The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1899-05-18

In lS49, in Madagascar, IS men were
put to death for Christ's sake. They
were to be hurled over the rocks, and
before they were hurled over the rocks.
in order to make their death the more
dreadful in anticipation, they were put
in baskets and swung to and fro over
the precipice that they might see how
many hundred feet they would have
to be dashed down. and while they were
swinging in these baskets over the
rocks they sang:
Jesus, lover of my SOUL
Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the bfllOWs near me roll.
While the tempest still is high.
Then they were dashed down to
death. Oh, how much others have en-
dured for Christ, and how little we en-
dure for Christ! We want to ride to
Heaven in Pullman sleeping car, our
feet on soft plush, the bed made up
carly, SO we can sleep all the way, the
black porter of death to wake us up
only in time to enter the golden city.
We want all the surgeons to fix our
hand up. Let them bring on all the lint
and all the bandages and all the salve,
for our hand is hurt, while Eleazar does
not know his hand is hurt. His hand
clave unto the sword"
As look at Eleazar's hand come to
the conclusion that he has done great
deal of hard hitting. 1 am not sur
prised when | see that these four men
-Eieazar and his three companions
drove back the army of Philistines-
that Eleazar's sword clave to his hand,
for every time he struck an enemy with
one end of the sword the other end
of the sword wounded him. When he
took hold of the sword, the sword took
hold of him.
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 overthrown? :?
Soft sermons in morocco cases laid
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 Hittites and the Jebusites
and the Girgashites and let those poor
wretches go 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 slay the sin
the sword will adhere to your own
hand. l tell you, my friends, we want
a few John Knoxes and John Wesleys
III 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 missive, delicate as we'd
ding card, to ask the old black giant
of sin if 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 revivals sending
around to ask some demonstrative wor-
shipper if 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
u thousand flowers when we actually
need baptism of fire from the Lord
God of Pentecost. But we are so afraid
somebody will criticise our sermons
or criticise our prayers or criticise our
religious work that our anxiety for the
worlds redemption is lost in the fear
we will get our hand hurt, while Flea
zar went into the conflict, "and his hand
clave unto the sword.
But | see in the next place what a
hard thing it 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 moi
| drop it, and his three comrades, / sap.
pose, came UP and tried to help him
and they bathed the back part of the
hand, hoping the sinews and muscles
would relax. But no. "His hand clave
unto the sword Then they tried te
pull open the fingers and to pull back
the thumb, but no sooner were the,
pulled back than they closed again
.sand 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. Hi:
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. II
the church records the word standing
.,,,,oS;fe their name iS ssemerifuS ,, n,