Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1895-10-17

God Does Not Want towards in
His Army.
His ways are Not Our Ways-Gideon'i
Battle with the Midlanites Teaches
% to Use Strategy With
Gods Foes.

Battle with the M1uianiteh I6ecnos
% to Use Strategy With
| Gods Foes.
Dr.. Talmage, in his most recent ser.
mon, draws useful lessons from the
ancient battle that was won without
| the use OF arms. The text chosen was
Judges vii. 30, 81: "And the three com
panies blew the trumpets, and brake
the pitchers, and held the lamps in
their left hands, and the trumpets In
their right hands to blow withal. And
they stood every man in his place
round about the camp, and all the host
ran, and cried, and fed"
That is the strangest battle ever
fought. God had told Gideon to go
down and thrash the Midianites, but
his army is too large; for the glory
must be given to God, and not to man.
And so proclamation is made that all
those Of the troops who are cowardly,
and want to 60 home, may go; and
twenty-five thousand of them scam
pered away, leaving only ten Thousand
men. But God says the army is too
large yet; and so he orders these ten
Thousand remaining to march down
through stream, and commands Gid
con to notice in what manner these
men drink OF the water as they pass
through 1t. If they get down on all
tours 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, and pass on, they are to be the
mon selected for the battle. Well, the
ten thousand 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, in
to the water and drink; but there are
three hundred men who, instead Of
STOPPING, just dip the palm Of their
hands in the water and bring tito their
lips, Tapping it as dog lappeth. :"
Those three hundred brisk, rapid, en-
thusiastic men are chosen for the cam
paign. They are each to take trum-
pet in the right hand and a pitcher in
the left hand, and lamp inside the
pitcher, and 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. l see great host of
Midianites sound asleep in the valley
Of Jezreel. Gideon comes up with his
three hundred picked men, and when
everything isready, 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 Mid
ianites, waking out of sound sleep,
take the crash OF the crockery and the
glare Of the lamps for the coming on of
an overwhelming foe; and they run,
and cut themselves to pieces, and hor-
ribly perish.
The lessons of this subject are very
spirited and impressive. This seem
ingly vagueless lump Of 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 of scripture has
in it shining truth. Gods mint coins
no small change.
! learn in the first place, from this
subject, the lawfullness of Christian
stratagem. You know very we'll that
the greatest victories ever gained by
Washington or Napoleon were gained
through the fact that they came when
and in way they were not expected
sometimes falling back to draw out
the foe, sometimes breaking out from
ambush, sometimes crossing 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 sanctified and
spiritualized. In the church, when we
are about to make Christian assault,
We send word to the opposing force
when we expect to come, how many
troops we have, and how many rounds
OF shot, and whether we will come with
artillery, infantry, or cavalry, and Of
course we are defeated. There are
thousands OF men who might be sur
prised into the kingdom Of God. We
need more tact and ingenuity in Chris
tian work. 1t is in spiritual affairs as
in military that success depends in at
lacking that part of the castle which
is not armed and intrenched. For in
stance, here Is man all armed on the
doctrine OF election; ell his troops OF
argument and prejudice are at that
particular gate. You may batter away
at the side Of the castle for fifty years
and you will not take it; but just wheel
your troops to the side gate Of the
hearts affection, and in five minutes
you capture him. I never knew man
to be saved through brilliant argu-
ment. You cannot hook men into the
kingdom Of God by the horns of a
dilemma. There is no grace in syl-
logism. Here is a man armed on the
subject Of perseverance Of the saints;
he does not believe in it. Attack him
ct that point, and he will perseyere at
the very last in not believing it. Here
is . man armed on the subject Of bap-
tism; he believes in sprinkling or i'm
mersion. All your discussion Of eccles-