The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, June 08, 1904, Image 7
0k SEEMON FOE SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED,
"NEED OF A REVIVAL."
Th^Rc*. Dr. Philip S. Moxam Says That
We Require a Fresh Conviction of the
Reality of Salvation?Too Much Aboorption
in the Pursuit of Riches.
/
Brooklyn, N. Y.?In Plymouth Church
the Rev. Philip S. Mcxom, of Springfield,
Mass., preached Sunday morning. Dr.
Moxom's subject was "The Need of a Revival."
He took his text from Habakkuk
iii:2: "0 Jehovah, revive Thy work in the
midst cf the years; in the midst of the
years make it known; in wrath remember
mercy." Dr. Mosom said:
J.Q limes past, Tvnen me cnurcn -sva? iu a
low state of religious vitality, the more
spiritual of the members, distressed by the
absence of vigorous life and burdened by
the condition of the multitude who were
looked upon as lost, sought a revival of
religion. They sought by prayer, earnest
and long continued, to deepen their own
experience of divine grace; they sought by
communion with others of like mind and
by mutual exhortation to increase their
zeal in the service of God; they sought by
means of pungent and powerful preaching
to arouse sluggish Christians and awaken
careless sinners.
The "protracted meeting," as it was
called, was simply a continuous series of
meetings for preaching and prayer and exhortation
ana confession. The preacher
wrought upon the consciences of men by
Betting forth God's claims on them and
their neglect of duty. He wrought upon
.the fears of men by denunciations cf the
imminent danger and certain and terrible
punishment of impenitent sinners. He
.wrought upon the hearts of men by vivid
presentations of the love of God and portrayals
of the vast self-sacrifice of the Son
ef God in making atonement for the sins
of mankind on the cross. Often, if not always,
much was made of the physical sufferings
of Christ. Much was made also of
the material pains of perdition.
t An important accompaniment of the
preacher's work was the work of private
visitation and appeal, and the testimony
of religious experience. Men told, with
astonishing frankness, their sins, their
douots ana tears, tneir repentance, tneir
self-surrender and their joy and fceace in
the conscious experience of pardon. They
talked of God's dealings witn them with a
familiarity that -would be shocking, were
it not, on the whole, so reverent.
r The result of these combined efforts often
was the awakening of a community;
the meeting house was thronged with hearers,
many Decame alarmed on account of
their 6ins, backsliders were filled with
compunction and reclaimed to their neglected
fealty, the indifferent were aroused
and convicted and brought to a 6tate of
deep contrition. There were numerous
conversions, and the testimony of the converts
increased the religious fervor of believers
and produced conviction of sin and
desire of salvation in other unbelievers.
Considerable numbers were added to the
church, and for a time the whole community
was raised to a higher level of religious
life, and in many instances to a higher
morality.
Usually, after a time, the revival was
followed by a gradual relapse into formality
of religious service, coldness of religious
temper, and indifference to the higher
claims of the church. Fever was followed
by chill, until, after months or
years, a new demand arose for "a season
of refreshing from the Lord." This intermittency
of religious life was a characteristic
feature of Protestant church life for
many generations?a period covering quite
200 years. This period, extending from
the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries,
was marked by great crises of religious
awakening. Notable among them were
those signalized by the names of Edwards,
Wesley, Whitehead, Suinmcrfield and,
later, Finney and Moody.
, That "revivals of religion," in what may
now be called the historic sense, did great
good cannot successfully be disputed; nor
can it be denied that they also did much
harm. On the whole, the good was in excess
of the harm. "Revivals" were in accord
with the religious ideas prevalent at
the time, and were a natural product of
those ideas. During their hectic existence
many individual men and women were
transformed from lives of wickedness or
vanity to lives of virtue and unselfish service
to their fellow men. Reverence for
God was deepened and faith in Gcd was
stimulated and nourished.
The evils were incident to the mistaken
theology that held supreme place in the
churches and largely supplanted the simplicity
of the gospel of Christ. These evils
S were very great, and the effect of them
;j still remains, though in diminishing degree.
Among them may be noted a false,
or at least, mistaken and inadequate, motive
for Christian propaganda, a mischievous
separation between religion and morality,
an unnatural and feverish piety that,
on the one hand, became a morbid sentimentalism,
or, on the other, degenerated
into a formalism not less real because often
it was not ritualistic.
Wrong ideas of Cod and Christ and sin
and salvation and righteousness and the
hereafter were rooted so deep that they
could be destroyed only by a criticism so
drastic that it has seemed to tear up fundamental
truth of the spiritual life. A
kind of orthodoxy was established that
perpetuated, if it did not create, opposition
\ between nature and providence, science
and faith, the business of life and the interests
of the immortal soul. It Droduted
an artificiality of life which stimulated selfdeception
and hypocrisy, and gave great
opportunity and scope to the bigot. Much
of the irreligion of to-day, or what is rather
undiscriminated called irreligion, is
simply reaction, though often unconscious,
from the unreality of yesterday.
At the present time an attempt is being
made to restore the revival methods cf
last century. Organizations have been
formed the more efficiently to prosecute
this attempt. In the nature of the case,
the attempt will fail. It will fail because
it is not in accord with prevailing ideas of
religion?of God and man and their mutual
relations and of human development and
destiny. The principle of evolution has
overthrown, not the truths, but the structural
principles and the elaborate theory of
the old theology. The new biology has
made necessary a new theology, and a new
> theology is already diffused in the atmosphere
of the common thought.
