Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-10-26

oSS u'N'eeu INC blole out OF existence.
Thomas Paine said: I'm my Age OF
Reason l have annihilated the Scrip
lures Your Washington is n pusiliani-
NOUS Christian. but I am the foe OF
Bibles and OF churches" Oh how
many assaults upon that word, All the
hostilitics that have ever been created
on earth are not Ia be compared with
the hOstilitieS against that one book.
Said one man in his infiticl desperation
10 his wife. "You must not be reading
That Bible" and he snatched IL away
IRON her. And though I'm that Bible
was a lock OF hair of the dead child
the only child that God had ever given
them-he pitched the book with sts
contents into the fre and stirred II
with the tOngs and spat on il and ours
cd 10 and said. susan. never have any
more of that damnable stuff here
Enemies OF the Bible Routed.
How many individual and organized
attempts have been made 10 extermi-
nate that Bibiey Have its enemies
done It? Have they exterminated the
American Bible society? Have they
eNterlninated the British and Foreign
Eible society? Have they extcrminat-
ell the thousands OF Christian instiyu-
lions whose only object il is to multi
ply copies Of the Scriptures and spread
them broadcast around the world?
They have eXterminated until instead
or one or two copies of the Bible in our
houses we have eight or ten. and we
pile them up i'm the corners of our Sab
bath school rooms and send great box
cS of them everywhere. If they get on
as we'll as they are now going on in the
work of determination. I do not know
Lut TINT our children may live to see
the millennium. Yea. If there should
come time of persecution In which all
the known Bibles Of the earth should
be destroyed, all these lamps of l.fe
that blaze In our pulpits and In orr
families eNtinguishCd. in the very day
that iniidclity and sin should be hold
ing jubilee over the universal extinc-
ton there would be In some closet of a
backwoods church n secreted copy OF
tie Bible. aud this Joash of eternal lit
erature would come fout and come I'D
and take the throne. and the Athaliah
of infidelity and persecution would fiy
out the back door of the palace and
drop her miserable carcass under the
hoofs of the. horses of the kings sta
bies. You cannot exterminate Chris
tianityi You cannot kin Joashl
The second thought | hand you from
my subject is that there are opportuni-
ties in which we may save ROYAL life.
You know that profane history Is re-
ple;c with stories OF strangled mon
archs and Of young princes who have
been put out of the way. Here is the
story of young king saved. How .Ie-
hosheba. the clergyman's wife. must
have trembled as she rushed into the
imperial nursery and snatched up
Joash, How she hushed him lest by
his cry he hinder the escape! Fly with
him. Jehosheba! You hold I'm your
arms the cause OF God and good gov
crnment Fail. and he is slain. Sue
coed. and you. turn the tide OF the
worlds history In the right direction.
IL seems IA if between that young king
and his assnssins there is nothing but
the frail arm OF woman. But why
should we spend our time I'm praisinC
this bravery of expedition When God
asks the same thing OF you and me?
All around MS the impcrilcd children OF
great king. They are born OF Al
mighty paren;nge and will come 10 n
throne or crown II permitted. But
yin, the old Athaliah. goes forth 10 the
massacre% Murdcrous temptations are
out for the assassination. valens. the
emperor. was told that there was
somebody I'm his realm who would
rsurp his throne and that the name of
the man who should be the usurpcr
would begin with the letters 7. II. r..
o. ID. and che edlct went forth from
the enpcrors throne. XIII everybody
whose name begins with Il, III. +. O
d." And hundreds ard thousands were
slain. hoping 10y that massacre 60 put
an end To That one usurpcr. But sin Is
more terrific la it's dcnunciation. II
matters not how YOU spcll your name
you come under IT'S knife. under its
sword, under It's doom. unless there be
some omnipotent relief brought 20 the
rescue. But, blessed be God, there Is
such thing us delivering royal soul.
Who VIII snatch away Joash?
Reclaim the Children.
This afternoon IN your Sabbath
school class there will he n prince of
God. some one who may yet reign as
King forever before the throne. There
VIII be some one in your class who has
Il corrupt physical inheritance. There
viii be some one I'm your class who has
a rather and mother who do not know |
how TO pray. There will De some one
In your class who Is destined 10 COM |
mand in church or state-some Crom- |
well TO dissolve n parliament, some |
Beethoven 20 touch the worlds harm |
strings, some John Howard to pour |
fresh air in the laZaretto. some Flor |
cnce Nightingale 10 bandage the bat |
tie wounds, some Miss Dix 10 soothe'
the crazed brain. some John Frederick
Oberlin TO educate the besotted. some
David Brainerd TO change the Indians
war whoop TO Sabbath song, some
John Wesley TO marshal three fourths
OK Christendom, some John Knox to
make queens turn pale, some Joash TO
demoiish idolatry and strike for the
Kingdom OF heaven. There are sleep
ns In your cradles by night. there are
playing In your, nurseries by day. impe-
rial souls waiting for dominion. and
whichever side the cradle they get out
VIII decide the destiny of empires. For
Zach one OF those children sin and holi-
ness contend, Athaliah on the one side,
Iehosheba on the other. But / hear
'eople say: What's the use of bother
ng children with religious instruction?
Let them grow up and choose for
themselves. Don't interfere with their
'ohtion." Suppose some one had said
% Jehosheba: Don't interfere with
hat young Joash. Let him grow I'D
md decide whether he likes the palace
'r not whether he wants to be king or
lot. Don't disturb his volitlon." Je-
losheba knew right well that unless
hat day the young king was rescued
lie would never be rescued at oil. |
ell you. my friends. the reason we
'ont reclaim all our children from
vorldiiness is because we begin too
ate. Parents wait until their children