Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-02-05
A WARNING SOUNDED.
REV. LR. TALMAGE ADVISES THE
CHURCH OF CHRIST.
Its Talent In UndeveIoped and It's
Energy Dormant - Meanwhile the
Enemy Makes the Most Of His OPP
nOrtuuitieS.
Copyright, Louis Klopsch. 1901

portunities.
Copyright, Louis Klopsch, 1901
WASHINGTON, Feb. An this dis
course Dr. Talmage shows how the
cause of righteousness has lost many
of it's weapons and how they are to
be recaptured and put into effective
operation; text, | Samuel xiii. 1921:
~'Now there was no smith found
throughout all the land of Israel, for
the Phlistines said, Lest the Hebrews
make them swords or spears. But all
the ISraelites went down to the Philis-
tines. to sharpen every man his share,
and his coulter, and his ak, and his
-nattock. 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 were only two swords left in all
the land. Yea, these Philistines went
on until they had taken all the grind
stones from the land of Israel, SO that
if an ISraelitiSh farmer wanted to
sharpen his pillow or his AK he had to go
over to the garrison of the PhiliStines
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 q 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
hills to make swords of. but they
would not have any bIacksmiths to
weld this iron. If they got the iron
welded. they would have no grind
ments of agriculture or the military
wea pons up to an edge.
Oh. you poor. weaponless Israelites,
reduced to a file. how | pity you, But
these Philistines were not forever to
keep their heel on the neck of Gods
children. Jonathan. on his hands and
knees. climbs up a 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 Philistines the Lord
throwing great terror upon them. So
1t was then: so it is now. Two men of
God on their knees mightier than a
Philistine host on their feet.
Dangerous For the Church.
l learn. first, from this subject that
it is dangerous for the church of God
to allow its weapons to stay in the
hands of its enemies. These Israelites
might again and again have obtained
a supply of swords and Weapons-as,
for instance. when they took the spoiIs
of the Ammonites-bu these Israelites
seemed content to have no swords, no
spears. no blacksmiths. no grindstones.
no active iron mines, until it was too
late for them to make any resistance.
L see the farmers Juggling along with
their pickaSes and pillow. and | say,
"Where are you going with those
things?" They say. ''Oh. we are going
over to the garrison of the Philistines
to get these things sharpened" | say:
''You foolish men. Why don't you
sharpen them at homer "Oh." they
say. 1.-The blacksmiths' shops are all
torn down. and we have nothing left
us but 4 fi1e,"
So it is in the church of Jesus Christ
today. We are too willing to give up
our weapons to the enemy. The world
boasts that it has gobbled up the
schools. and the colleges, and the arts.
hn hn
and the printing press Infdelity is
making a mighty attempt to get all our
weapons in it's hand and then to keep
them. You know it is making this
boast all the time. and after awhile.
when the great battle between sin and
righteousness has opened. if we do not
look out we will be as badly off as
these Israelites. without any swords to
fight with and without any sharpening
instruments. | call upon the superin-
tendents of literary institutions to SEE
to il that the men who go into the
classrooms to stand beside the Leyden
jars. and the electric batteries, and the
microscopes and telescopes. be CHI:
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 to capture the sci
ence, and scholastic Christians to cap
ture the scholarship. and philosophic
Christians to capture the philosophy,
and lecturing Christians 70 take back
the lecturing platform. We want to
send out against Schenkei and Strauss
and Renan Theodore Christlieb of
Bonn and against the infdel scientists
of the day a God worshiping Silliman
md Hitnhnnnl- SSiz We wa