But I psak of this attempt now not to
criticise it; I would rather welcome it if it
contained any promise of real good. I
:/ speak of it particularly because it indicates
and emphasizes a growing feeling that all
>' is not right with the church and society today,
and the deepening surmise, if it is
not yet generally a conviction, that we are
in grc^t need of a true revival of religion.
i'i Iso one can justly criticise the present
life of our country without recognizing and
confessing that it presents to the view
very many features which awaken feelings
of gratitude and hope. Charity was never
bo abundant and wise. The morals of the
3 average cuBines3 man were never Detter.
. Laws were never more humane and just.
J Politics were never less corrupt. The beneficent
enterprises cf the Christian church
in all the world were never so intelligent
< and sympathetic and efficient. Whatever
h abatements we must make, because of certain
obvious and perplexing facts, these
propositions are, in the main, true.
On the other hantl there is an absorbing
devotion to the pursuit of riches. The
haste to be rich is like an epidemic fever.
J There is an exaggerated appreciation of
mere materiality. This widely affects com*
? mercial and industrial enterprise. Many
corporations strive, by attempted monopoly,
to increase profits already large, or, by
combination and the promotion of vast
| schemes for iurther consolidation, seek to
turn paper securities into money. Many of
$ these schemes, in effect, if not in intention,
are fraudulent. Labor unions, oveistepf)ing
their legitimate purpose of protecting
aboring men from oppression and securing
I for them a just share of the products of labor,
are seeking to create a labor oligarchy
and to extort money from employers
in excess of what many industries can bear,
and limiting the opportunities of the unskilled
for entering the ranks of skilled artisans.
Fraud, bribery, extortion, and even
blackmail have become startlineiy common.
Society is full of unrest and discontent
because of the exaggerated estimate put
upon material possessions. Side by side
with great strenuousness in the pursuit of
wealth there is, on the part of many who
have achieved or inherited fortunes, in
creasing luxury and self-indulgence. This
is reproduced, in varying degrees, in every
stratum of society, from the most to the
least wealthy. There are also, apparently, I
an increase of irreverence for what is sa- |
cred, an indifference to tradition that j
amounts Fometimee to contempt for long j
established principles, and a growth of |
race prejudice and selfish passion mani- i
fested in frequent eruptions of furious or j
cynical lawlessness. Religion, confounded
with dogma or ritual, is held by many in !
little esteem, and the church is neglected j
by thousands who once gave it their sup- !
port and by thousands more who, in the I
natural course of life, should be among its
supporters. In the churches there is a j
lack of spiritual fervor and a decline of ;
faith in God.
I think that I have not mis-stated the
actual conditions. With no taint of pessi- ,
mi?m in my mood; on the contrary, with a j
high appreciation of all the food in the
present life of our country, I am forced to j
the conviction that there is great need now :
of a revival of true religion. What does j
this mean? What is the religion a revival I
of which we need? It is a great and con- j
trolling sense of God, as the Creator, Sov- i
ereign, Father and Saviour of the soul.
The nineteenth century was distinguished
by the emergencies of a new and deeper
sense of the worth of man. This dramatic- |
ally began in the upheaval of the -French
Revolution. It was manifested in the
growing demand for popular liberty, in the
rise of the workingman. in the extension ,
of political suffrage, in the development of j
popular education, in the rapid growtn or i
the Sunday-school, in the spread of the
missionary spirit, in a new care for chil- j
dren, in prison reform, in the breaking i
down of relicious exclusiveness and the [
tyranny of dogma, and in many other |
ways. The twentieth century calls for a
[ fresh awakening of the sense of God as the
source and law and goal of human exist- j
ence. both individual and social.
| We need a reperception of the reality of I
God in the world. Avowed atheism, the
j positive denial of God. is rare; practical
atheism is common. Many men have not i
God "in all their thoughts." They have a j
widened idea of law in the universe, but it
is vague and impersonal. They need to re- i
alize afresh the integrity of the divine gov- j
ernment. There is a divine government of
the world?a government that makes for j
good and against evil, that is the founda- j
tion and source of all just human law. that j
is the ground of individual and social re- j
sponsibility and that rewards righteous- j
ness and punishes wickedness.
This sense of God as a sovereign must I
be vitalized by the sense of God as the In- j
finite Person. If I seem to limit the di* j
vine Being by using terms that are prop- j
erlv applicable only to finite being and hu- \
man modes of thought, it is to be said j
that the term personality does not necessarily
imply any limitation. We must think ,
of God under forms ol our own rational i
and moral being, and our very nature demands
the answer of a divine person to I
the persistent and illimitable needs of the j
human person.
For a time many have lost the personal |
God in impersonal law and impersonal i
force. The divine immanence is grasped
in a way that excludes the complementary
idea of transcendence. There cannot bf i
real transcendence without personality. (
The being who thinks and wills and loves. ,
even in finite limits, is greater than an im- t
personal universe. Man is jrreater thar I
God, if God be only law. But he craves a
deity whom he can revere and trust and
love with all the force of personal being
As the mind needs and demands the fun j
damental conception of unity in order to f i
rational interpretation of the world; a.? |
the conscience needs and demands th<
sense of universal and inviolable law, sc
the heart needs and demands the con |
- ~ on/] nrmciV# I
SCIOUSIltfbb Ul a jtuvvfe ??.%*. -
goodness?the Almighty Father?manifest '
ing and exercising compassion, love and j
providence and revealing Himself in com ;
munion with His child. These expressions j
must have vivid meanine as expressions ol i
reality. The rule of God is in and over the j
soul, as well as in and over the material |
world, and this rule is the manifestation |
of fiod as the Holy Spirit. > j
We need a renewed sense of the reality |
of revelation as a past and present commu- .
nication ci the divine will to man. A mere |
historic God is remote and ineffective. He j
must be contemporary. If He spoke once j
He must still speak; not in ways of theo* j
phany and miracle, but in ways that are |
authentic and authoritative to consciousness.
