The free press., 1895-10-17
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THIS EMINENT DtvINE's SUNDAY
SERMON.
Subject: "Gideon's Battle With the
Midianites.'

nun tHtJ StOOu bNoEJ HldL III lilS pittC
round about the camp, and all the host ra
aad cried and fed. Judges vii, 20, 81
That is tho strangest battle ever fought
God had told Gideon to 90 dtWn and thras
the Midianites. but hia army is too large. TO
the glory must be given to God and not t.
man. And SO proclamation is made that al
those of the troops who are cowardly ant
want to go home may go, and $4,000 % o
| them scampered away, leaving only 1000
! men. But God says the army Is to-
large yet, and so he orders these 10000
remaining to march down through
stream and command Gideon to notice IL
what manner these men drink of the waite
as they pass through it, II they get dowr
! on all feurs and drink, then they arc to b'
pronounced. lazy and incompetent for the
campaign, but if, in passing through tht
stream, they scoop up the water in the palm
of tdeir hand and drink and pass on they are
to- be the men selected for the battle.
Well, the 10,0 900 men marched down in the
! stream, and the most of them come down or
all fours and plunge their mouths like horse
or an OK into the water and drink, but there
are 800 men who, instead ef STOPPING just
dip the palm of their hands in the water and
bring it to their lips, "lapping it as a dog
lappeth." Those 800 brisk. rapid, en-
thusiastic men are chosen for the
campaign. They are each to take trumpet
In the right hand. and q pitcher in the left
hand, and lamp inside tho pitcher and
then at given signal they are to blow the
trympets. and throw down the pitchers, and
hold up the lamps. SO 1t was done.
1t is night, l see great host of Midianites
sound asleep In the valley of Jezreel. Gid
con comes up with his 800 picked men, and
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 Midianites, waking out
of a 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 thems elves to pieces and horri~
bly, perish.
The lessons of this subject are very spir-
tied and impressive. This seemingly value
less lump Of quartz has the pure gold in it.
The smallest dewdrop on the meadow at
night has a star sleeping in its BOSOM and
tho most insignificant passage OF Scripture
has in it shining truth. Gods mint coins
no small change.
learn in the first place from this sub ject
the lawfuness of Christian strategem. You
know very well that the greatest victories
ever gained by Washington or Napoleon
were gained through the fact that they came
when and in u way they were not expected
sometimes falling back to draw out the foe,
sometimes breaking out from ambush, some
times crossing a river on unheard of RATS,
all the time keeping the opposing forces in
.wonderment rs to what would be done next.
You all know what strategy is in military
affairs. Now l 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 many
troops we have, and how many rounds OF
shot. and whether we will come with artil-
lery, infantry or cavalry, and of course
we nre 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 man all armed on
the doctrine of election. All his troops of
argument 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 the side
gate OF the hearts affections, and in five
minutes you capture him. l never knew
q man to be saved through brilliant ar
gumet You cannot hook men into the
kingdom of God by the horns of dilemma.
There is no grace in syllogisms. Here is a
man armed ON the subject OF perseverance
of the saints. He does not believe in it.
Attack him at that point, and he will perse-
we're TO luO very luSb Ill uOt p'7-
lieving it. Here is man armed
on the subject of baptism. He believes
in sprinkling or immersion. All your dis
cussion of ecclesiastical hydropathy will not
change him. i remember when | was q boy
that with other boys | went into the river on
a summer day to bathe, and we used to dash
water on each other, but never got any re-
suit except that our eyes were blinded, and
all this splashing of water between Baptists
Al TO re in i'm ~
but the blurrlng of the spiritual eyesight Iu
other words. you can never capture n mans
soul at the point at which he is especially
intrenched. But there is in every man s
heart bolt that can be easily showed. A
little child four years old may touch that
bolt. and it will spring back. and the door
will swing open. and Christ will ccme in.
think that the finest of all the fine arts is
the art of doing good. and yet this art is the
least cultured. We have in the kingdom of
God to-day enough troops to conquer the
whole earth for Christ il we only had skillful
manpuvering. Iwould rather have the BOZ
lamps and pitchers of Christian strategem
than 100 900 drawn swords Of literary aud
! ecclesiastical combat.
learn from this subject also that small
part of the army Of God will have TO do al
the hard fighting. Gideon's army was origin.
ally composed of 80, 900 men. but they went
off until there were only 200 left, and thai
was substractad from until there were only
800. 1t is the same in all ages Of the Chris
tiun church. few men have to do the hare
lighting Take a membership OF 1000, an'
you generally find that fifty people do thu
work. Take membership OF SEQ, and yo'
generally find that ten people do the work
/ There are scores of churches where TWO o
three people do the work.
We mourn that there is so much useles
| lumber in the mountains OF Lebanon.
| think of the 10000, 900 membership of tn
| Christian church to-day If 100000 of tn
names were off the books the church woult
| be stronger You know that the NOR
towards and drones there are In any arm
the weaker II is. / would rather have tn
800 picked men of Gideon than the 32,0o
unsifted host. The many Christians there ar
standing in the way OF all progress thini
it is the duty of the church OF God to rld
over them, and the quicker 1t does 1t til
quicker it does its duty.
Do not worry, o Christian, II you nave
do more than your share OF the work. fo'
had better thank God that He has called yo
to be one of the picked men rather than I
belong to the host of stragglers. Would nc
YOU rather be one of the 800 that hght ina
the %, 900 that run? l suppose those COW
ardly Gideonites who went OH congratt !
lated themselves. They said: 1--WE got ri
of all that fighting, did not we? Ho
lucky we have been! That battle cos
us nothing at all" But they got non
| of +bn snoiis of tba victory After the bait