The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1900-02-07
Copyright, Louis K!opsch, 1900.}

lOSI ulduy VI Ills WedpuHS anu ~ y
they are to be recaptured and put INTO
effective operation; text, |. Samuel Kill,
1921: Nov there is no smith FOUND
throughout all the land Of Israel, for the
Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews MAKE
them swords or spears. But all the 1s-
raelites went down to the PhlllStines' "
sharpen every man his share ana ms
coulter, and his AK, and his mattocR. Leu
they had a file for the mattock, ana Tor
the coulters, and for the forks, ana lof
the axes, and to sharpen the goads.
What a calling subjugation for the Is
raelites! The Philistines had carried on
all the blacksmiths and torn down all the
blacksmiths' shops and abolished 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 grindstones 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 farm
ers and mechanics having nothing to
whet up the coulter. and the goad. and
the pickax, 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 hills
to make swords of, but they would not
have any blacksmiths to weld this iron.
If they got the iron welded, they would
have no grindstones on which to bring
the instruments of agriculture or the mil
itary weapons up to an edge.
Oh, you poor, weaponless Israelites, re-
duced to a file, how | pity you. But these
Philistines were not forever TO keep their
heel on the neck of Gods children. Jona-
than, 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 Phllistines, the
Lord throwing a great terror upon them.
So it was then: so it is now. Two men
of God on their knees mightier than 4
Philistine host on their feet.
[ 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 spoils of the Am
monites, but these Israeites seemed con-
tent 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. farm
ers Juggling along with their pickaXes and
plow, 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 home?" ''Oh," they say,
1.-The blacksmiths' shops are all torn
down. and we have nothing left us but a
file"
Too Willing to Surrender.
SO it is in the church of Jesus Christ
to-day. 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 and the sciences
and the literature and the printing press.
Infdelity is making a mighty attempt to
get all our weapons in its hand, and then
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 sharpening instru-
ments. | call upon the superintendent
OF literary institutions to see to it that
the mon who go into the class rooms to
stand beside the Leyden jars and the cleo
+,9r, JI,a
telescopes be children of God, not Phil
istines.
The Tyndallean thinkers of our times
are trying to get all the intellectual weap-
ons in their own grasp. We want scien-
tific Christians to capture the science
and scholastic Christians to capture the
scholarship and philosophic Christians
to capture the philosophy, and lecturing
Christians to take back the lecturing
platform. We want to send out against
Schenkel and Strauss and Renan a The
odore Christlieb Of Bonn and against the
infdel scientists Of the day God wor-
Shipping Silliman and Hitchcock and Ag-
ASST. We want to capture all the phil
osOphical apparatus and swing around
the telescopes on the swivel until through
them we can see the morning star of the
Redeemer and with meteorological ham
mer discover the Rock of Ages and amid
the fora of all realms find the Rose of
Sharon and the Lily Of the Valley. We
want some one able to expound the first
chapter Of Genesis, bring to it the geolo-
gy and the astronomy of the world until
7 rs job suggested, 1.-THE stones Of the field
shall be in league" with the truth, and
the stars in their course shall fight
against Sisera. Oh, church of God, go
out and recapture these weapons!
Let men of God go out and take pos
session of the platform. Let any printing
presses that have been captured by the
enemy be recaptured for God and the
reporters, and the typesettcrs, and the
editors, and the publishers swear allie
glance to the Lord God of truth All,
my friend, that day must come, and if
the great body Of Christian men have
not the faith, or the courage, or the CON
secration to do it, then let some Jonathan
on his busy hands and OH his praying
knees climb up on the rock of Hindrance
and in the name of the Lord God Of Is
rael slash to pieces these literary Philis-
txyin hao