SUNDAY READING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 55, 26 August 1911, Page 10

SUNDAY READING.

SERMON BY THE REV. H. SHARP, Fitzroy Primitive Methodist Church. Tic of good courage and let us play the men for our people and for the cities of our 00d.—2 Sam. x-12. The circumstances are these. David wanted to show his sympathy witli the King of the Ammonites, whose father had just died. It was genuine sympathy. David's sorrow was real; for Xahash had onee shown great kindness to 'him. And now his old friend and benefactor was dead and his son reigned in his place. As soon as the news reached David that Xahash was dead he sent a number of messages of sympathy to the dead King's son. You and I would not have done the same thing. But there were some princes round Hanun, the new king, who misconstrued David's kindjiess. They were men of "narrow soul and stunted vision, who measured giants by their narrow gauge." Not capable of a magnanimous thought or action themselves, they thought nobody else could be. Full of mean and unworthy motives, they judged others to be likeminded. Coming to their King they said something like this: "You had better be careful with that King David; he has got some scheme or other in his mind, and these messengers have been sent to spy out our land. Can't you see his wicked designs? He is not sorry about your father's death. It is all make-believe so that he can send these men here to look round. Have them punished and sent back." And the young King listened and his heart was poisoned by these conspiring and foolish princes, so that instead of receiving David's messengers kindly, and making them welcome to his court, Nahun consented to have them insulted and shamefully treated. Just in passing let me remark that these princes resemble

PEOPLE OF THE lAGO TYPE, who live amongst us to-day. You remembers how jealous lago became because Othello promoted Cassio'and how that jealousy and bitterness drove him to do the most despicable acts, and contrive and scheme day and night until his revenge brought about the death of the innocent and faithful Desdemona, and then how when it was too late lago's treachery was discovered. Ido not mean that these people's mischief is carried to the same extent as lago's but tliev poison the minds of others and make them suspect you of all kinds of things which before had never entered into their thoughts. Some day you find yourself shunned and you say, "Where are my old friends now? I don't see them so often. Why do people pass so quickly by who used to stop and speak? Why is there such a coldness now on the part of some who greeted me so warmly before? What have I done? What have I said?" It sometimes lias been the case that somebody has been poisoning the minds of people's friends and insinuating that they do certain things from unworthy motives. It may be so in your case. ' I do not say it is. It lias been said that the certainty of the outsider is the nearest approach to omniscience within human experience. Well, let us not be discouraged or surprised when we meet with these people who know everything and who can explain so well just why you are men and care about the safety you do this dan go there and say that.

A HUGE BLUNDER. Now. there are times when it is a huge blunder to take 110 notice of insults given either to ourselves or to others. It is a sign of weakness; it is a form of cowardice not to resent and punish certain deeds of cruelty and crime. I have no patience with people who want to palliate sin and bring in extenuating pleas for every brutal and shameful assault and injury. Our Lord never condoned sin. He pitied the fallen, He helped the burdened and oppressed. He spoke lovingly and gently to the sufferer, but He did not fawn upon the men who burdened and oppressed. He spoke words of the sharpest rebuke: "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ve escape the damnation of hell?" There are some men who sin so shamefully, who perpetrate deeds so dark and horrible, worse by far than man}' who are punished by the' law, but who are never touched, never hurt, that we feel that Dr. Torrey was right when he said, "Men, if there is not a hell there ought to be." And so I am in full sympathy with David for calling out his men to go and punish the people whose treatment of the King's message and messengers can only be described as dastardly. And when the Ammonites saw what'they had done they gathered a large army, calling out every available man and borrowing reinforcements from the nations close by. Yes; and they would need the largest army they could get. I fancy I see Joab, the general, looking at that motley host and then at his own comparatively small army, while his thoughts about those messengers waiting at Jericho and his indignation rises and his heart is hot within him as he says to his men, "Be of good courage and let us play the men for our people and for the cities of our God." Joab was not thinking so much about themselves as about their loved ones at home and the cities they had built. If they did not strike at the enemy they would come and slay their mothers'anr wives' and children; they would lay their cities in ruin.

