The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1895-11-15
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Preachers Second Epistle TO
the Washingt6niahs,
Words OF EacouraGement to the Humblel
Toiiers In Lies vincyRrd-The
Great Army of the Weak,
Worn and UnapprecIated.

1
Rev. 7. Dewitt Talmage's second
kerinon to his new eohEregatioh at the
national capital was on the subject:
'"rhe Disabled" being based on the
text:
As his part is that goeth down to the battle,
SO shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff
Samuel, Xxx, "a
If you have never seen an army
change quarters, you have no idea of
The amount of age-twenty loads,
fifty loads, hundred loads of bag
gage. David and his army were about
| to start on a doub1e-quielx march for
the recovery of their captured farni-
| lies from the Amalekites. So they
left by the Brook Besor their blankets,
their knapsacks, their baggage, and
their carriages. Who shall be de-
| tailed to watch this stuff? There are
sick soldiers, and wounded soldiers,
and aged soldiers who are not able to
go on swift military expedition, but
who are able to do some work, and SO
| they are detailed to watch the bag-
gage. There is many a soldier who is
| not strong enough to march thirty
miles in a day and then plunge
into ten hours fight, who
| is able with drawn sword lif ed
against his shoulder to pace up and
down as a sentinel to keep off an
enemy who might put the torch to the
| baggage. There are two hundred of
those crippled and aged and wounded
soldiers detailed to watch the bag
gage. Some of them. suppose, had
1 ho 10 ho nd 0f
them had their arm in a sling, and
some of them walked on crutches.
They were not towards shirking duty.
They had fought in many fierce bat
tie for their country and their God.
They are now part of the time in hes
pital, and part of the time on garrison
duty. They almost cry because they
can not go with the other troops to
the front. While these sentinels watch
the baggage, the Lord watches the
sentinels.
There is quite different scene be-
ing enacted in the distance. The
Amalel1ites, having ravaged and ram
sacked and robbed whole countries,
are celebrating their success in a
roaring carousal. Some of them are
dancing on the lawn with wonder
full gyration of heel and toe, and
some of them are examining the spoils
of victory the finger rings and ear
rings, the necklaces, the wristlets,
the head-bands, diamond starred, and
the Golfers with coronets, and car
nelians, and pearls, and sapphires, and
emeralds, and all the wealth of plate,
and Jewels, and decanters, and the sill
yer and the gold banked up on the
earth in princely profusion, and the
embroideries. and the robes, and the
turbans, and the cloalzs of an imperial
wardrobe. The banquet has gone on
until the banqueters are maudlin
and weak and stupid and indecent and
loathsomely drunk. What time it is
now for David and his men to swoop
on them. So the English lost the bat
tie of Bannockburn, because the night
before they were in wassail and bibu-
lous celebration, while the Scotch
were in prayer. So the Syrians were
overthrown in their carousal by the
| Israelites. So Chedorloamer and his
army were overthrown by Abraham
and his men. So, in our civil war,
more than once the battle was lost be-
cause one of the generals was drunk.
Now is the time for David and his men
to swoop upon these carousing Anal
ekites. Some of the Amalekites are
hacked to pieces on the spot, some of
them are just able to go staggering and
hiccoughing off the field, some of them
crawl on camels and speed off in
the distance. David and his men
gather together the wardrobes, the
Jewels, and put them upon the back of
camels, and into wagons, and they
gather together the sheep and cattle
that had been stolen and start back
toward the garrison. Yonder they
come. yonder they come. The limping
men of the garrison come out to greet
them with wild huzza. The Bible
says David saluted them. That is, he
asked them how they all were. "How
is your broken arm?" "How is your
fractured jaw?" HAS the stiffened
limb been unlimbered?' Have you
had another chill?" Are you getting
better?'' He saluted them.
But now came a very difficult thing,
the distribution of the spoils of vic
tory. Drive up those laden camels
now Who shall have the spoils?
Well, some selfish soul suggests that
these treasures ought all to belong to
those who had been out in active
service. 1--WE did all the fighting
while these men stayed at home in the
garrison, and we ought to have all the
treasures" But David looked into the
worn faces of these veterans who had
stayed in the garrison, and he looked
around and saw how clean1y every
thing had been kept, and he saw that
the baggage was all safe, and he knew
that these wounded and crippled
men would gladly enough have
been at the front If they had
been able, and the little General
looks up from under his helmet and
says: mo, no; let as have fair play;'
and he rushes up to one CT these men
and he says: Hold your hands to-
gether," and the hands are held to-
gether, and he fills them with silver.
And he rushes up to another man who
was sitting away back and had no
idea of getting any of the spoils, and
throws a Babylonish garment over
him and fills his hand with gold And
he rushes up to another man who had
lost all his property in serving God
and his country years before, and he
drives no some of the cattle and some
of the sheep that they had brought
back from the AmalelSites, and he
gives two or three of the cattle
and three or four of the sheep
to this poor man. so he shall al
WAYS lie fed and clothed. lie sees a
- - or1antafad and xuoru ouf q nd