The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1895-11-23

=
fighting. Take membership OF =
thousand, and you generally ind that
fifty people do the work. Take a mem
bership of five hundred, and you gem
erallv find that ten people do the
work. There are scores OF churches
where two or three people do the
work.
less lumber in the mountains OF Leb-
anon. / think, of the ten million
membership of the Christian church
to-day, If five millions of the names
were off the books the church would
be stronger. You know that the more
towards and drones there are in any
army the weaker 1t Is. would rather
have the three hundred picked inen OF
Gideon than the thirty.two thousand
unsifted host. How many Christians are
standing In the way Of all progress!
think it is the duty of the church OF
God to ride over them, and the quicker
it does 1t, the quicker it does its duty.
Do not worry. oh Christian, ii you
have to do more than your share OF
the work You had better thank God
that He has called you to be one OF the
picked men. rather than to belong to
the host OF stragglers. Would not you
rather be one of the three hundred
that fight than the twenty-five thou
sand that run2 I suppose those cow
nrdly Gideonites who went of con-
graduated themselves. They said,
1--WE got rid OF all that fighting. did not
we9 How lucky we have been; that
battle costs us nothing at all" But
they got none Of the spoils of the
victory. After the battle the 800 men
went down and took the wealth OF the
Midianites, and out of the cups and
platters of their enemies they Toasted.
And the time will come, my dear
brethren, when the hosts of darkness
will be routed, and Christ will say to
His troops. "Well done, my brave
men, go up and take the spoils! BE
more than conquerors forever!" and In
that day all deserters will be shot!
Again, learn from this subject that
Gods way is different from mans, but
is always the best way. II we had the
planning of that battle, we would
have taken those thirty-two thousand
men that originally belonged to the
army, and we would have drilled
them, and marched them up and
down by the day and week, and
month. and we would have had
them equipped with swords or spears,
according to the way of arming in
those times; and then we would have
marched them down in solid column
upon the foe. But that is not the
way. God depletes the army. and takes
away rall their weapons, and gives
them q lamp, and pitcher, and trum'
pet, and tells them to go down and
drive out the Midianites. l suppose
some wiseacres were there who said
THAT is not military tactics. The
idea of three hundred men, unarmed
conquering such great host of Mid
ianites" 1t was the best way. Whai
sword, spear or cannon ever accom-
plished such victory as the lamp
pitcher and trumpet
Gods way Is different from man.
way, but it is always bestl Take, fo
instance, the composition of the Bible
| IL VIC uuu uuu tlC WIitihS Va thO A'ioi'
we would have said: Let one mai
write it. If you have twenty or thir
ty men to write poem or make
, statue or write history, or maxi
| an argument, there will be flaw
and contradictions" But God says
, LET not one man do it, Blu
| forty men shall do it." And the.
, did, differing enough to show ther
: had been no collision between them
{ but not contradicting each other o.
any important point, while they al
, | wrote from their own standpoint an
, temperament; so that the matter-o
! fact man has his Moses; the re
mantle nature his Ezekiel; til
/, epigrammatic nature his Solomon
q the warrior his Joshua; the sailo
1 his Jonah; the loving the JohI
D the logician his Paul. Instead OF TIL
= Bible, which now can lift in my han
. instead of the Bible the chill
v can carry to Sunday school-instea
v of the little Bible the sailor can put |
/ his jacket when he goes to sea-if it ha
= been left to men to write, it woul
. have been a thousand volumes, judi
t ing from the amount of ecclesiastici
|. controversy which has arisen. God
n way is different from mans, but it
= best. infinitely best.
: So it is in regard to the Christia
g life. If we had had the planning of
l. Christians life we would have sal
Let him have eighty years of SUI
a shine, fine house to live in; let h
IS surroundings all be agreeable: let hi
e have sound health; let no chill shiv'
v through his limbs, no pain ache h
e brow, or trouble shadow his soul"
t; enjoy the prosperity of others
e much. l would let every ma
d have as much money as
/ wants, and roses for his children
d cheeks. and fountains of gladne
u glancing in their large round eye
e But that is not Gods way. 1t seen
is as If man must be cut, and hit, ar
e pounded just in proportion as he
d useful. His child falls from q thir
le story window, and has its life dasht
t. out; his most confident investne
IL tumbles him into bankruptcy;
e. friends, on whom he depended, aid Il
N natural force of gravitation in takir
N him down; his life is a Bull Run d
II feat. Instead of thirty-two thousal
o. advantages, he has only ten thousand
a. aye, only three hundred-aye, none
II all. How many good people there a
N at their wits end about their live