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. There is nothing that is so great a menace to our homes and people as the liquor traffic, and if we don't slay it, it will slay us. Let me appeal more especially to the men just now. We want a men's crusade against this danger which threatens our people, as well as a woman's crusade. The drink traffic is an enemy. CJenpral Booth said: "Alcohol, like a mighty torrent, fed by ten thousand manufacturies, sweeps on, bearing with it, T have no hesitation'in saying, the foulest, bloodiest tide that ever (lowed from earth to eternity." The ( lunch of the Living God, and to say nothing about religion, the people who have any humanity ought not to rest without doing something desperate to rescue the thousands who are in the eddying maelstrom. There is a powerful argument in the chapter from which this verse is taken why we all should fight against the liquor traffic. We often meet with people who say, "The drink evil has never affected me; I am not going to vote against it." Let us look at that argument in the light of our lesson. Suppose David's men had said, when he called for his army, "The Ammonites have never touched me; tliev may he a had lot, hut I am not going to fight against them until they lay their hands on me." And David would say, "l'.iit they are threatening to capture our people and our land, and if we don't strike at them we will all be slaves." Hut the men stoutly refuse to assist, because none of them have been troubled in. any way by the Ammonites. And so the people and cities are taken because so many did not do their duty in defending their country from a powerful enemy, David might have said. "Xo. it was not you; but if you are men and care about the safety and well-being of your people and of your cities, you will join the army which marches to fight a common foe." Notice that .Toab did not say. "Be courageous; play the men and defend your-

self." Hut, ''Play the men for our people and the cities of our God." So do not let us take that selfish view which says, "The drink never hurt me, so I am not going to fight it." Let us think of the danger it is to others, and like true men strike a fatal blow at that which is a deadly enemy to home and peonl". ANOTHER ARMY. While T am appealing for the help of men against one section of the foe, I do not forget there are manv more evils around us. Just as the nations of old gathered together, so there are many kinds of evil united into one great army, and it is against the combined forces of evil that God is calling inen to fight. Unless we go forward under the banner of our Lord Jesus Christ wc shall never never prevail. We may change the conditions as much as we please (and I am not disparaging any effort that is made to improve the. environment), but we are then only dealing with the surface of the matter, and in order to fit men for heaven they must have a clean heart. In short, they must be converted. The Church of Jesus Christ is not onliv fighting against every form of sin, but aims to change the nature of, men. It is to this army I would now draw your attention. WHERE ARE THE MEX?

When we look over our congregations, what a small percentage of men we find. What is the reason? We are not wanting in brave men, but they do not attend our churches. We have men who are ready to man our life-boats; fling themselves into the fast-flowing tide; leap into a raging hell of flame; stand on the foot-plate of the' engine and rush into mutilation and death. Is the explanation to be found in the churches or in the men? Let us not be afraid to enquire and examine. Is the Church concerned about the small things of life dealing with patitudes while the vital and important questions are overlooked and forgotten? Ts the Church an unnecessary institution—a kind of a superfluity—which can be noticed or ignored without any loss to character or life? Other questions could be asked, but we' shall have to find the explanation somewhere else. The reason is found in the demands Jesus Christ makes upon men. "If any man will be my- disciple let him take up his cross daily and follow me." That is the great stumbling block. Men who are valiant and fearless on the battlefield and who in the face of bullets never flinched, never turned a hair, are sometimes not able to stand against a breath of ridicule or a little temptation. What we want to-day is a revival of moral courage amongst our men. There are two things Jesus asks His followers to do. The first is to GIVE UP ALL SIN, sinning, lying, stealing, every unholy conversation and practise, in fact, everything you feel and know to be wrong. That will require some courage for a good many men. It means sacrifice, humiliation, struggle—but play the man and do it. If the wicked man will forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, let' him return unto the Lord, for He will have mercy, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. There were a number of people in Ezra's day who had been living in sin for a long time. It pained Ezra to see this thing going on, and he prayed about it. One day when he had prayed and wept before God these people came and acknowledged their guilt and told Ezra they wanted to give it all up and begin a new life. Confessing their sin, they vowed that they would aim to please God in all things, and separating themselves from their old companions in sin and leaving all their works of wickedness behind they went away a forgiven poopie. Many years after that Paul went to Ephesus, and through his powerful preaching many came and confessed their sins. Many of them also who had curious arts brought their books together and burned them. Now, if we come to Christ with all our sin He will forgive us if we are willing to give it up. Be courageous; play the man.

WHOLE-HEARTED SERVICE. The second every soldier in Christ's army must give is whole-hearted service. There must be sympathy with Tlim in the work, and I feel sure that when we remember that Christ has come to destroy everything that is mean and low, everything that endangers life and hope and happiness, wo cannot help but give Him our whole-hearted service. Brother men, Jesus is asking for soldiers. "Who, thro, is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord? Will you stand aloof and refuse to fight the battles of the Lord against the mighty? When I read through the Acts of the Apostles I fancy I hear the measured tread of the troops of God as they march on under the banner of Christ, their King. There is not a fainthearted one to be seen. They are bold, brave, triumphant. Onward, then, yo people! Join our happy throng, Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song, Glory, praise and honor, unto Christ the King, This, through countless ages, men and angels sing,