The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-27
ABIMELEcH AND THE BoUGHS.
TALMAGE breaches ON THE
POWER OF EXAMPLE"

AbimeIech's Name MaIOdorOus in
Bible History. Hut Full of PrOhta-
BILE suEgestfons-A Graphic Picture
of the SackinE Of shechem-Tai-
mage Advocates Heroic Measures
in Stormin< the Castle of sin.
Washington. Jan. 26-In his sermon for
to-day. Rev DR.. Talmage took for his
subject: The Power of Example" The
text selected was: Judges. 9:iS. AMI abb
meIech took an ak in his hand and cut
down a bough from the trees, and took
il and laid il on his shoulder and said
unto the people that were with him.
What We have seen me do. make haste'and
do as / have done And all the people
likewise cut down every man his bough.
Abimelech is a name malodorOus in Bible
history. and yet full of profitable sugges-
ton. Buoys are black and uncomely, but
they tell where the rocks are. The snakes
rattle is hideous, but il gives timely warn
ing From the piazza Of my summer
home, night by night. 1 saw a lighthouse
fifteen miles away, not placed there for
adornment but to tell mariners to stand
OFF from that dangerous point. So all the
iron-bound coast of moral danger is mark
ed with Saul, and Herod, and Rehoboam,
ana JeZeuelt ana ADlUltlttls 4ntSt heth
people are mentioned in the Bible not only
as warnings, but because there were some
times flashes of good conduct in their
lives worthy of imitation. God sometimes
drives a very straight nail with a very
poor hammer.
The city Of Shechem had to be taken,
and Abimelech and his men were to do II.
] see the dust rolling up from their ex-
cited march. I hear the shouting of the
captains and the yell of the besiegers. The
swords clack sharply on the parrying
shields and the vociferation of two armies
in death grapple is horrible TO hear. The
battle goes on all day; and as the sun
is setting Abimelech and his army cry:
Surrender" to the beaten foe. And. I'M
able longer 10 resist, the city of Shechem
falls; and there are pools of blood, ana
discovered limbs and glazed eyes look
ing up beggingly for mercy that war
never shows, and dying soldiers with their
head on the lap OF mother, or wife, or sis
ter. who have come out for the last Of
fices of kindness and affection: and Il
groan roll across the city, stopping not,
because there is no spot for it to rest
so full Is the place of other groans. A
city wounded! A city dyingi A city dead!
Wall for Shechem, all We who know the
horrors of a sacked town!
AS l look over the city. / can find only
one building standing, and that is the
temple of the god Berth. Some soldiers
a
that they can no longer defend Shechem
now begin to look out for their own per-
sonal safety, and they fly TO this temple
of Berth. They go with in the door, shut
1t, and they say: Now we are safe.
Abimelech has taken the whole city, but
he cannot take this temple of Berth. Here
we shall be under the protection of the
gods O Berth, the god! do your best
now for these refugees. If you have eyes
pity them. If you have hands, help them.
If you have thunderbolts. strike for them
But how shall Abmelech and his army
take this temple of Berth and the men
who are there forthed? VIII they do II
with swords? Nay. viii they do it with
spear? Nay. With battering-ram, rolled
up by hundred-armed strength, crashing
against the walls? Nay. Abimelecn
marches his men to a wood in Zalmon.
with his AK he news off a limb of a tree,
der, and then he says to his men; You
do the same" They are obedient to their
commander. There is a struggle as to
who shall have axes. The whole wood is
fun of bending boughS, and the cracking
and the hacking. and the cutting, until
every one of the host has a limb of a tree
cut down, and not only that, but has put
IL on his shoulder just as Abimelech
showed him how. Are these men all
comes "all armed" And they march on.
oh, what a strange army, with that
strange equipment! They come up to the
foot of the temple at Berth, and Abime-
lech takes his limb of a tree and throws
# down; and the first platoon of soldiers
come up and they throw down their
third, until all around about the temple
of Berth there is a pile of tree branches
The Shechemites look out from the win
dow of the temple upon what seems to
them childish play on the part of their
enemies. But soon the fiints are struck,
and the spark begins to kindle the brush,
and the fame comes up all through the
pile, and the red elements leap to the
easement, and the woodwork begins to
blaze, and one arm of flame is thrown
up on the right side of the temple, and
another arm OF flame is thrown up on
vhe leIt size OF the Tempe, uhtll tney clasp
their lurid palms under the wild night
sky, and the cry of "Firev within, and
Fire. without, announces the terror,
and the strangulation, and the doom of
the Shechemtes and the complete over
throw of the temple of the god Berth.
Then there went up shout, long and
chests of Abimelech and his men, they
stood amid the ashes and the dust cry
ing: Victory! victoryw
Now l learn first from this subject the
folly of depending upon any one form of
tactics in anything we have to do for this
world or for God. Look over the weaponry
of olden times-iaVelins battle-aXes, ha-
bergeons, and show me a single weapon
with which Abimelech and his men could
have gained such complete triumph. 1t is
no easy thing to take temple thus arm
ed. l have seen a house where, during rev.
pulmonary times, man and his wife kept
back a whole regiment hour after hour,
because they were inside the house, and
the aSSaulting soldiers were outside the
house. Yet here Abimelech and his army
they capture it without the loss of a sin
gle man on the part of Abimelech al
though / suppose some of the old Israel
itish heroes told Abimelech: You are only
going up there to be cut to pieces" Yet
you are willing to testify to-day that by
no other mode-certainly not by ordinary
modes-coud that temple so easily so
thoroughly, have been taken. Fathers and
mothers, brethren and sister in Jesus
Christ, what the church most wants to
learn. this day. is that any plan is right,
is lawful, is best, which helps to over
throw the temple of sin, and capture this
world for God We are very apt to stick
to the old modes of attack. We put on the
old-style coat of mail. We come up with
the sharp, keen, glittering steel spear of
argument, expecting in that way to take
the castle; but they have thousand spears
where we have ten. And so the castle of
sin stands. Oh, my friends, we will never
capture this world for God by any keen
sabre of sarcasm, by any glittering lances
of rhetoric, by any sapping and mining of
profound disquisition, by any gunpowdery
explosions of indignation, by sharpshoot-
ings of wit, by hOWitzers of mental
strength made to swing shell five miles,
by cavalry horses gorgeously caparisoned