This does not invalidate historic
revelation, but it clears it of error and confusion.
Jesus represents and embodies j
both. He knew the historic revelation as :
it was expressed in the life and literature j
of the Hebrew people, and in some mens- j
ure formed His thought on its disclosures i
of the divine nature and will. But He j
knew also its defects and limitations, and j
He knew God immediately, as man may !
legitimately and naturally know Him, because
He is God's child. So there is need
of a new sense of Jesus as man in full communion
with God.
We need a new sense of the reality of
sin. not as a factitious condition of guilt i
and subjection to penalty brought about j
by the fall of primitive man, but as an act- j
ual fact of experience and quality of char- j
acter?as imperfection, inharmony with the j
divine law; selfishness and wilfulness and j
shame. We have so recent'v reconceived <
.1 .A -.,4,, hat
our origin anu our rc:ui,u>u n> muuiv
for the present, the sense of personal re- j
sponsibi'ity is weakened and men are prone j
to charge to inheritance and the influence J
of environment what is chargeable to their ;
own selfishness and passion.
We need a fresh conviction of the reality i
of salvation, not as an escape from the
consequences of our sins, but as a fulfill- j
ment of life in righteousness and love. The
idea of atonement as a device for evading j
penalty, and of salvation as the result of a
fictitious imputation and a forensic justitication,
stamped the whole evangelic conception
with an unreality from which the i
reaction could not be otherwise than violent.
The vital element in the old theology j
was swamped by the artificial element. '
The mind revolts from a bargain with God j
and a scheme that is fundamentally com; |
mercial. The soul needs an experience of '
divine love and forgiveness that awakens |
motive, rouses the will and transforms j
character by unfolding the spiritual nature, j
Finally, we need a new sense of the re- i
ality of the soul. Once men ignored the |
bouy, save as they indulged or abused it. j
We have come to appreciate its importance i
and to care for it in countless ways, but it j
bulks too large on our view. It is not an j
end, but an instrument. The soul is in an \
organism, but is not it nor a mere afflu- ,
ence from it. The soul is the man. Per- j
sonality is the crowning fact. It means
knowledge, power, character, immortality. !
If man is only a cunning organism he j
needs and asks no immortality. But, be- !
cause he is a person?a spiritual being, j
with power to think and will and love,
with memory and forecast, with unmeas- I
ured capacity for joy and sorrow, with a j
sense for truth and righteousness and God
?in his best moments he requires immortality
that he may have scope adequate to
his consciousness of power, actual or attainable;
and he takes his hunger for it as
God's assurance that the promise of pres- I
ent experience will have fulfillment in the j
I future. In his baser moments, having ex- |
hausted his body by labor or by dissipa- I
tion, he longs only for rest from weariness !
of nerves or the tyranny of appetite. Then |
immortality has no charm, and belief in it
sinks into a doubt and often into a denial.
it jjs not science, out suDjecuon 10 skhw |
tion till it rules us, that breeds the doubt j
o: immortality. When we live on the high- I
er planes of our being we feel the real sig- j
nificance of life, and catch glimpses of its i
far ?tretching horizon.
The reality of God as sovereign and |
father, the reality of revelation as a past j
and present experience of divine eommuni- !
cation, the reality of salvation as a fulfillment
of life, and the reality of the soul as
the imperishable person ? these, freshly
seen and fcit as the great and permanent
elements of human experience, will new ,
create the august and commanding sense I
of duty, dissolve and dissipate the mater- |
ialism which degrades our nature, ennoble j
life by giving it a new value, revive the |
spirit of prayer and worship and put new j
energy into all our moral enterprise. It is |
our shallowness, or utter want, of spiritual i
life that robs us oi power and joy as chil- [
drcn of God.
Statistics demonstrate that the use of
alcoholic beverages are on the decrease in
England and the United States, but that
iri Frame they arc on the increase. However.
mat may be, there are quite enough
alcoholic drinks swallowed in this country,
i
THE GREAT DESTROYER;
SOME STARTLINC FACTS ABOUT j
THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE.
Poem: The Cnn^c of Temperance ? A
AVarninjj?'The Story of What J>rink
Dltl For One of IJncle Sam'tt Sailoi j
JlojH?Uencent From Hero to Hobo.
The cau^e of temperance is God'a, its foes !
cannot prevail;
Love may yet linger for a time, and yet it !
cannot fail
To come at last like flame of fire, in tidal
wave of flood,
And burn and flow and purify and introduce
the good;
The age of peace and reason, of .iarmo:iy j
and love,
May yet be distant for awhile and tarry I
yet above;
Eut rays of light and tones of love are ;
seen and heard to-day
That give us hearts to lauor, and zeal to j
watch and pray.
?George liutton, in Suggestion.
A Pitiful Example.
Recently while crossing on the ferry from i
Jersey City to the New York side a sailor, j
one of Uncle Sam'is boys, stepped up to me, |
wishing to sell a watch guard. It was I
beautiful, made of white silk, yet he j
wanted to part with it for the paltry sum :
of $1.5(1. And why? That he might pay a |
debt at a saloon. Physically, he was a j
splendid specimen of manhood, tall and I
broad shouldered, weighing nearly 190 j
pounds, yet his face depicted suffering and j
deep wrinkles appeared on his face. Then, i
by questioning him, i received the follow- I
ing story, which 1 here give to you word j
for word, as near as I can remenibei, hoping
that it may reach the heart of some i
one:
"Sir, don't you want to help me out? I
want to sell this watch guard. I owe a j
bill at a saloon, and being tnat I contract- i
ed that debt I feel obligated to pay it, j
>>
I complimented him on his honesty, and i
asked him to what ship he belonged. "The
Indiana," was the reply. "Some people
have an idea that all sailors are the off- j
scouring of ti.e earth, but it is false." ;
Then with a pathos in his voice that '
touched me to the quick ne continued: j
"My mother is a God-fearing, praying !
Christian, God bless her. I have three sis- |
ters, the best the sun ever shone on, but I t
am the black sheep of the family. 1 had a |
splendid wife, as true and loving as it is
possible for a wife to be. I had a beauti- I
ful child, which was the joy and pride of i
the home, but?but?1 am divorced." This I
he said with tears in his eyes.
"I have been home two days of my fur- I
lough, recovering from my weakness, j
brought on by drink. I am now on my '
way back to the navy yard, although my i
time is not up till morning. 1 have signeii j
the pledge and I am going to reform.
Young man, never touch a drop of any in- |
toxicating liquors." Then, turning to my i
younger brother, he said: "You are young |
yet; you do not know the awfulness of '
temptation. God grant that you never i
may. Oh. to be a boy again: Oh, lor another
chance!"
Till my dying day I shall never forget
the look of anguish that passed over liis
face as he thus ruminated over his past life.
"I have seen some of the saddest sights
ever mortal man was privileged to witness
right over here in the navy yard," he said, j
"Some of the finest fellows I have ever j
known have died one after another in the
strait jacket, drink being their only fault."
As the ferry reached the slip he left us, i
with that look of longing still on his face, j
That man had reformed, and but for us, j
we who give the devil his license to ruin
men's souls, would have been on his way ;
to heaven, i ut, tempted, fell.
Later, out on the street, I saw him pull 1
a bottle from his pocket and hilariously 1
lift it to his lips, bought from some ac- ;
cursed saloon.
How lone shall we license the devil to
break mothers' hearts, wreck the lives as
well as the souls of our fellow creatures, j
fill our courts with divorce suits and oui .
jails with criminals? How long no one '
knows, but may God grant that we may j
have a great awakening in the very near
future.?Charles T. Yost, in Hum's Horn.
A Living Witness.
Mr. Joseph Leicester, ex-M. P. and Sec* 1
retary of the Giassblowcrs' Trade Socie- !
ty, says: J
"I have held office in a powerful and
wealthy trade organization for over forty j
years, and am a living witness to the terri- 1
Die havoc drink is doing amongst our breth- !
ren. To look over my books for the last ;
forty years is to look into a dark and hid- j
eous charnel house strewn with victims j
of the drink. Each day brings its wretched
quota of men neglecting work or spoil- '
ing it, so vast is this terrible drink plague
tliat not a factory escapes it. One employ- !
er writes to me, 'Competition is so tierce j
that I am compelled to strain every nerve
to keep my trade going. My tires are burn- !
ing and my metal is in the furnace yet
half the men are in the public house in- :
stead of being at work; it means poverty
to them and ruin to me.' Another writes: |
'I am compelled to discharge three meD ,
through drink out of eighteen; can you .
get me three sober men in their places?'
Drink is our difficulty. These men are all .
in arrears, and not one penny of benefit,
so they go to General Booth or the workhouse
to swell the over-swollen paupei
list, while other victims are getting ready
for the same fate."
Harm of the Free Luncli.
Against the old-quoted statement that !
"The free lunch is the redeeming feature :
of the saloon," Mrs. Chauncey Depew !
says some most valuable and significant
things. She says: "The free lunch is large- i
ly responsible for the enslavement of young 1
men to drink. As sure as a man eats a
free lunch, just so sure will he be a drinking
man, unless lie is possessed of rar?
self-control. A man takes a drink and a !
bite. The bite makes him thirsty and the
drink makes him hungry, and many a man
who would leave a saloon after having imbibed
one drink, will stick all day as long';
as the free lunch is there. It isn't the i
drink that keeps him, but the ingenious 1
make-up of the free lunch, and that's why 1
I say it's a blotch on civilization and
should be wiped out."
1
I
A Yotinc Comparison.
In California there are onlv ttfentv vot
ers to every liquor dealer; in Louisiana I
the proportion is even greater, there be
ing one liquor dealer to every fifteen vot i
ers. Illinois has one liquor dealer to j
every fifty-one voters. The proportion is
smallest in North Carolina, where there
arc 124 voters to every liquor dealer. In
Utah the proportion is one liquor dealci
to every 114 voters, which would seem to
indicate that the Mormons, whatever eke
their faults, are not greatly given to drink
irig liquor.
The Iowa Plan.
