The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-04-10

profound aumifatl0n, ana were moved
when he spoke. I was called to 80 him
die. I entered the room, and he said,
"Mr. Talmage, cannot speak to you
now" He wss In q very pleasant de-
lirium, as he imagined he had an audience
before him. He sAid, II must tall these
people to come to Christ and prepare for
heaven" And then in this pleasant de-
lirium, both arms lifted, this ootogenarian
preached Christ and told Of the glories Of
the world to come. There, lying on his
dying pillow, his dying hand clave to his
sword.
Oh, II there ever was any one who had
right to retire from the conflict 1t was
old Joshua. Soldiers come back from bat
tie have the names Of the battles OH their
flags, showing where they distinguished
themselves, and it is u very appropriate
inscription. Look at that flag Of old Gem
eral Joshua On 1t, Jericho, Gideon, Ha-
Ear, city Of Al, and instead of the stars
sprinkled on the flag the sun and the moon
which stood still. There he is, ITO years
old He Is lying fiat on his back, but he 10
preaching. His dying words are battle
charge against idolatry and q rallying cry
for the Lord of Hosts as he says, Behold,
this day 70 the way Of all the earth, and
God hath not failed to fulfill his promise
concerning Israel" His dying hand claye
unto the sword.
There IL the headless body of Paul OH
the road to Ostea His great brain and
his great heart have been severed The
'elmwood rods had stung him fearfully.
When the corn ship broke up, he swan
ashore, coming up drenched with the
brine. Every day since that day when the
horse reared under him in the suburbs Of
Damascus, as the supernatural light fell,
down to this day, when he is So years Of
age and i'll from the prison cell Of the
Mamertine, he has been outrageously
treated, and he is waiting to die. How
does he spend his last hoursp Telling the
world how badly he feels and describing
the rheumatism that he got In prison, the
rheumatism affecting his limbs, or the
neuralgia piercing his temples, or the
thirst that fevers his tonguep Oh, mol His
last words are the battle shout for Chris
tendon: II am now ready to be offered,
and tho time Of my departure is at hand.
have fought the good fight" And SO his
dying hand clave unto the sword
1t was III the front room on the second
floor that my father lay a-dying. 1t was
Saturday morning o'clock. just three
years before that day my mother had left |
him for the skies, and he had been home
sick to join her company. He was 50
years Of age. Ministers of the gospel came
in to comfort him, but he comforted them.
How wonderfully the words sounded out |
from his dying pillow, II have been young
and now am old, yet have I never seen
the righteous forsaken or his seed begging |
bread They bathed his brow, and they
bathed his hands, and they bathed his feet,
and they succeeded in Strengthening out |
the feet, but they did not succeed in bath. I
ing open the hand 80 it would stay open.
They bathed the hand open, but it came
shut. They bathed 1t open again, but it
came shut What was the matter with the
thumb and the fingers of that old hand? |
All, it had SO long touched the sword of
Christian conflict that This hand clave
unto the sword"
The Sermon rs a Tonic.
intend this sermon as u tonic. want I
you to hold the truth with ineradcable
grip, and want you to strike SO hard for
God that 1t will react, and while you take
the sword tho sword will take you. You
notice that the officers of the northern
army every year assemble, and you notice
that the officers of the southern army every
year assemble. Soldiers coming together
are very apt to recount their experiences
and to show their sears Here is soldier |
who pulls up his sleeve and says, There,
l was wounded in that arm" and shows
the scar. And another soldier pulls down
his collar and says, There, was wound
cd in the neck" And another soldier says,
II have had no use OF that limb since the
vunshot fracture" Oh, my friends, when
The battle of life is over, and the resurreo.
ton has come. and our bodies rise from
the dead, will We have on us any scars
showing our bravery for God? Christ will
be there al covered with scars. Scars on
the brow, scars on the hand, scars on the
feet, scars all over the heart, won in the
battle of redemption. And all Heaven will
sob aloud with emotion as They look at
those scars Ignatius will be there, and
he will point out the place whore the tooth
and paw Of the lion seized him ir the Co.
liscum, ard John Huss will be there, and
he will chow where the coal first scnrchcd
the foot ON hat day when his spirit took
W y Of .ne from Constance.
II Milan and Campbell and Freeman,
American missionaries in India, will he
thcre-thc men who with their wives and
children Went down in the awful ,nnssa-
CTS at CAvnpur. and they will s. nw where
IT, d"gj,ts oi The sepoys strucl; them.
y le N..lueufes vii ~ there, and they will |
show '"herr their bones were hrokcn on
+ DAY hen the Fiedlnont"s't sOldicry
=. htd them over the rocks. Md thr~o
VII hose they" who took 1nrnOl the sick
and 40 looked after the poor nn1 1hey
will nave "idences of eartniy eshapSlion.
And Christ, vie his SCARED ha. waving
ever the FRED multitude. VIII say,
" You suffered with NE on earth; now be
,;lor1.cd with mo in heaven" And then
the sreist organs of elcrni,y will take up
IL" CHI It, and st. John will play, These
are thew who came out of great tribula-
tim and had their robes washed and made
white in the blood Of the Lamb"
But what will your chagrin and mine
be il it slplll be told that day on the streets
of heaven tat on cnrti we shrank back
from all toll and sacrifice and hardship.
Ne sea-, t" how the heavenly soldiery.
Not so much as one ridge on the palm Of
tic ht4.,. o." show that just once in all this
battle for Tod and the truth we grasped
the sword so firmly and struck SO hard
that tho sword and the hand stuck togeth-
e, Aii. the Land Clave to the sword Oh
my Lord Jesus, rouse lis to thy service.
Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die.
They zee the triumph from nfar
And seize 1t with the eye.
When that illustrious day shall rise
And oil thy armies shine
vx,t 1l,x - l.. 4