The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1903-11-06
TRIBUTE TO WOMAN.
Or. Talmage Pleads For Wider
Recognition of Her Work
In the Ordinary Walks OF Religious
Life Her Services Have Been OF
Great Value The Woman
Behind the Gun"

America and pleads for a wider and
more practical recognition Of their serv-
ices in church and religious work. The
text is Philippians iv, 3, Help those
women who labored with me in the gos-
pei"
The conspicuous places in the church
have always been filed by men. The
effective, personal work Of the church,
however, has to a large extent been
done by women. Opening the scroll of
gospel triumphs, the names of the
greatest preachers and organizers have
been men; but in the ordinary walks
Of religious life the consecrated female
workers have always outnumbered the
consecrated male workers. In the his
tory of the Christian church the women
members, as a class, have rarely failed
Christ in hours OF need.
Not she with traitorous kiss her Master
stung;
Not she denied him with unfaithful
tongue.
She when apostles fed could dangers
brave.
First at his cradle knelt. last at his grave.
The part woman has in the gospel
campaign is that eulogized by military
historians and poets as that Of the
"man behind the gun" They declare
It was not the great leaders like Robert
+. Lee and Stonewall Jackson or L. S.
Grant and w. T. Sherman who bore
the chief brunt of the civil war II
was the common soldier in the ranks.
1t was the artilieryman who lived in
the trenches day in and day out 1t
was the sentinel doing picket duty.
They declare that Colonel Theodore
Roosevelt had but little TO do with the
capture Of san Juan hill 1t was the
common soldier, who broke into a run
and swept up to the Spanish block
house. "And it," said Colonel ROose-
Welt, Il had not charged the enemy at
a dead run 1 would have been run
down by my own men, who were run
ming after me-" II was the man be-
hind the gun" who captured San Juan
hill, and he should have his share Of
the glory, which belongs not to Theo-
dore Roosevelt or any other officer
alone.
But though in military parlance we
may talk about the man behind the
gun" we cannot in the church mill
tant. II is the woman behind the Cos
pei gun" who for centuries upon CEN
turies has borne the greatest brunt of
religious strife. IT is the woman be-
hind the gospel gun" in the home, IN
the church, on the street, in the coun-
try. in the city and in the foreign
missions who has carried the name OF
Jesus Christ all around the world. 1t
is the woman behind the gospel gun
who has won the greatest gospel VIC
tories for our churches in the past.
Therefore the purpose Of this sermon
is TO make a manly plea TO the fathers
and husbands, brothers and sons OF
the families Of our churches TO take
their positions in religious work beside
their mothers and wives, sisters and
daughters.
Nearly every man in my audience
today is a believer in Jesus Christ. II
IL so with other churches. lnhdels and
agnostics are still numerous, unhap-
ply, but they are not in our churches,
and the voice from the pulpit does not
reach their ears. My ministry so far
as preaching 10 inhdeis and atheists
and agnostics is concerned is practical
ly ended. Theodore Cuyler, the grand
old man Of the Brooklyn pulpit lately
declared that in a ministry Of over
sixty years he had never yet preached
a sermon upon the divine authenticity
Of the Scriptures He believed that
almost every person with whom bis
work came in contact was not only a
believer In the Bible, but also in the
divinity of Jesus Christ believe that
DR.. Cuyler is right I believe that ey-
err man IN church today is not only
believer in Jesus Christ. but that he
also expects some day to receive Christ
as his Saviour and to be redeemed
from sin by the atonement Of the cross.
Now. my brother. if you believe In
Jesus Christ and hope some day to be
saved by him why is 1t that your belief
does not affect your lifei Why are you
not man enough TO 60 and work in his
Your slothful, lazy habits
In a spiritual sense, ought TO make you
dsspise yourself and have utter CON
tempt for your past actions In reference
to your shurch. You know It Is ingram
ed in every manly man TO despise a
shirk.
Now. II you despise a shirk in pleas
nre and despise a shirk In business
how is II that you are willing to be
yourself shirk in religionl You, my
brother. believing in Jesus Christ and
hoping some day 10 be eternally saved
by his blood. ought In common hon
esty TO fully realize that your actions
toward the church are Just as despica-
bic and contemplate as the shirking
which you despise in
others. You are practically saying TO
yourself: Il want 10 some day reach
heaven: but in the meantime ! want
my wife, my mother, my sister. my
daughter. to DO all my praying and
working in the church. When ! am in
my last sickness want their minister
TO come and fix things all up for me
In a spiritual sense. And when | am
dead want their minister to state
over my casket that l have repeutsd
at the eleventh hour and have been
saved all right In other words, l want
to win every Joy and hope Of the re-
liglous faith without lifting n hand
for Christ, without doing one stroke Of
work In the Masters service" Oh, my