The Iowa plan of confining confirmec
drunkards in an asylum is working well.
An average of fifty a month since tne law
went into effect eight months ago have
been sent. The drunkard is put in a little
different class from the criminal or insane
and at the same time is forcibly protected
from his own weakness for liquor. The
drink of the inmates is stopped. They are
required to work on the asylum farm, and
as soon as they are pronounced cured, are
released. About seventy-five per cent, ol
those sent to the asylum thus far hav<
been discharged as cured.
j iiijrurtuni vniiu*..vvr.
Three important ordinances prepared ;
by the investigation eoinniittec of the C hi- ;
cago City Council will soon demand the :
attention >f that body. One requires the
withdrawal from saloons of all windowshades
at midnight, that compliance with
the midnight closing ordinance may be
evident: the second gives the iMayor power
to revoke licenses where existing laws j
are violated, and the third forbids the !
sale of beer or other intoxicants to children,
being aimed at the evil of what ii ]
known as '"rushing the can."
His Home.
If yoy cannot find the devil in a galoot j
it is no use looking anyv here else for kim.
/
i
I
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR JUNE 12.
,
Subject: Christ Crucified, Mark it,, 22-39
?Gulden Text, 1 Cor. xt., 3?Memory
Verses, 35-27 ? Commentary on the
I>ay'? J.enson.
T. The journey to Calvary (v. 22). 22.
"They bring Him." l'ilate's sentence is !
supposed to have been given about 8 I
o'clock in the morning. The Jew* must j
have taken Jesus and started for the cross |
almost immediately. 'Golgotha." Gol- j
gotha is the Hebrew and Calvary the Latin j
word with the same meaning.
II. "Scenes around the cross (vs. 23-28).
23. "Wine?myrrh." It was a merciful
custom of the Jews to give those condemned
to crucifixion, with a view to producing
stupefication, a strong aromatic
wine. This "they offered" (R. V.) to j
Christ; He tasted (Matt. 27:34), but re- \
fused to drink, as it wonld obscure the i
clearness of His faculties. There were |
eeven sayings of Christ on the cross, all of
which express "some characteristic element j
of His nature or His work." The first was j
a nraver for His murderers: "Father, for
give them; for they knov- not what they i
ao" (Luke 23:34). This was probably spo- I
ken in the height of the .sgony, when the |
cross with the victim upon it was dropped
with a suddeU wrench into its place in the
ground.
24. "Parted His garments." The four ]
soldiers divided among themselves His
outer robe, head-dress, girdle and sandals,
but for His "coat," that is, His tunic or
under garment, which war without seara
and which would have beta ruined if divided,
they cast lots (John 19:23, 24). j
"Casting lots." What a picture! Amid j
the most solemn scenc of human history |
the unconscious actors sit down to gam- j
ble. The legacy in worldly things left by j
Jesus was very small. 25. "Third hour." i
Nir.e o'clock in the morning. "They crucified
Him." His hands and feet were
nailed to the cross (Luke 24:39, 40), and
then it was lifted and sunk into the
ground with a sudden shock, producing |
great pain. The feet of the sufferer were
only a foot or two above the ground.
26. "Superscription." The white tablet
nailed upon the cross above the head of
the victim, to declare the crime fo? which
He was crucified. It was a common custom
to affix a label to tfc.e cross, giving a
statement of the crime for which the person
suffered. "Was written." Pdate wrote
this superscription evidently in derision
(John 19:19). It was written in Hebrew j
for the Jews, in Greek for the foreigners j
and visitors, in Latin for the Romans, i
"King of the Jews." The words are seme- j
"what ditterent in tne amereni i
probably because some of the writers copied
from one language and some from an- I
other. The truth was proclaimed in jest; j
Jesus is in fact a "King with many |
crowns." 27. "Two thieves." This was |
probably done with the intention of giving I
the people to think that Jesus was to be j
classed with them. 28. 'Scripture was ful- i
filled." Isaiah 53:12. Omitted in R. V.
III. Christ mocked .(vs. 29-32). 29.
"Railed on Him." They utter taunts |
founded on caluminous misrepresentations j
of His words; they ridicule His king3hip j
and even His piety; they trample on His j
pretences and exult over His weakness, j
"Wagging." An accompanying gesture |
expressive of contempt. "Ah." An excla- j
mation of derision. "Destroyest the temple."
At the first cleansing of the temple !
Jesus had said, "Destroy this temple and I
in three days I will raise it up" (.John 2:
19). They had never forgotten this. At '
His trial before Caiaphas, the previous !
night, they charged Him with saying that !
He was able to destroy the temple and j
build it in three days (Matt. 2C:t>lJ, but l
this was a perversion of His words. What !
He said was that if they destroyed it He j
was able to "raise it up'' or rebuild it in j
three days. 30. "Save Thvseif." They !
thought that if Jesus were the Messiah, !
surely He could deliver Himself from the ;
Roman cross. "Come down." Let Him ;
show His power and save His own life. If I
He does not then He is so far from being j
the Messiah that He is justly crucified for |
making such pretensions.
31. "Chief priests?scribes." The digni- j
taries and members of the Sanhedrin, as |
well as the ordinary bystanders, mocked, |
for they suppose thev have gained a com- |
plete victory. 32. "They?reviled." From j
this it appears that at first both of the
thieves reproached Christ.
IV. Christ crucified (vs. 33-39). 33.
"Sixth hour." Noon. "Darkness." The !
darkness continued three hours, from noon |
until three o'clock. "The ninth hour." j
The hour of the offering of the evening 1
sacrifice. 34. "Jesus cried." This was J
Christ's fourth utterance on the cross, |
and is the only one recorded by Mark, j
It was spoken toward the close of the |
darkness. "Eloi, etc." Mark preserves >
the Aramiac words exactly as tney were !
spoken by Jesus. The repetition, "My ,
God! My God!" gives a deeply pathetic
force. It is an expression of utter loneli- [
ness and desolation.
35. "He calleth Elias." They either only 1
caught the first syllable, or misappre- j
bended the words, or, as some think, spoke
in wilful mockery and declared He called
not on "Eli," God, but on "Elias," whose
nopearance was universally expected. 36. |
"Vinegar." Burning thirst is the most
painful aggravation of death by crucifixion, j
Christ now uttered His fifth saying on the !
cross. "I thirst" (John ]9:2S). _This was |
His only expression of bodily suffering, it j
was then that a soldier ran and tihed a j
sponge with vinegar, or "the sour wine ;md 1
water called posea, the ordinary drink of j
the Roman soldiers," and offered Him to :
drink. "On a reed." The short stem of a j
hyssop plant. With this they were able t
to reach His mouth with the sponge.
"Gave Him." The first drink of vinegar j
and gall Jesus refused, but this, unmixed
with any drug, was accepted. "Let alone,"
etc. This was probably uttered seriously.
37. "A lo id voice." As it were the tri- I
umphant cry of a conqueror. He now ut- I
tered His sixth saying: "It is finished" j
(John 19:30L This is one word in the
Greek, and nas been called the greatest j
single word ever uttered. What was }
finished? His life's work, the cup of suf- j
ferincr, the atonement for the sins of the j
world, the old era and dispensation. The (
seventh saying was. "Father, into Thy
hands I commend My spirit" (Luke 23:
46). "Gave up the ghost." Pie dismissed
the spirit. He Himself willingly gave up
His own life.
38. "The veil?was rent." The great
veil of the temple that hung between the
holy place and the holy of holies, forty eu- i
bits (sixty feet) long and twenty cubits j
(thirty feet) wide, of the thickness of the
palm of the hand, and wrought in seventytwo
squares, which were joined together.
39. "The centurion." The Roman officer !
who had charge of the crucifixion. "Saw." j
When he saw what was done he acknowledged
that God Himself was showing His I
approval of Jesus (Luke 23:47). "Son of j
God." What a testimony! and from a Iio- i
man n&\os*r.
Stole ami Moved House.
The J?ev. A. O. Swartwood. pastor of the .
Christian Church at Miiler, S. 1)., says his
house and fence have been stolen from his |
homestead west of Pierre, it seems that !
houses are in demand in the neighborhood, j
A man named Elrud returned to his house j
after a month's absence, went to bed and !
awoke in the night ten miles from his land. I
l'hieves, with six horses hitched to the j
building, had moved it west. The owner ,
stepped out with two pistols fjid ordered
the volunteer house movers to reiurn I
forthwith his house to its original founda- \
tion. They did so. apologizing by saying >
/li/t rw.t l-tintv it his home. I
Colony For 20,000 Foles.
A committee of five Mihvaukeeans was !
appointed to purchase 150,000 acres of land ;
near Marinette, \\ is. This is the first step >
taken by the .national Polish Alliance to :
find homes for 20.000 men employed in I
Pennsylvania mines. Five thousand will ;
live in Wisconsin and the remainder in upper
Michigan.
"Warsaw Exposition Canceled.
The proposed electrical exhibition at I
Warsaw has been canceled, owing to be- j
lief of the promoters that pending the duration
of tne Russo-Japanese conflict such
an exposition would not pay.
jSrekJtfMt
Losin/r Victories.
My infant class one summer morn
Was gathered in the maple shade,
Near the church door, and there we talked !
Of the fair world our God had made.
The swaying tree9 upon the hill,
The waving grain, the shadowy groveTill
every little heart seemed filled
With the sweet sense of Jesus' love.
A query came: Dear little ones,
As days go by, what shall we doSince
Jesus has so loved us all?
To show Him that we love Him, too?
"I'll mind mamma," said willful Tim;
And Ben, "I'll carry in the wood
6aid Mary, "I will lessons learn;"
While Dimple lisped, "I will be dood."
And how will Helen show her love}
She, with a wistful glance at Rose?
A sweet, but pale and timid child?
Replied, "By giving up, I s'pose."
Dear girl! To fragile sister Rose
She oft must yield her will and way}
But now this duty shall disclose
Her ]ove for Jesus, day by day.
Oft, were we but wise, -we'd find
Our triumph in another's gain;
On glowing altar?coals of love
Would joy to see self-idols slain.
In simplest way the soul may drink
With Christ the sacrificial cup,
And many a victory is won,
And nobly won, by ''giving up."
?H. L. B.
Richmond, Ind.
The BleBnedness of Riglit Desire.
Blessed are they which do hunger and
thirst after righteousness, for they shall be
filled.?Matt., v., 6.
Observe the word. It is not creed, or
ritual, or money, or ?)ower, or pleasure,
but righteousness. "Blessed are they
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness."
A1 i. 1 J il. 1.1 -
\^xiaracier. xcannooQ, me noDie me?
that was what Jesus was talking about.
