Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-01-31


those who are shipwrecked are saved.
So at your feet, today, there is an infu-
ence with a tremendous leverage. The
rope attached to it swings far out into
the billowy future. Your children, your
childrens children, and all the genera
tions that are to follow will grip that
influence and feel the long reaching
pull long after the figures on your tomb
stone are so near worn out that the Wis
itor cannot tell whether it was 1896 or
1896 or 1896 that you died.
Concerted Action.
Still further learn from this subject
the advantage Of concerted action. If
Abimelech had merely gone out with
tree branch, the work would not have
been accomplished, or if 10, % or 30
men had gone, but when all the axes are
lifted and all the sharp edges fall, and
all these men carry each his tree branch
down and throw it about the temple,
the victory is gained-the temple falls.
Ny friends, where there is one man in
the church Of God at this day shoulder
ing his whole duty there are a great
many who never lift an AK or swing a
bough. 1t seems to me as if there were
ten drones in every hive TO one busy
bee; as though there were 20 sailors
sound asleep in the ships hammocks to
men on the stormy deck. 1t seems
as if there were so, 600 men belonging
to the reserve corps. and only 1000 ac-
tive combatants. Oh, we all want our
boats to get over to the golden sands,
but the most Of Us are seated either in
the Prov or in the stern, wrapped in
our striped shawl, holding big handled
sunshade, while others are blistered in
the heat and pull until the oarlocks
groan and the blades bend till they
snap. Oh, you religious sleepyheads,
wake upl You have lain so long in one
place that the ants and caterpillars have
begun to crawl over youl What do you
know, my brother, about living gospel
mado to storm the world? Now, my idea
of a Christian is a man on fire with zeal
for God, and if your pulse ordinarily
beats 90 times minute when you think
Of other themes and talk about other
themes, if your pulse does not 90 up to
IS or so when you come to talk about
Christ and heaven, it is because yo4-do
not know the one, and have a poor
chance Of getting to the other.
In a former charge one Sabbath I
took into the pulpit the church records,
and l laid them on the pulpit and open
ed them end said: Brethren, here are
the church records. I find a great many
Of you whose names are down here are
off duty" Some were afraid l would
read the names, for at that time some
Of them were deep in the worst kind OF
oil stocks and were idle as to Christian
work. But if ministers Of Christ today
should bring the church records into the
pulpit and read, oh, what fiutter there
would be There would not be fans
enough in church TO keep the cheeks
cool. do not know but it would be
good thing if the minister once IN
awhile should bring the church records
in tho pulpit and call the roll, for that
is what l consider every church record
TO be-merely muster roll Of the Lords
army-and the reading Of it should re-
veal where every soldier is and what he
is doing.
Call the Roll.
Suppose in military circles on the
morning of battle the roll was called,
and out Of 900 men only 100 men in the
regiment answered. What excitement
there would be in the camp! What
would the colonel say? What high talk
ing there would be among the captains
and majors and the adjutants. Suppose
word came to headquarters that these
delinquents excused themselves on the
ground that they had oversight them
selves, or the morning was damp and
they were afraid Of getting their feet
wet, or that they were busy cooking "a
tions. Ny friends, this is the morning
Of the day Of God Almighty battle. Do
you not see the troops: Hear ye not all
the trumpets Of heaven and all the
drums of hell? Which side are you onI
If YOU are ON the right side, TO what
cavalry troop, to what artillery service,
to what garrison duty do you belong.
In other words, in what Sabbath school
do you teach? In what prayer meeting
do you exhort? To what penitentiary 90
you declare eternal liberty! To what
almshouse do you announce the riches
of heaven? What broken bone Of sorrow
have you ever set? Are you doing moth
ing: Is ir possible that man or woman
sworn to be a follower of Jesus Christ
is doing nothing? Then hide the horri-
bic secret from the angels. Keep 1t away
from the book Of Judgment. II you are
doing nothing, do not let the world find
it out, lest they charge your religion
with being false face. Do not let your
cowardice and treason be heard among
the martyrs about the throne, lest they
forget the sanctity Of the place and de-
nounce your betrayal Of that cause for
which they agonized and died.
Nav the eternal God rouse us all to
lction As for myself, Ifeel | would be
ashamed to die now and enter heaven
until l have accomplished something
more decisive for the Lord that bought
me. Oh, brethren, how swiftly the time
goes byl It seems to me as if tho years
had gained some new power Of locomo-
tion-a kind of speed electric.
The temple of Berth is very broad,
and it is very high. 1t has been going
up by the hands Of men and devils, and
no human engineering can demoiish 1t,
but if the 20, 900 ministers of Christ in
this country should each take branch
of the tree of life, and all their congre-
cations should do the sane, and We
should march on and throw these
branches around the great temples OF sin
and worldliness and folly, it would need
no match OF coal or torch Of ours to
touch off the pile, for, as in the days OF
EliiaL, FIRE would fall from heaven and
kindle the bonfire of Christian victory
over demolished sin.
One Safe Refuge.
Still further, learn from this subject
the danger Of false refugees. As soon as
these Shechemites got into the temple
- .t,....ht tbax xrara safe They said I: