Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-02-09
A WARNING SOUNDED.
REV. Or. TAimAGe ADVISES The
CHURCH or CHRIST.
Ats Talent Is Undeveioped and Ito
Energy Dormant - Meanwhile the
Enemy Makes the Most OF His OPP
portunities.
ICopyright. Louis KiOpsch. 1901

portunities.
copyright Louis Klopsch. 1901
: WASHINGTON, Feb. Ain this dis
course DIR. Talmage shows how the
cause or righteousness has lost many
OF its weapons and how they are to
be recaptured aud put into effective
operation; text, l Samuel xiii, 1921:
snow there was no smith found
throughout all the land of Israel, for
the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews
make them swords or spears But all
the israelites went down to the Phills-
tines, to sharpen every man his share,
and his coulter, and his ak. and his
mattock- Yet they had a file for the
mattock, and for the coulters, and for
the forks, and for the axes. and to
sharpen the goads."
What a CALLING subjugation for the
Israelites, The Philistines had carried
off all the blacksmiths and torn down
all the blacksmiths' shops and abolish
ed the blacksmiths' trade in the land
Of Israel. The Philistines would not
even allow these parties TO work their
valuable mines of brass and iron, nor
might they make any swords or spears
There We're only two swords left in all
the land. Yea, these Phllstines went
on until they had taken all the grind
stones from the land of Israel. so that
il an Israelitish farmer wanted to
sharpen his pillow or his ak he had to go
over to the garrison of the Philistnes
TO get it done. There was only one
sharpening instrument left In the land,
and that was a file, the farmers and
mechanics having nothing to whet up
the coulter and the goad and the pick
ak save simple file. Industry was
hindered and work practically dis
graced. The great idea of these Philis-
tines was to keep the Israelites disarm-
ed They might get iron out of the
bills to make swords of, but they
would not have any blacksmiths 10
weld this iron. II they got the iron
welded, they would have no grind
stones on which to bring the Instru-
ments Of agriculture or the military
weapons up TO an edge
oh. you poor. weaponless Israelites.
reduced to file, how pity youi But
these Philistines were not forever to
keep their heel on the neck of Gods
children. Jonathan. on his hands and
knees. climbs up great rock, beyond
which were the Philistines. and his
armor bearer, on his hands and knees,
climbs up the same rock, and these
two men, with their two swords. hew
TO pieces the Phllistines, the Lord
throwing great terror upon them. So
1t was then; so IL is now. Two men OF
God on their knees mightier than a
Philistine host on their feetl
Dangerous For the Church.
1 learn. first, from this subject that
1t Is dangerous for the church of God
10 allow its weapons to stay in the
hands OF Its enemies. These Israelites
might again and again have obtained
q supply OF swords and weapons-as,
Tor instance, when they took the spoils
or The Ammonites-but these Israelites
seemed content TO have no swords, no
spears, no blacksmiths, no grindstones,
no active iron mines, until Il was too
late for them TO make any resistance.
i see the farmers Juggling along with
their pickaxes and pillow, and l say,
where are you going with those
thingsW They say. "Oh, we are going
over to the garrison of the Philistines
TO get these things sharpenedw ! say:
"You foolish menl Why don't you
sharpen them at homer "oh," they
say, 'the blacksmiths' shops are all
torn down, and we have nothing left
us but filer'
So 1t Is in the church OF Jesus Christ
today. We are too willing TO give up
our weapons TO the enemy. The world
boasts that IL has gobbled up the
schools, and the colleges, and the arts,
and the sciences. and the literature,
and the printing press. Infidelity il
making mighty attempt TO get all our
weapons In its hand and then 10 keep
them. You know II Is making this
boast all the time. aad after awhile,
when the great battle between sin and
righteousness has opened, II we do not
look out we will be as badly of as
these lsraelites, without any swords TO
fight with and without any sharpening
instruments. l call upon the superin.
tendents OF literary institutions TO sec
TO II that the men who go into the
ciassrooms 10 stand beside the Leyden
Jars. and the electric batteries. and the
microscopes and telescopes, be chill.
dren OF God. not Philistines.
The Tyndallean thinkers OF our times
are trying TO get all the intellectual
weapons In their own grasp. We want
scientific Christians 10 capture the sci.
ence, and scholastic Christians TO cap.
ture the scholarship. and philosophic
Christians 10 capture the philosophy.
and lecturing Christians TO take back
the lecturlng platform. We want 10
send fr,St IL
and Renan n Theodore Chrlstlieb OF
Bonn and against the infdeI scientists
or the day God worshIping Silliman
and Hitchcock and Agassiz We want
TO capture all the philosophical appa-
ratus and swing around the telescopes
on the swivel until through them we
can see the morning star OF the Re
deemer. and with meteorological ham.
mer discover the Rock of Ages. and
amid the fora of all realms find the
Rose or Sharon and the Lily OF the Val
ley. We want some one able to ex.
pound the first chapter OF Genesis.
bring to IL the geology and the astron-
omy or the world. until. as Job sug.
gested. "the stones OF the field shall be
In league" with the truth and the stars
In their course shall fight against Sis.
era. Oh. church of God. go out and
recapture these weaponsi
Let men OF God go out and take pos.
session OF the platform. Let any print
ing presses that have been captured by
the enemy be recaptured for God, and
the reporters. and the typesetters, and
the editors, and the publishers swear
allegiance to the Lord God of truth.
An, my friend, that day must come,
and IL the great body of Christian men
nave not the faith or the courage or
the conservation to do it. then let some
Jonathan on his busy hands and on his
praying knees climb up on the rock of
hindrance and. in the name of the Lord
God or Israel, slash TO pieces those lit
erary Philistines. If these men will