But take care not to miss the main
point in this Beatitude. Jesus did not say
Blessed are they which are righteous.
He might have said that, but He did not
say it. What He said was this: "Blessed
are they which do hunger after righteous
nqss.".
In other words, the Great Teacher declared,
in substance, that there is a blessing
for those who truly and sincerely desire
to lead the noble life, even though
they should often fail in their attempt to
lead it.
Of course, righteousness is a grand and
beautiful thing, and ne who has it is to be
congratulated, lor his is the "peace which
passeth all understanding;" but he must
not forget the man who, though he often
falls, falls under protest, falls in deepest,
bitterest grief, and, getting up, fights like
a hero for his ideal until he falls again!
It is not the falling, but the way in
which one falls, that tells the story of
one's worth or worthlessness. To fall and
not to care about the falling, to do wrong
and to feel no remorse for the wrong, to
insult life's sanctities and to feel no grief
for the insult?that is one thing; but to
fall and feel the shame of the fall, to do
wrong and heartily to repent of the
wrong, to degrade one's better self and to
keenly feel the degradation, is quite
another thing.
It is one thing to fall easily, contentedly,
like a weakling and a coward; it is another
thing to fall against one's will, and
only after a hard light has been made
with the finally victorious tempter.
There are noble men and women who
have never fallen; but all who fall are not
Ignoble. Anything but ignoble is the man
who, though overthrown, never shows the
white feather, never swears allegiance to
the evil that wounds him; is ever, in his
heart of hearts, a lover of the good, and,
fighting to the last ditch, dies with his
face toward the light!
The desire for righteousness! It is not
to be despised, for it has the blessing of
the Master Himself.
Speak not too ligh^y of those who fall,
of those who, hard pressed by temptation,
stagger and stumble along the way.
Some of them, we know, have fought
the temptation hard and long, have tried
manfully to keep up, and have been more
heroic in their failures than others have
been in their success.
They have hungered and thirsted after
righteousness; they have hated the evil
that has despoiled them: in their hearts
they have loved the good that they have
so poorly served, and they know, and God
knows, that their souls have never c:rrendered.
And so Jesus threw out this fourth
Beatitude, like a life-line, to those who
were struggling in the deep waters of Sin.
If tip w fn A f. fhr?co u-nfpra w^rp frt 1
those who were struggling in them, the
waters not only of Sin, but of Sorrow, and
He took pity on them and gave them his
blessing.
Now it is when we perceive and act
upon such large and noble Spirit as this
that we become Christians.
Jesus was great, and beautiful, and divine,
not because He was of the "House of
David," but because He. had a heart pure
enough and large enough to recognize
goodness, even when it existed only in the
Bbape of a good intention.
Whenever He saw the good intention,
the noble desire, He crowned it with His
loving approval, and, in .his infinite charity.
accepted ti.e will for the deed.
Yes. let the narrow-minded and the
ecornful say what they will, it is tru? that
"blessed are they whijh do hunger and
thirst after righteousness, frr they shall be
filled."
"E? filled!" There is health in the
word, and victory! The desire for righteousness
means that somewhere, some
time, somehow, the desire shall be
crowned with fruition, for something
deeper than mere logic tells us that
Fierce tho' the fiends mav fight,
And long tho* the angels hide,
we Know mat trutn ana rignt
Have the universe on their 6ide.
?Rev. T. B. Gregory, in the I*ew York
American.
God flives Us Strength.
God never makes us sensible of our
weakness except to give us His strength;
we meat not be disturbed by what is involuntary.
The great point is, never to {
act in opposition to the inward light, and
to be willing to go as far as God would
have us.?Fenelon.
Better Than Patlenre.
There is something better than trying
to keep one's patience when hard pressed, j
One who was dreading an interview on a !
matter that promised friction, prayed be- j
forehand that he might hold himself i
well in hand and keep his patience. For
a few hours before the interview there
was an unexpected opportunity for loving
fellowship with the persona involved.
When the tune came for discussion, both
?-ftlncp tnrrpflipr 1 hut: thp :in- I
GJUtrsi uric ov wov -? ,
ticipated trouble failed to appear. The j
next day's prayer Mas: "Lord help, me
?not to keep my patience, but to keep my j
lovu"??3. S. Times.
"The La*t Supper" Decayiric.
'/1 last Leonardo's great picture is fffcely j
to in- saved. After permitting it to under- j
g.> all manner oi indignities, the Municipal ;
C ouncil cf Milan has petitioned the Italian [
Government to take immediate ste^s to- j
ward saving "The Last Supper." ji?pe- j
eially within the last year the painting has
decayed so rapidly that unless something j
is done at once toward its preservation j
the great work will be obliterated, or at
least vanished beyond repair. With the j
Italian Government's long awakened jeal- j
ous watch over its masterpieces of art, the
wonder is that Leonardo's best known
work should have been so neglected. The
French, certainly, have exercised sufficient
care over "Mona Lisa."
Honorliyp th? New Arrival,
The birth of a child among the working
class in Cumberland has been l'rom
time immemorial], and is still, celebrated
by the making of a mixture called
"rum-butter." its Ijgredients are butter,
sugar, rum, and spices, and it is a
really palatable compound. Every person
entering a bouse whero a birth has
taken place is offered a taste for several
weeks after the ovent. It is an
insult to the child and its parents to
refuse the proffered dainty, and not to
offer it is considered equally discourteous.
BpvJL.?
