The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1898-09-30
THE ENEMIES OF GOD.
The Powers of Evil May Triumph
Temporarily.
God, In tho TerrfbIeness of His Anger, WIN,
Sooner or Later, Scatter Those
Who Defy His Omnipo-
tent Power.

Rev. I. Dewitt Talmage, in the fol-
lowing discolt ,se, assails some of the
present evils CT the times, and sug-
gests that God, in His anger, may visit
terrible punishment. The text is:
LET God arise, let His enemies be scat
tered-Psalms, xviii, 1.
In the following discourse Rev. I.
Dewitt Talmage assails some of the pre-
vailing evils of the times, and suggests
that God, in His anger, may visit ter
rible punishment. The text is: Let
God arise, let His enemies be scat
tered. Psalms, xviii, 1.
y procession was formed to carry
the ark, a sacred box, which, though
only feet inches in height and
depth, was the symbol of Gods pres
ence. AS the leaders of the procession
lifted this ornamented and brilliant
box by two golden poles run through
four golden rings, and started for
Mount Zion, all the people chanted
the battle hymn of my text: Let
God arise, let His enemies be scat
tered"
1C Gdn6IOu1dllS Vi SCOl1dlOs OOO-
ragged by James l., who forced upon
them religious forms that were often
sive, and by the terrible persecution of
Drummond Dalziel and Turner, and
by the oppressive laws of Charles /.
and Charles H., were driven to pro-
claim war against tyrants, and went
forth to fight for religious liberty; and
the mountain heather became red with
carnage, and at Boutwell, Bridge and
Ards Moss and Drumclog the battle
hymn and the battle shout of those
glorious old Scotchmen was the text /
have chosen: Let God arise, let His
enemies be scattered
What whirlwind of power was Oil
Yer Cromwell, and how with hissoldiers,
named the ''Ironsides," he went from
victory to victory! Opposing enemies
melted as he looked at them. He dis
missed parliament as easy as school
at Berkeley castle, and it was taken.
He ordered Sir Ralph Hopton, the gen
eral, to dismount, and he dismounted.
See Cromwell marching OH with his
army, and hear the battle cry of the
"Ironsdes," loud as a storm and sol
emn as death knell, standards reel
before it, and cavalry horses going
back on their launches, and armies
flying at Marston Moor, at Winceby
Field, at Naseby, at Bridgewater and
Dartmouth--"Let God arise, let His
enemies be scattered"
So you see my text is not like COM
plimentary and tasseled sword that
you some times see hung up in a par
lor, and only to be used on general
training day, but more like some
weapon carefully hung up in your
home, telling its story of battles, for
my text hangs in the Scripture armory,
telling of the holy wars of three
thousand years in which it has been
as when David first unsheathed it..
1t seems to me that in the Church of
God, and in all styles of reformatory
work, what we most need now is a
battle cry. We raise our little stand
ard, and put on it the name of some
man who only a few years ago began
to live and in a few years will cease to
live. We go into contest against the
armies of iniquity, depending too
much on human agencies. We use for
a battle cry the name of some Chris
tan reformer, but after awhile that
reformer dies, or gets old, or loses his
courage, and then we take another
battle cry, and this time perhaps we
put the name of someone who betrays
the cause and sells out to the enemy.
What we want for battle cry is the
name of some leader who will never
betray us, and will never surrender,
and will never die.
All respect have l for brave men and
women, but if we are to get the vic
tory all along the line we must take
the hint of the Gideonites, who wiped
out the Bedouin Arabs, commonly
called Midianites. These Gideonites
had a glorious leader in Gideon, but
what was the battle cry with which
they flung their enemies into the
worst defeat into which any army was
ever tumbled? 1t was "The sword of
the Lord and of Gideon" Put God first,
whoever you put second. If the army
of the American revolution is to free
America it must be 1.-THE sword of the
Lord and of Washington" If the Ger
mans want to win the lay at Sedan, it
must be 1.-The sword of the Lord and
Won Moltke." Waterloo was won for
the English because not only the
armed men at the front, but the wor-
slippers in the cathedrals at the rear,
were crying: 'The sword of the Lord
and of Wellington"
The Methodists have gone in triumph
across nation after nation with the
cry: ''The sword of the Lord and of
Wesley" The Presbyterians have
gone from victory to victory with the
cry: ''The sword of the Lord and of
John Knox" The Bap'ists have con-
quered millions after millions Cor
the Lord and of Judson." The Ameri-
can EpiscopaIians have won their
mighty way with the cry: 1.-The
sword of the Lord and of Bishop Nc
1ivaine." The victory is to those who
put God first. But as we want bat
tie cry suited to all sects of religion
lists, and to all lands. I nominate as
the battle cry of Christendom in the
approaching Armageddon the words of
my text, sounded before the ark as iE
was carried to Mount Zicn: LET God
arise, ie; His enemies be scattered
As far as our finite mini can Judge,
It seems about time for God to rise
Does it not seem to you shat the abom-
initions of this earth have gone far
enough? Was there ever Q time when
sin was so defant2 We're there ever