The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1900-04-07
TALMAGE
SERMON.

Subject: A Warning Sounded-The Talent |
OF the Church Of Christ is Unde- |
teIoped and Its Energy Dormant |
The Enemy Profits by This:
copyright 1901
WASHINGTON, D. Gin this discourse DR.. |
ramage shows how the cause OF right
eousness has lost many OF its weapons and
how they are to be recaptured and put into
effective operations; text, l. Samuel KILL,
1921: "Now there was no smith found
throughout ali the land OF Israel, for the
Pbilistines said, Lest the Hebrews make
Them swords or spears But all the Israeli
ties went down to the Philistines, to
sharpen every man his share, and his coui-
ter. and his AK, and his mattock.. Yet they
had q flle for tho mattoes and for the coul.
tiers, and for the forks, and for the axes,
AM to sharpen the goads."
What II CALLING sIbjugation for the Is.
raelites The Philistines had carried of all
The blacksmiths and torn down all the
b,acksmiths' shops and abolished the black
smiths trade in the land of Israel. The
Philistines would not even allow these par
ties TO work their valuable mins5 OF brass
and iron, nor might they make any SWORDS
or spears. There were only two swords
left In all the land. Yea, these Pbilistines
went on until; they had taken all the grind
stones from the land OF Israel, so that II an
Israelitish farmer wanted to sharpen bis
plow or his axe he had 20 go over to the
garrison OF the Philistines to get 1t done.
there was only one sharpening Instrument
left in the land, and that was file, the
| farmers and mechanics having nothing to
| whet up the coulter and the goad and the
| pickax save a simple fle. Industry was
| /. l. r0rIr v,rp nICOrAnA6.
The great idea OF these Philistines was to
| keep the Israelites disarmed, They might
| get iron out OF the hills 10 make swords OF,
| but they would not have any blacksmiths
10 weld this iron. II they got the iron
welded, they would have no grndstone5
| on which to bring the instruments OF agri-
culture or the military weapons up to an
| edge.
On. YOU poor, weaponless Israelites, re-
dueed to a file, how pity you'll But these
Pbilistines were not forever to Keep their
heel on the neck OF Gods children. Jona-
than. on his hands and knees, climbs up
\ great rock, beyond which were the Phil
lstines, 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 Philistines, the Lord throw
ing q great terror upon them. SO 1t was
Then: SO 1t is now. Two men OF God on
their knees mightier than Philistine host
on their feeti
learn, first, from this subject that it is
dangerous for the church OF GOD 70 aiiow
its weapons to stay in the hands OF its enc
mics. These Israelites might again and
again have obtained a supply OF swords
and weapons-as, for instance, when tney
took the spoils OF the Ammonites--bul
these Israelites seemed content to have nc
swords, no spears. no blacksmiths, nc
grindstones, no active iron mines, un
| fo~ FL fo "a "a a rt
sistance, / see the farmers tugging along
with their pickaxes and plow, and say
"Wbere are you going with those things9'
They saw sob, we are going over TO tint
garrison OF the PhiIistines TO get thes.
things sharpenedr' / say, "You foolisl
menl Why don't you sharpen them =. a
be me?"s "Ob," they say. "the black
smiths shops are ali torn down. and w
/ have nothing left US but filel'
, So 1t is In the church of Jesus Christ to
day. We arc too willing to give up GU
weapons to the enemy. The world boast
that it has gobbled up the schools, and til
colleges, and the arts, and the sciences
and the literature, and the printing press
Infdelity is making mighty attempt I
get all our weapons in its hand and then I
: keep them. You know it is making tn
4 ! boast all the time, and after awhile, whe
/, tho great battle between sin and righteous
= ness has opened. IL we do not look out "
: will be as badly off as these Israeiitie
Q without any swords to fight with and witt
= out any sharpening instruments. L ca
upon the superintendent OF literary inst
tntions TO see to it that the men who go il
8 tc the c.assrooms to stand beside the LIE.
. ien lars, and the electric batteries, and I'll
:, microscopes and telescopes, be children
' God, not Philistines.
: The TyndaIlean~ thinkers OF our time
t are trying to get all the intellectu;
v weapons in their own grasp. we wal
I scientific Christians to capture the science
II and scholastic Christians to capture IL
1t scholarship, and philosophic Christians
d CAPTURE philosophy, and lecturing Chri
o. tians to take back the lecturing platforl
9 We want to send out against Schenkel az
Strauss and Renan Theodore Christie
If Of Bonn and against the infldel scientist
e of the day God-worshiping Silliman az
- Hitchcock and AgassiZ. We want TO ca
- ture all the phiIos optical apparatus nj
10 swing around the telescopes on the swiv
until through them we can see the NOR
10 inp star of the Redeemer, and with mine
!. Illogical hammer discover the Rock
~ Ages. and amid the fora OF all realms III
NJ the Rose of Sharon and the Lilly OF
q Valley. We want some one able 10 9
~ pound the first chapter OF Genesis, bring
p Il the geology and the astronomy oil I
world. until, as Job suggested, "the ston
e, of the field shall be in league" with I
10 trnth and the stars In their course sh
aoht against Sisera, Oh, church OF &c
70 90 out and recapture these weaponsi
n Let men of God 60 out and take poss
d, sion OF the platform. Let any PRINT,
to presses that have been captured py
= enemy DO recaptured for God, ana me
le porters. and the typesetters, and the
d. TORS. and the publishers swear all
ne leeiance to tie Lord God OF truth. An,
- friend. that day must come. and IL
~ great body OF Christian men have not
g, faith or courage or the conservation 70
a n then let some Jonathan on his pI
A hands and on his praying knees climb
on the rock of hindrance and, in the ma
VI of the Lord God OF Israel, SLASH 10 pie
:. those literary Philistines. IL these 4
RS will not be converted TO dod, tneh u
IL must be overth-own.
u, large amount OF the church's resources
ite actually hidden and buried and unde'
90 onad The Bible intimates that that wi
-, | verv rich land, this land OF israel.
lue snys. ssrhe stones are iron, and out OIL
Int hills thou shalt dig brass" and yet D
zee jreds and thousands OF dollars WORT
pa this metal was kept under the hills. "
-. that is the difficulty with the chure'
tie oned. If one-half OF its energy could
aid braueht out. it might take the public
iouities OF the day by the throat and II
:. 1 them bite the DUST IL human eloqut
ed were copsecrated to the Lord Jesus Chl
erg II would in a few years persuade the W
.od Garth 10 surrender to God. Ther'
enough undeveloped energy In this cit
On bring all the United states 70 Cn
M enough of undeveloped Christian en-
18th in the United States to bring the "
i, . world to Christ, but 1t IL buried VI
!. :" sod;Horauaa and uQder W