The Penn's Grove record., 1900-10-26
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject A Precious Burden-Sci0n of the
House of David in Jehosheba's Arms
A Lesson From the Slaughter Of h
Princes-Lead Children to Christ.
copyright 1901


House of David in Jehosheba's Arms
A Lesson From the Slaughter Of the
Princes-Lead Children to Christ.
copyright 1901
WASHINGTON, D. Gin this discourse
on a neglected incident of the Billie DR..
Talmage draws some comforting lessons,
lures that we may help deliver. The text
is II. Kings xi, 2, 8: t'Jehosheba, the
daughter of King .Joram, sister of Aha.
ziah, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and
stole him from among the kings sons
which were slain, and they hid him, even
him a. his nurse, in the bedchamber
from AtLs liah, SO that he was not slain.
And he was with her hid in the house of
the Lord six wears"
Granimothers are more lenient with
their children's children than they were
discipline be necessary chastisement is
used, but at seventy the grandmother,
looking upon the misbehavior Of the grand
chilli is apologize and disposed to sub
stitute confectionery for whip. There is
nothing more beautiful than childhood.
Grandmother takes out her pockethand-
kerchief and wipes her spectacles and puts
them on and looks down into the face of
her mischievo.s and rebellious descendant
ailo says i uOu y I'LL Lie ulCduI W W
it. Let him off this time. I'll be response
BILE for his behavior in the future" My
mother, with the second generation around
her, :. boisterous crew, said one day: II
suppose they ought to be disciplined, but
| can't do it. Grandmothers are not fit
to bring up grandchildren" But here in
my text we have grandmother Of a diff
ferent type.
| have been at Jerusalem, where the oc-
n1D - H. l1x~4 k~~l- -1--- - It.
whole scene came wildly before me while
| was going over the site of the ancient
temple and climbing the towers of the
kings palace. Here in the text it is old
Athaliah, the royal murderess. She ought
to have been honorable. Her father was
a king. Her husband was a king. Her son
was a king. And yet we find her plotting
for the determination of the entire royal
family, including her own grandchildren.
The eXecutioners' knives are ,s~harpened.
The palace is red with the blood of princes
and princesses. On all sides are shrieks
and hands thrown up and struggle and
death groan. No mercy! Kill! kill! But
while the ivory floors of the palace run
with carnage and the whole land is under
the shadow of a great horror a fleet
footed woman, a ~clergyman's wife, Jeho-
sheba by name, stealthily approaches the
imperial nursery, seizes upon the grand
child that had somehow as yet escaped
massacre, wraps it up tenderly, but in
haste, ~snuggles it against her, flies down
the palace stairs, her heart in her throat
lest she be discovered in this compassion
ate abduction. Get her out of the way as
quick as you can, for she carries a precious
burden. even a young king. With this
youthful prize she presses into the room
OF the ancient temple, the church of olden
time, unwraps the young king and puts
him down, sound asleep as he is and un-
conscious of the peril that has been threat
ened, and there for six years he is secreted
Id that church apartment. Meanwhile old
Athaliah smacks her lips with satisfaction
and thinks that all the royal family are
dead. But the six years expire, and it is
time for young Joash to come forth and
take the throne and to push back into
disgrace and death old Athaliah.
The arrangements are all made for DO
litical revolution. The military come and
take possession of the temple, swear 10y
atty. to the boy Joash and stand around
for Ills defense. See the sharpened swords
and the FURNISHED shields! Everything is
ready. Now Joash, half affrighted at the
armed tramp of his defenders, scared at
the vociferaticn of his admirers, is brought
forth in full regalia. The scroll of author.
ity is put in his hands, the coronet of gov
ernment is put on his brow, and the peo-
pie clapped and waved and huzzaed and
trumpeted. what is that?" said Atha-
liah. What is that sound over in the
temple?" And she flies to see, and On her
way they meet her and say: "Why,
haven't you heard? You thought YOU
had slain ell the royal family, but Joash
has come to light" Then the royal MUIR
deress, frantic with rage, grabbed her man
tie and tore it to tatters and cried until
she foamed at the mouth: "You have no
right to crown my grandson. You have
no right to take the government from my
shoulders. Treason, treason!"
While she stood there crying the mill
tary started for her arrest, and she took
a short cut through a back door of the
but the battleaXes Of the military fell on
her in the barnyard, and for many a day
when the horses were being unloosened
from the chariot after drawing out young
Joash the fiery steeds would snort and
rear passing the place as they smell the
place of the carnage.
The first thought / hand you from this
subject is that the determination of right
eousness is an impossibility. Nhen a
woman is good she is ait to be very good,
and when she is bad she is apt to be very
bad, and this Athaliah was one of the
latter sort. She would exterminate the
last scion of the house of David. through
whom Jesus was to m There was
plenty OF work for embalmers and under
takers. She would clear the land of all
God fearing and God loving people. She
would put an end to everything that could
IN anywise interfere with her imperial
~criminality. She folds her hands and says:
The work is done. 1t is completely
done" Is it! In the ~swaddling clothes Of
that church apartment are wrapped the
raroQ nf (rnd aud fba ~, &c ~DaI ~1r,
eminent. That is the scion of the house
of David. It is Joash, the God-worshiping
reformer. 1t is Joash, the friend of God.
1t is Joash, the demoralizer of Baalitish
idolatry. Rock him tenderly, nurse him
gently. Athaliah, you may kill all the
other children, but you cannot kill him.
Eternal defenses are thrown all around
him, and this ~clergyman's wife, Jehosheba,
will snatch him up from the palace nurs-
house of the Lord, and there she will
hide HIM for SIX years, and at the end of
that time he will come forth for your de-
thronement and obliteration.
Well, my friends, just as poor a botch
does the world always make of extin-
gushing righteousness. Superstition rises
up and says, Il will just put an end to
pure religion" Domitian slew 10000
Christians, Diocletian slew 8A 600 Chris.
tians. And the scythe of persecution has
been swung through all the ages, and the
flames Kissed and the guillotine chopped,
and the Bastile groaned, but did the foes
OF Christianity exterminate it? Did they
exterminate Alban, the first British sacri
fee, or Zwingli, the Swiss reformer, OF
John Oldcastle, the Christian nobleman
or Abdallah, the Arabian martyr, or Anne
Askew or Sanders or Cranmer? Great
work of determination they made Of it
just at the time when they thought they
had slain all the royal family Of Jesus
some Joash would spring up and out and
take the throne Of power and WELD a very
/! scepter of Christian dominion.
Infidelity says, II will exterminate the
Bible and the Scriptures were thrown
into the stree. for the mob to trample on
and they were piled up in the public
squares and set on fire, and mountains 81
indignant contempt were hurled on them
and learned universities decreed the Biblt
out of existence. Thomas Paine said: "Ir
my Age of Reason / have annihilated the
Scriptures. Your Washington is a pusil
luminous Christian, but / am the foe Of
Bibles and of churches" Oh, how many
assaults upon that word! All the hostili
ties that have ever been created on eartl
are not to be compared with the hostilities
against that one book. Said one man ii
his infidel desperation to his wife, "Yot
must not be reading that Bible" and ht