri-
bly, perish.
The lessons of this subject are very spir-
tied and impressive. This seemingly value.
less lump IF quartz has the pure gold in it,
The smallest dewdrop on the meadow at
night has star sleeping in its bosom. and
the most insignificant passage o. Scripture
has in it a shining truth. Gods mint coins
no small change.
learn in the first place from this subject
the lawfuness of Christian strategem. You
know very we'll that thu greatest victories
ever gained by Washington OF Napoleon
were gained through the fact that they came
when and in a way they were not expected
sometimes falling back to draw out the foe.
sometimes breaking out from ambush. some.
times crossing Il river on unheard of RATS,
all the time keeping the opposing forces in
wonderment as to what would be done next.
You all know what strategy is in military
affairs. Now think it is high time we had
this art sanctifed and spiritualized. In the
church, when we are about to make Chris
tian assault, we send word to the opposing
force when we expect to come, how manv
troops we have, and how many rounds OF
shot, and whether we will come with artil-
lery, infantry or cavalry, and of course
we are defeated. There are thousands OF
men who might be surprised into the king
dom Of God. We need more tact and ingen-
uity in Christian work. 1t is in spiritual
affairs as in military, that success depends |
in attacking that part of the castle which is
not armed and intrenched.
For instance. here is a man all armed on |
the doctrine Of election. All his troops of |
and prejudice are at that particu-
lar gate. You may batter away at that side |
Of the castle for fifty years. and you will not |
take it, but just wheel your troops to theside |
gate of the hearts affections, and in five
minutes you capture him. never knew
man to be saved through brilliant ar
sumet. You cannot hook men into the
kingdom of God by the horns of dilemma.
There is no grace in syllogisms. Here is
nan armed on abe subject of perseverance
If the saints. He does not believe in it.
Attack him at that point. aud he will perss-
1ere to the very last in not be-
ievlng it. Here is man armed
IN the subject of baptism. He believes
n sprinkling or immersion. All your dis
usslon OF ecclesiastical hydropathy will not
mango him. l remember when was boy
hat with other boys went into the river on
summer day to battle, and we use1 to dash
vater on each other, but never got any re-
ult except that our eyes were blinded, and
ii this splashing of water between Baptists
nd Pedobaptists never results in anything
ut the blurrlng of the spiritual eyesight. In
Their words. you can never capture a mans
oul at the point at which he is especially
ltrenched. But there is in every mans
cart bolt that can be easily showed A
tile child four years old may touch that
olt, and it will spring back. and the door
ill swing open, and Christ will come in.
think that the finest of all the fine arts is
le art Of doing good, and yet this ART is the
asst cultured. We have in the kingdom of
cd to-day enough troops to conquer the
hole earth for Christ if we only had skillful
an9uvering. Would rather have the 800
mps and pitchers of Christian strategem
ian 10000 drawn swords of literary AMI
ecclesiastical combat.
learn from this subject also that a small
irt Of the army OF God will have to do all
e hard fighting. Gideon's army was origin
ly composed of $4,000 men. but they went
I until there were only 10. 0O0 left, and that
as substracted from until there were only
0. 1t is the same in all ages of the Chris
IN church A few men have to do the hard
,htng. Take membership of 1000, and
u generally find that fifty people do the
)rk. Take membership of 500, and you
nerally find that ten people do the work.
Iere are scores of churches where two or
rec people do the work. !
We mourn that there is so much useless {
nber in the mountains of Lebanon. I I
nix Of the 100000 membership of the +
ristian church to-day if 5000, 900 OF the {
mes were off the books the church would $
stronger. You know that the more J
wards and drones there are in any army f
weaker it is. would rather have the
picked men Of Gideon than the $4,000 c
sfted host. The many Christians there are J
nding i'll the way of all progress! think '
S the duty Of the church of God to ride d
n them, and the quicker it does it this
cker it does its duty. t
10 not worry, o Christian, if you have to y
more than your share of the work. You y
better thank God that He has called you \
% one OF the picked men rather than to n
Ong to the host of stragglers. Would not =
rather be one of the 300 that fight than
$4,000 that run? l suppose those cow a
ly Gideonites who went off congratu- 81
I'd themselves. They said: 1--WE got rid G.
all that fighting, did not we? How Il
KY We nave been! That baltic costs 70
nothing at ALL" But they got mono tn
he spoils of the victory After the battle be
800 men went down aud took the wealth de
he Midianites, and out of the Guns and m
tiers OF Their enemies they feasted. And ST
time will come. nv dear brethren. tn