The advance. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1899-19??, 1900-09-22
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE EMINENT DIvINE's SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
Subject: Nations Are Judged--God Re.
wards and Furnishes Them on Esartfi~-
Gods Judgments Jikened to the swift
Sweep of a Razor.

IWoSP u ~ hH1uts
Copyright isac.l
WASHINGTON, d. CDR. Talmage. in
his journey westward through Europe, has
FectStly visited scenes OF thrilling his
.$orG evenfA He sends this sermon, in
a,3=4bich he shows that nations are Judged
IN this world and that God rewards them
for their virtues and Furnishes them for
their crimes the asext Is Isaiah vii, 20,
''In the same day shall the Lord shave
with a razor that Is hired, namely, BY
them beyond the river, by the king Of
Assyria." A#
The Bible is th%hdest book ever writ
Cen There are aNsimilitudes in Ossian
or the Had or the Odyssey SO daring. 1ts
snagery sometimes seems on the verge Of
Che. eckless, but only seems 40. The fact
Is thai God would atartle and arouse and.
1,ropel men and nations, A tame and
2imping similitude would fail 60 accom-
fDlish the object While there are times
/ when He employs u the Bible the gentle
Y dew, and the m1rt;ing cloud, and the dove
and the daybrealt in the presentation of
truth, we often find the iron chasiot, the
lightning, the earthquake. tue spray, the
sword and in my text the razor. This
keen bladed instrument has advanced in
usefulness with the. ages In Bible times
and lands the beard remained uncut save
in the seasons Of mourning and humilia-
ton, but the razor was always y sugges-
tive symbol. David said of Doeg, his an
tagonist, THY tongue is q sharp razor
working deeeitfullY' that is, it pretends
30 dear the face, but is really used for
deNdly incision.
In this striking text this weapon Of the
soilet appears under the following cir
substances; Judea needed to have some
ef its properties cut off, and God sends
against it three Assyrian kings-6rst SEN
nacherlb, hen Esarhaddon and afterward
Nebuchad& Azzar. These three sharp inva-
sions thst'Scut down the glory of Judea
are compared to SO many sweeps Of the
razor across the face of the land. And
theee devaatations were called a hired
razor because God took the kings Of AS
syria, with whom He had no sympathy, to
do the wor5 ID maid chem in palaces
and spoils n nnexations. These kings
were hired ecute the divine behests.
Aad nowscl ~ N which on its first read
ing may have 81 med trivial or inapt, Is
charged with moment5us import, 'In the
shat is hired, namely, by them beyond
the river, by the king of Assyria"
Well, if Gods judgments are razors,
I'VE had better he careful how we use
them on other people. In careful sheath
these domestic weapons are put away,
where no one by accident may touch them
md where the hands of children may not
reach them, Such instruments must be
carefully handled or not handled at all.
But how recklessly some people WELD the
Judgment of Godl IL a man meets with
business misfortune, how many there are
ready TO cry out: THAT is a judgment of
tod upon him because he was unacrupu-
lous or arrogant or over.reaching or mis-
erly. ! thought he would get cut down.
What clean sweep of everythingl His
:lty house and country house gone His
stables emptied OF all the fine bays and
Sorrels and Brays that used TO prance by
his door, All his resources overthrown
and all That he prided himself on tumbled
into demolition. Good for himl" Stop,
my brother. Don't sling around too freely
tho Judgments Of God, for they are razors
e. Some of the most wicked business men
succeed, and they live and die in pros
perity, and some Of the most honest and
CONSCIENTIOUS are driven into bankruptcy
Perhaps the unsuccessful mans manner
suas unfortunate and he was not really al
proud as he looked to be. Some Of those
who carry their heads erect and look i'm
periai are humble as child, while many
a man in seedy coat and SLOUGH hat anc
MnhlacSened shoes is as proud as Lucifer
You cannot tell by a mans look. Per
maps nc was not INSCRIPTIONS in business
for there are two sides TO every story, ane
everybody that aceomphshes anything fol
nfmself or others gets industriously lee
about. Perhaps his business misfortun,
was not a punishment, but the fatherl,
thsclplne TO prepare him for heaven, ant
lfod may love him far more than He love-
you, who can pay dollar for dollar and ar.
put down in the commercial catalogue Al
al Whom the Lord loveth He give
b4O0000 and let's die on embroidered Dill
COWS No; whom the Lord loveth III
Ghasteneth. Better keep your hand of
the Lords razors lest they cut and wounC
people that do not deserve it. IL yo,
want to shave off some of the bristlini
pride OF your own heart, do so. but b
gerry careful how You put the sharp edg
nj bprq Iots, 4 Il I,aItl.- In hab xrtp
Dr those persons who, when people ar
unfortunate, say, "{ told you so; gettn
punished; served him right" II those
iold You SOS got their desert they woul
long ago have been pitched over the bat
tler-s4a The mote in their neighbor'
sSes,so slaili that il takes a microscop
70 hnd 1t, gives them more trouble tha
the beam which obscures their own optics
with ar sometimes supercilous and some
times nharlsaical and always basphemou
they take the razor of divine Judgment an
sharpen it on the bone of their own har
hearts, and then 70 to work on me
sprawied out at full length under disaster
cutting mercilessly. They begin by sol
expressions OF sympathy and pity, an
heit praise and lather the victim all owe
before they put on the sharp edge.
Let us be careful how we shoot at otl
FRS, lest we take down the wrong on,
remembering the servant of King Williar
dtufls who shot at deer, but the AFRO,
glanced against tree and killed the kins
Instead of going out with shafts to pierc
pnd razors to cut, we had better irnitat
Che friend of Richard Occur de Lior
Richard; in the war OF the Crusades, wa
captured and imprisoned, but none Of hi
friends knew where, so his loyal frien
weat around the land from stronghold {
stronghold and sang at each window
snatch Of a song that Richard Occur
Lion had taught him i'll other days. An
one day coming before a Jail where
suspected his king might be incarcei
a,ted, he sang two lines Of song and imm,
diately King Richard responded from hi
cell with the other two lines, and so hi
hereabouts were discovered, and SUI
essIul movement was at once made fc
MS liberation. So let us go up and dow
me world with the music of kind word
and sympathetic hearts, serenading th
unfortunate and trying TO get out {
trouble men who had noble natures, bu
by Unforeseen circumstances have bee
,nearcerated, thus liberating kings. Nor
8 hymn-book and less razor.
Especially ought we to be APOLOGIZE
nd merciful toward those who while the
We great fsp7ss hove also great virtues
sople are barren of virtues; n