The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1897-01-02

that it is easier to find horses thar
skillful riders, and hence he makes the
challenge of the text, II will deliver
the 1000 horses, if thou be able to sci
riders upon them"
Rab-shakeh, like many another bad
man, said n very suggestive thing. The
world is full of great opportunities,
but few know how to bride them and
mount them and manage them. More
spirited horses than competent
ridersl The fact is hat in the
Church of God we nave plenty OF
fortresscs well manned and plenty
of heavy artillery, and plenty of solid
columns of brave, Christian %solidery,
but what we most need is cavalry
mounted troops of God-for sudden
charge that seems almost desperate.
If Washington, if New York, il Lon
don are ever taken for God, it will not
be by slow bombardment of argumen-
t~ation, or by regular unlimbering OF
great theological guns from h port
holes of the churches, but by gallop of
sudden assault and rush of holy energy
that will astound and throw into
panic the long lines of drilled opposi.
ton armed TO the teeth. Nothing so
scares the forces of sin as a revival that
comes, they nov not whence, to do
that which they cannot tell, to work in
q way hat they cannot understand.
They will be overcome by hank move
ment. The Church of God must double
mp their right or left wing. If they
expect us from the north, we will take
them from the south. If they expect
MS at 12 o'clock at noon, we will come
upon them at 12 o'clock at night The
opportunities for this assault are great
and numerous, but where are the men?
81 will deliver thee 9, 900 horses, if thou
be able to set riders upon them"
The opportunities of saving America
and saving the entire planet were
never so many, never SO urgent. never
so tremendous as now. Have you not
noticed the willingness of the printing
press of the country to give the sub
ject of evangelism full swing in col
umn after column? Such work was
formerly confined to tract distribution
and religions journalism. Now the
morning and evening newspapers, by
hundreds and thousands Of copies.
print all religious intelligence and
print most awakening discourses.
Never SINCE the world has stood has
such a force been offered to all engaged
in the worlds evangelization. OF the
more than Is, 600 newspapers on this
continent, 1 do not know one that is
not alert to catch and distribute all
aaatters of religious information. Oh,
now / see q mighty suggestiveness in
the fact that the first book of any inn
p~ortance that was ever Published,
after Johann Gutenberg invented the
apt of printing, was the Bible. Well
might that poor nan toll on, polishing
stones and manufacturing looking.
glasses, and making experiments that
brought upon him the charge of in
sanity, and borrowing money, now
from Martin Brother and now from
Johann Faust, until ne set on foot
the mightiest power for the evangel-
tZation of the world. The statue
in bronze WHICH Thorwa'dsen erected
for Gutenberg in 1897, and THO statue
sommemorating him by Dnyid RAn-
gers in 1910, and %upyeiled amid all the
pomp hat military professions and
German bands of best music could give
the occasion, were insignificant COM
pared with the fact, TO be demonstrated
before all earth and all heaven, that
Johann Gutenberg, under God, inaugu-
rated forces which will yet accomplish
the worlds redemption. The newspa-
per press will report Christ's sermons
vet to be delivered, and describe his
personal appearance, if, as some think,
he shall come again to reign on earth.
The newspaper pFesG may yet publish
proclamation of tho worlds
emancipation from sin and sorrow and
death, Tens of thousands of good men
in this and other lands have been or
dained by the laying on of hands to
preach the Gospel, but il seems to me
hat just now, by the laying on of Inc
of the Lord God Almighty, the
presses are being ordained
for preaching the Gospel with wider
sweep and mightieF pesoEpd than we
have ever yet imagined. The iron
horses of the printing press are all
ready for the battle, but where are the
men good enough and strong enough
to mount them and guide them? II
will deliver thee 200 horses, If thou
be able to set riders upon them"
/ think it is the cnvalry of The Chris
tian hosts. the grand men and women
who, with bold dash and holy reckless
ness and spurred-on energies, are to
take the world for God. To this army
of Christian service belong the evange-
lists. 1t ought TO be the business of
tbs regular churches to multiply them,
to support TEN, to cheer them, to
clear the way for them. Some of them
you will like, soine OF them ypH do not
like. You say some are too sensational,
and soTIe of them are not enough
learned, and some of them are cratic,
and some of them are too vehement,
and some of them pray too loudl Oh,
fold up your criticism nnl let thsm do
hat which we, the pastors, 4 never
do. like all the e~vangelists | have
sVer seen or heard. They are
busy now; they are busy every
day of the week. While we, the
pastors, serve Gol by holding the fort
tress of rig hteousness and drilling the
Christian soldiery, and by marshaling
anthems and sermons and ordinances
on the right side, they are fighting the
forces of darkness hip and thigh, with
great slaughter" All success to themi
The faster they gallop. the better
like it. The keener the lances they
fling, the more l admire them. we
care not what conventionality they In
frnct If they only gain the victory.
Moody, and Chapman. and Mills, and
Jones, and Harrison. and Munhall. and
Maj. Cole, and ~Crittenden, and q hun
dred others are now making the cav-
airy charge, and they are this momen
taking Eew York and Philadelphia and
Cincinnati for God, and / wish they
might take onr nations capital.
Hear the tremendous factss There
are now in this country nearly 1856, 600
church congregations, with nearly 2l,-
DOC, 900 communicates and seating ca
pacity in church for more than 43, OOO,-
900 people; in other words, room in the
churches for three-fourths of the popu-
lation of this country, and about one
third Of the population Of this country