Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-08-07
TALMAGE
SERMON
BY Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE, DID,,
Faster Of yeffcrson Park preshy-
terrain Church. Chicago

coESecrated mothers and daughters of
America and pleads for 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 Cos
pei"
The conspicuous places in the church
have always been filed by men. The
effective, personal work OF the church,
however, has TO 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 unfaithfui
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 euloglzed by military
historians and poets as that of the
IMAM behind the gun" They declare
1t was not the great leaders like Robert
L. Lee and Stonewall Jackson or u. y.
Grant and w. L. Sherman who bore
the chief brunt of the civil war. 1t
was the common soldier in the ranks.
II was the artilleryman 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 l would have been run
down by my own men. who were run
ming after me-" 1t 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.
The Woman Behind the GospeI Gum.
But though in military parlance we
may talk about the man behind the
gum" we cannot in the church mill
tant. II is the woman behind the COS
pei gun" who for centuries upon CEN
turtles has borne the greatest brunt of
religious strife. 1t 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 I'm 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 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.
Nenriy every man in my audience
today is believer in Jesus Christ. Ii
IL so with other churches. Inhdels and
agnostics arc still numerous, unhap-
PLY, but they are not in our churches,
ana the voice from the pulpit does not
reach their ears. My ministry so far
as preaching 10 in1dels and atheists
ana agnostics is concerned is practical
ly ended. Theodore Cuylcr. the grand
old man OF the Brooklyn pulpit, lately
declared that in ministry of over
sixty years he had never yet preached
sermon upon the divine authenticity
or the Scriptures. He believed that
almost every person with whom his
work came in contact was not only a
believer I'm the Bible, but also in the
divinity of Jesus Christ. / believe that
DR.. Cuyler is right l believe that ey-
cry man In church today is not only a
believer In Jesus Christ, but that he
also expects some day TO receive Christ
rs his Saviour and TO be redeemed
from sin by the atonement OF the cross.
Christ's saving Power.
You show the fact involuntariIy, al
most automatically. / can prove 10
you in very few words that YOU are n
believer in the saving power OF a divine
Christ. How do you act? What do you
say In a crisisI Surprising you were
swept or the dock OF a transatlantic
steamer like Captain Courageous in
hudyard kipling's story? What would |
be the first cry which would involun- |
tarily come 10 your lips? Would you
not call out at the top of your voice. |
My God, helpf" Supposing you were |
caught in blizzard upon the western
prairie. After you had for hours been |
Wondering around and around in the |
ever deepening snow, would you not, |
with your benumbed faculties, moan:
- Christ. save mel o Christ, save
mel! When we were climbing over
the Johnstown ruins a few days after
the awful ConemauGh food, Rev. DIR.
Beale told me that during the pande-
monium OF death a saloon keeper, as he
was sweeping by, caught hold of his
church's steeple. As he hung there he
was heard again and again TO beseech
God for his life. Mr.. Moody said that
when he was returning from Europe
on the last trip of his life the steamer
for n whole day was every moment ex-
pected to go TO the bottom Then he
heard men everywhere publicly pray
Ing TO God for help-men who, perhaps.
had not publicly or privately prayed to
COD Tor years. Their prayers Mt that
Time proved conclusively that most moa
40 believe In Jesus Christ; that mott
men DO expect some day to be saved
by the atoning power of the cross.
Now, my brother, If you believe In
uAfu AOpc SOLle Jay 10 De
saved by him why is it that your belief
does not affect your life? why are you
not man enough to go and work in his
vineyardf Your slothful, lazy habits.
In spiritual sense, ought to make YOU
despise yourself and have utter con-
tempt for your past actions in reference
TO your church. You know it is ingram.
ed In every manly man to despise a
shirk. If party of us should go hunt
ing next summer we would naturally
expect every member of that party to
do his full share of work. If one of the
men refused to do it we would never
take him out upon another camping
trip. We would say to one another:
THAT man is no good. He is mean and
He is n lazy, despicable
shirk." i have had business men come
TO me and ask: what shall do?
have entered into a business partner.