The Caucasian., 1907-02-05
C>almaQe
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talnnaee, D. D.

Los Angeles, tdl.. l. eD. 0.-1n IillS
sermon on the sudden rise Of Jehu IL
power the prea cher shows us that God
sometimes uses strange Instruments to
ccomDlSh his purposes and that un-
expected temporal success is often the
cause Of 4 mans destruction. The text
is ii Kings ix, 90. For he dryeth
furiously.''
The world always makes way for its
intense men, whose hearts are pump
ing arteral blood filled with red cor
puscles Robert Hall, Richard Baxter.
Douglas Jerrold. Edward Payson, Rob
ert McCneyne John Keats and Alex
ander H. Stephens as yaletudinarians
may have won immortal fame, but
they started the battle of life with an
awful handicap. The world pities the
inmates of its hospitals. But pity :
not the armor bearer standing By the
chariots of war and waiting TO run t.
the bidding of its military heroes. The
stouter the fist. the broader the lungs
the deeper the voice and the more
flashing the eye Of the king. the more
inclined are his subjects to kneel down
and worship him. When the lion tanner
enters the cage of the Wild beasts
his eye must never quiver nor his hand
which holds the lash tremblc even fol
an instant or the powerful beasts will
be leaping at his throat. The world
has hut little use for weaklngs. 1t
admires chiefly the man who can lead
all his contemporaries in the athletic
arena and strike the hardest blows in
the battlefield and who is ready to face
every emergency and conquer or die
Such a man was the hero of my text.
What he attempted to do he did with
his whole body, mind and soul. Jehu's
spirit was like a fioodgate. When he
attempted to do anything he opened
his fioodgate and let all the waters
of his energies rush forth in one ter
rife onward effort. When he played
he played with his whole heart When
he worked he worked in the same way.
This life Of Jehu reminds me Il great
deal in its Intensity of the great Eng
lish diplomat, Sir Charles Ewan-Smith.
Some years ago he represented his
queen at the capital of Fez, in the en-
pire of Morocco. While there a great
Moorish uprising against the Chris
tians took place. \ movement like the
Boxers uprising in China was about to
be enacted upon the African shores.
The sultan hastily sent his messenger;
to the English embassy saying: Come
quickly, Come to my palace, or | can
not protect you! Then in the morning
| will send my troops to escort YOU
and your family to the coast" Sir
Charles calmly replied: Il do not in
tend to leave; neither do | intend to
come to your palace for protection.
'Tis true. | may be killed, and my wife
and children may be killed, but yo;i
go back and tell your sultan that if |
am killed within one month there will
be another British minister in the cap
ital of FeZ and he will be accompanied
by a British army, and when that Brit
ish army comes there will he no Moor
ish sultan In FeZ" The sultan realiZ
ed he was dealing with giant. At the
royal command the Mohammedan up
rising against the Christians in Moroc-
co instantly ceased What Sir Charles
Evan Smith did in Morocco, Jehu, the
mighty soldier. did in Samaria. When
God selected him as king to succeed
the infamous Joram, who was the son
OF the Infamous Ahab, he Immediately
entered his chariot. He gathered his
army. He swept On to battle. He
claimed the throne, scattering all oppo-
sition before him even as the winds
scatter the chaff from off the thrashing
floors of the east
Jehu's Energy.
All, yes, Jehu was man Of intense
energy When he attempted to do any
thing, he was like an exploding ear
fridge burning up every grain of pow
der which it had stored behind the
ball. Thus today the figure of my
foam. On comes the future king to-
ward the royal palace of Jezreel. As
he rrshes on the Waterman in the
royal tower carefully scans the ap-
preaching cavalcade. He says to the
anxious king beside him, who is soon
to be murdered, 'The driving is like
the driving of Jehu, for he driveth fu-
riously" So the king assembled his
army and went forth to meet Jehh,
And Joram was slain near to the vine
yard of Naboth, which his father had
stolen by conniving at the murder of
its late owner Such is the story of
the advent of Jehu to Israefs throne,
from whose life we are going to learn
our sermonic lessons of this Lord s
day.
This biographical sketch. in the first
place, teaches us that sometimes God
uses a very bad man to work out his
purposes. He sometimes says to his
Jehus: "You. O selfish and sinful men,
are to be the agencies by which | will
execute my warnings. You are to car
ry my chalices even though your hands
are sinful. You are to unsheathe my
avenging sword even though you have
evil hearts You are to run my er-
rands even though you are answering
the calls of greed and crime" Thus