The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1895-10-04

| tnlrty-tWo thousand men, but they went
OIL until there were only ten thousand
left, and that was subtracted from until
there were only three hundred. II Is
the same In all ages of the Christian
Church; few mon have to do the hard
nghting. Take membership of thou
sand and you generally find that fifty
people do the work. Take a member
ship OF five hundred and you generally
md that ten people do the work. There
are scores Of churches where two or
three people do the work.
We mourn that there is so much use
less lumber in the mountains of Leba-
non. l think. OF the ten million mem
bership of the Christian Church today,
II i've millions OF the names were off
the books the Church would be
stronger. You know that the more cow
ards and drones there are in any army
the weaker 1t is. 1 would rather have
the three hundred picked men of Gid
con than the twenty-five thousand UNI
sifted host. How many Christians there
are standing IN the way Of all progress!
Do not worry, on Christian, if 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 thousand that run?
suppose those cowardly Gideonites who
went off congratulated themselves.
They said: I'VE got rid of AL that fight
Ing. did not we? 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 three
hundred 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 dark
ness will be routed, and Christ will say
TO his troops: well done, my brave
men, go up and take the spells! Be more
than conquerors foreverv' and in that
day all deserters will be shotl
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 words 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 dep.etes the army and takes away
all their weapons and gives them a
lamp and pitcher and a trumpet and
tells them 10 go down and drive out the
Midianites. | suppose some wiseacres
were there who said: THAT is not mill
tary tactics. The Idea of three hundred
men. unarmed. conquering such great
host of Midianites" 1t was the best
way. What sword, spear, or cannon ever
accomplished such a victory as the
lamp, pitcher and trumpet?
Gods way Is different from mans
way, but ii is always best! Take. for IN
stance. the composition OF the Bible. n
we had had the writing OF the Dlbl. ",
would have said. Let one man write 1t.
II you have twenty or thirty men to
write a poem, or make a statute, or
write a history, or make an argument.
there will be flaws and contradictions"
But.God says: Let not one man do Il.
Int forty men shall do it," And they
did, differing enough to show there had
been no collision between them. but
not contradicting each other on any i'm
portant point, while they all wrote from
their own standpoint and temperament;
so that the matter-of-fact man has his
Moses: the romantic nature his Ezekiel;
he epigrammatic his Solomon: the
warrior his Joshua: the sailor his
Jonah; the loving his John; the logi-
clan his Paul. Instead OF this Bible.
which now | can ,ift in my hand-i.-
stead OF the Bible the child can carry
to Sunday School-instead OF the little
Bible the sailor can put in his Jacket
when he goes to sea-if 1t had been left
10 men TO write, it would have been q
thousand volumes. judging from the
amount of ecclesiastical controversy
which has arisen. Gods way is diff
'erent from mans. but it is best. in
llnitely best.
So IL Is in regard to the Christians
life. II we had had the planning Of
Christians life we would have said:
Let him have eighty years OF sun
shine. fine house TO live in; let his sur
roundings all be agreeable; let him have
sound health; let no chill shiver
through his limbs. no pain ache his
brow. or trouble shadow his soul"
enjoy the prosperity OF others SO much
| would let every man have as much
money as he wants and roses for his
ciildren's cheeks and fountains OF glad
ness slanc,ng In their large round eyes.
Bnt that is not Gods way. 1t seems as
: man must be cut. and hit, and pound
ed just In proportion as he is useful.
ills child falls from th!rd-story win
low and has Its life dashed out; his
most conf lent investment tumbles him
INTO bankruptcy; his friends. on whom
ne depended. aid the natural force OF