The Penn's Grove record., 1899-04-14


Then they were dashed down to death.
Oh, how much others have endured for
Christ, and how little we endure for
Christi We want to ride to heaven in a
Pullman sleeping car, our fe3t on soft
plush, the bed made up early, so we can
sleep all the way, the black porter OF death
to wake us up only in time 10 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 Eleszar's hand I come to the
conclusion that he has lone a great deal OF
hard hitting. | am not surprised when l
see that these four men-Eleazar and his
three companions drove back the army Of
Philistines-that Eleazsr's sword elave 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 oil
him.
Oh, we have found an enemy who cannot
be conquered by rosewater and soft
speeches, 1t must be sharp stroke n
straight thrust. There is intemperance,
and there is fraud, and there Is gambling,
and there is lust, and there are 10. 900 bat
talions of iniquity, armed Philistine in.
EQUITY. How are they to be captured and
ovsrthrown? Soft sermons In morocco
cases laid down In front OF al exquisite au.
dience will not do it, You have got to call
things by their right name. You have got
to expeI from our churches. Christians who
eat the sacrement on Sunday and devour
Widows houses all the week. We have
got to stop our indignation against the
Hittites and the Jebusites and the Cir.
gashites and let those poor wrotches &c
and apply our indignation to tbf mod
ern 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. L tell you, my
friends, we want a few John Knoxes and
John Wssleys in the Christian church to-
day. The whole tendency is to refine on
Christian work. We keep on refining on 1t
until we send apologize word to iniquity
we are about to capture it. And we must
60 with sword silver chased and presented
by the ladies, and we must ride on
white palfrey under embroidered hous-
Ing, putting the spurs in only Just
enough to make the charger dance
gracefully, and then we must send a
missive, delicate as a wadding card, to
ask the old black giant OF sin II he will
not surrender. Women saved by, the
grace Of God and on glorious mission
sent, detained from Sabbath classes be-
cause their new hat is not done. Churches
that shook our cities with great revivals
sending around to ask some demonstrative
worshiper il he will not please to say
amen and ''haleluiah' a little softer. 1t
seems as If in QUE churches we wanted a
baptism of colog ie and balm OF a thousand
flowers when we actually need a baptism
OF fire from tho Lord God of Pentecost.
But we are so AFRAID somebody will criti-
else our Sc rmons or c~riticise our prayers
or cwriticise our religious work that our
nxiety for the worlds redemption is lost
in the fear We will get our hand hurt,
Eleazar went into the conflict, and
his hand clave unto the sword"
But l see in the next place what a hard
thing it was for Eleazsr to get his hand and
his sword parted. The muscles and the
sinews had been so long grasped around
the sword he could not drop 1t when be
proposed to drop, 1t, and his three COM
rades, l suppose, came up and tried to help
him, and they bathed the back part OF his
hand, hoping the sinews and muscles would
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, "and his han clave unto the
sword" But after awhile they were sue
%cessiul, and then they noticed that the
curve in the palm OF the hand correspondent
exactly with the curve of the hit. HIS
ciave unto the sword"
You and / have seen 1t many q 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 a heroic race. They
had small salaries and but few oks,
and they swan spring freshets meet
appointments, but they did In their
day a mighty work for God. They
took OF 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 a prayer meeting OF
Is some one to be comforted, and It is
the same old ring to his voice and the
same old story of pardon and peace and
and heaven. His hand has SO long
the sword in Christian conflict he
cannot drop it. His hand claye unto the
sword"