Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1899-04-10
SWORD OF ELEAZAR.
IT INSPIRES DR.. TALMAGE TO A pow
ERFUL SERMON.


copyright. 1859. by American Press Asso-
ciation.1
WASHINGTON, April 9-In the first
notice concerning DIR. Talmage that
Pastor Charles Fl. Sturgeon Of London
wrote the great English minister said
he was glad to find a preacher that be-
heved something. This discourse of DIR.
Talmage is in that vein and urges close
adherence to the old gospel; text, II
Samuel xiii. 10, 'tAnd his hand clave
unto the sword.
What a glorious thing to preach the
gospel! Some suppose that because
have resigned a fixed pastorate 1 will
cease to preach. No, no. l expect to
preach more than l ever have. If the
Lord will, four times as much, though
In manifold places. I would not dare
to halt with such opportunity to declare
the truth through the ear to audiences
and to the eye through the printing
press. And here we have a stirring
theme put before us by the prophet.
A great general Of King David was
EleaZar. the hero of the text. The Phil
istines opened battle against him, and
his troops retreated. The towards fed.
Eleazar and three of his comrades went
into the battle and swept the field, for
four men with God on their side are
stronger than whole regiment with
God against them. Fall backl" shout
ed the commander of the Philistine
army The cry ran along the host,
++Fal backr' Eleazar, having swept
the field. throws himself on the ground
to rest. but the muscles and sinews of
his hand had been so long bent around
the hilt of his sword that the hilt was
Embedded in the flesh, and the gold
wire of the hilt had broken through the
skin of the palm of the hand, and he
could not drop this sword which he had
so CALAMITY welded ellis hand clave
unto the sword. That is what l call
magnificent fighting for the Lord God
Of Israel And we want more of it.
Held In Firm Grasp.
propose to show you how Eleazar
took hold of the sword and how the
sword took hold of Eleazar I look at
hand, and come to the con-
ciusion that he took the sword with a
very tight grip. The towards who fled
had no trouble in dropping their swords.
As they fly over the rocks 1 hear their
Is easy enough for them to drop their
swords. but Eleazar's hand clave unto
the sword. In this Christian conflict we
want tighter grip of the gospel weap-
ons. tighter grasp of the two edged
sword of the truth. 1t makes me sick to
gee these Christian people who hold only
q part Of the truth and let the rest of
the truth go, so that the Philistines,
seeing the loosened grasp, wrench the
whole sword away from them. The only
safe thing for US to do is to put our
thumb on the book of Genesis and
sweep our hand around the book until
the New Testament comes into the palm
and keep on sweeping our hand around
the book until the tips of the fingers
clutch at the words Gin the beginning
Sod created the heavens and the earth
like an infdel a great deal better than |
do one of these namby pamby Chris
hans who hold part of the truth and |
let the rest go. By miracle God pre-
served this Bible just as it is, and it is
4 Damascus blade The severest test to |
Which sword can be put in sword |
factory is to wind the blade c-ound a
gun barrel like a ribbon, and then when
'he sword IS let loose it flies back to it's
>wn shape. So the sword of Gods truth
has been fully tested, and it is bent this
way and that way and wound this way
md that way, but it always comes back
70 its own shape. Think of It'll A book
written near 9 centuries ago, and some
It 1T thousands of years ago, and yet in
'ur time the average sale of this book
s more than 90 copies every week
md more than 1000, 900 copies a yearl
say now that book which is divinely
and divinely kept and divinely
catered Is a weapon worth holding a
light grip of. Bishop Colenso will come
long and try to wrench out of your
land the five books of Moses, and
strauss will come along and try to
wrench out of your hand the miracles,
nd Renan will come along and try to
wrench out of your hand the entire life
the Lord Jesus Christ, and your as
ociates in the Office or the factory or
be banking house will try to wrench
ut of your hand the entire Bible, but
q the strength of the Lord God of Israel
nd with Eleazar's grip hold on to it.
lou give up the Bible. you give up any
art of it. and you give up pardon and
eace and life and heaven.
Friend of All Good.
Do not be ashamed, young man, to
ave the world know that you are a
riend of the Bible This book is the
riend of all that is good, and it is the
worn enemy of all that is bad. An elo-
uent writer recently gives an incident
very bad man who stood in a cell
a western prison. This criminal had
one through all styles of crime, and
e was there waiting for the gallows
he convict standing there at the win
ow of the cell. this writer says, ''look-
out and declared, Il am an infidel