Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1899-04-20

| for our hand is hurt, while Eleazar does
not know his hand is hurt. His hand
clave unto the sword"
Oh, we have found an enemy who can
not be conquered by rosewater and soft
| speeches. 1t must be sharp stroke and
straight thrust. There is intemper-
ance and there is fraud, and there is
gambling, and there is lust, and there
are 10000 battalions of iniquity,
armed Philistine iniquity. How are
| they to be captured and overthrow?
| Soft sermons in morocco cases. laid
down in front of an exquisite audience
will not do it. You have got to call
things by their right name. You have
got to expel from our churches Chris
tians who eat the sacrament on Sunday
and devour widows houses all the week
We have got to stop our indignation
against the IIittites and the Jebusites
and the Girgashtes and let those poor
wretches 90 and apply our Indignation
TO the modern transgressions which
need to be dragged out and slain. Ahabs
here. Herods here. JeZebels here. The
massacre of the infants here. Strike for
God so hard that while you STAY the sin
the sword will adhere to your own
hand. ! tell you, my friends, we want
few John Knoxes and John Wesleys
In the Christian church to-day.
The whole tendency is to refine on
Christian work. We keep on refining
on It until we send apologize word to
iniquity we are about to capture it.
And we must go with sword, silver
chased and presented by the ladies, and
we must ride on white palfrey under
embroidered housing, putting the
spurs in only just enough to make the
charger dance gracefully, and then we
must send a missive, delicate as we'd
ding card to ask the old black giant
OF sin II he will not surrender. Women
saved by the grace of God and on glori-
Gus mission sent, detained from the
Sabbath classes because their new hat
is not done. Churches that shook our
cities with great REVEALS sending
around to ask some demonstrative wor
shipper II he will not please to say
"amen" and "halleluiah" little softer.
1t seems as If in our churches we want
ed baptism OF cologne and balm OF
thousand flowers when we actually
need baptism of fire from the Lord
God of Pcntecost. But we are so afraid
somebody will criticise our sermons
or criticise our prayers or criticise cur
religious work that our anxiety for the
worlds redemption Is lost in the fear
ha,. mt hi In Inn-
zar went into the conflict, land his hand
clavc unto the sword"
But | see in the next place what n
hard thing 1t was for Eleazar to get his
hand and his sword parted. The mus
cles and the sinews had been so long
grasped around the sword he could not
drop it, and his three comrades, sup
pose, came up and tried to help him,
and they bathed the back part of the
hand, hoping the sincws and muscles
would relax. But no. His hand clave
unto the sword" Then they tried to
pull open the fingers and to pull back
the thumb, but no sooner were they
pulled back than they closed again,
land his hand clave unto the sword"
But after awhile they were successful,
and then they noticed that the curve
in the palm of the hand corresponded
exactly with the curve of the hilt. His
hand clave unto the sword"
You and have seen it many time.
There are in the United States to-day
many aged ministers of the Gospel.
They are too feeble now to preach. In
the church records the word standing
opposite their name is emeritus" or
the words are, "a minister without
charge" They were Il heroic race.
They had small salaries and but few
books, and they swan spring freshets
to meet their appointments. But they
did in their day mighty work for God.
They took off more OF the heads of
Philistine iniquity than You could
count from noon to shutdown. You put
that old minister Of the Gospel now into
q prayer meeting or occasional pulpit
or u sicliroom where there is some one
to he comfortcd, and II is the same old
ring to his voice, and the same old story
of pardon and peace and Christ and
Heaven, His hand has so long clutchca
the sword in Christian conflict he can
not drop IT, His hand clave unto the
sword"
had I'M my parish in PhiIadel-
phin very aged man who in his early
life had been the companion and adj
wiser of the early presidents, Madison
and Monroe. lie had welded vast in.
t|ucncc, but only knew him rs very
aged man. The most remarkable thing
about him was his arlor for Christ.
When he could not stand up in the
meetings without propping, he would
throw his arm around pillar of the
church. and. though his mind was par
tally gone, his love for Christ was so
great that all were in deep respect and
profound admiration, and were moved
when he spoke. | was called to see
him die. entered the room, and he
said: MIR, Talmage cannot speak
TO YOU now" lie was in very pleas
ant delirium, rs he imagined he had an