^Miss Agnes Mill*
to young women a
Menstrual Period ?
suffering and remov
Lydia K Pinfeham's
"To Young Women:?I suff
rhea (painful periods), so much s(
knew it meant three or four days
this was due to an inflamed oondit:
by repeated and neglected colds.
"If young girls only realized
this critical time, m acli suffering
for Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegeta
medicine which helped me any.' ^
take it, I noticed a marked impro
the time of my next monthly peric
ably. I kept up the treatment, and
another person since. I am in perfec
added 12 pounds to my weight, ir
happy."?Miss Agnes Miller, 25
The monthly sickness refle
health. Anything unusual at
and proper attention. Fifty th
that Lydia E. Pinkham's Veg<
itruation and makes those per
READ WHAT MIS!
, ^3 V jf* medicine. J
1201 ettTst
/MiIfills < 19 anytt
J>>,"""r u' not underst
Lynn, Mass., her advice is free
in? woman who asks for it. ]
more than one hundred thorn*
it, my sick sisters?
$Eflflfl forfeit If we cannot forth
VwUUU above testimoulckls, -wliicU will pr
In Massachusetts there are more
than 300,000 people that depend altogether
upon the cotton mills for a living.
The pay roll of the navy is $20,000,000
a year. N. Y.?21
Piso's Cnre cannot be too highly spoken of
cs a cough cure.?J. W. O'Ebien, 322 Third
Avenue, N., Minneapolis, Minn., Jan. 6,1900,
If you will take the trouble to inve-\icate
you will discover that a popular man
has no radical opinions.
MOTHER CRAY'S
% SWEET POWDERS
?F FOR CHILDREN,
" L A Certain Core for Feverishnes*,
Constipation, Headache,
Xff i Stomach Troubles, Teething
T J>i (.orders, and De8troy
Mother Grar. Worms. They Break np Colds
Nurse in Child- ? hqn^ At^l DnigpaU^cU.
ren'g Horn?. Sample mailed FREE. Ad drew,
N f>7ko!t>. A. S. OLMSTED, U Roy. H V.
WORMS
"I write to let you know how I appreciate your
Cascarets. I commenced taking them last November
and took two ten cent boxes and passed a tapeworm
14 fcloijff. Then 1 commenced taking them
aeain and Wednesday, April 4th, I passed another
tape worm 28 ft. lone and over a thousand small
worms. Previous to my takine Cascarets I didn't
know I hod a tapo-worm. 1 always had a small
ppetite."
Win. F. Brown, 164 Franklin St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Best For
M ^ ^ The Dowels ^
kaiwmm
Candy cathartic
Pleasant, Palatable, Potent. Tante Good, Do Good,
Never Sicken, Weaken or Gripe, 10c, 25c. 50c. Never
old in bnlk. Tho eennine tablet stamped C'CC.
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Sterling Remedy Co., Chicago or N.Y. 594
ANNUAL SALE, TEN MILLION BOXES
Thompson's Eye Wat?ff
nUHUHM
"Suicide Wind" of Brazil.
In Brazil and other parts of Souttt
America the natives know and fear a
certain condition of the air, which:
I they call "suicide wind." It is not ft
superstition but an actual condition
of the atmosphere, which seems to
drive the people to madness, and during
its continuance self-inflicted deatha
are numerous. Criminologists and adentists
all over the world are interested
in this peculiar atmospheric Influence,
which is indicated by a soft;
moist, warm air that settles heavily,
on the earth. raj
1 ' %, 9 1
>r, of Chicago, speaks
bout dangers of the
how to avoid pain and
e the cause by using
Vegetable Compounds
ered for six years with dysmenor)
that I dreaded every month, as I
5 of intense pain. The doctor said
inn nf nterinfi ft-nnendaeres caused
how dangerous it is to take cold at
would be spared them. Thank God
tble Compound, that was the only
iVithin?three weeks after I started to
vement in my general health, and at
>d the pain had diminished consider.
was cured a month later. I am like
t health, my eyes are brighter, I hava > ly
color is good, and I feel light and
Potomac Ave., Chicago, 111. I
cts the condition of a woman's ,.
; that time should have prompt
ousand letters from women prove
stable Compound regulates meniods
painless. .3
LENDBECK SAYS: ^
Mrs, Ptnthlam : ? Lydia E. Pinkstable
Compound has greatly bene[
will tell you how I suffered. My
painful menstruation. I felt as eaca
, by that I was getting worse. I had '
ng-down pains m my back and abdo-j
ad advised me to try Mrs. Pinkham'#
[ did so and am now free from all ' ^ Jg
my periods."?Jessie C. Lindbeckj
reet, Rockford, ILL ' %
EE ADVICE TO WOMEN. , |
aember, every woman is cordially
to write to Mrs. Pinkbam if there
ilrigr about her symptoms she does
and. Mrs. Pinkham's address is
and cheerfully given to every ailHer
advice has restored to health
and women. "Why don't you try
J it
with prodnoe the original Jotters and signature* et
ove tnoir absolute genuineness. I
lia E. flukham BIi Heine Co., Lynn, M?n, <
FREE to WOMEN
A Large Trial Box and book of in?
structions absolute'y Free and Post*
paid, enough to prove the value at
Paxtine Toilef Antiseptic
ant I sept fee
- u-l K-UL
fw^j- y" inflamed surfaces, and
wxL have no cleansing prop*
tiWuM *>? |MW|i ethics. The cod tenia
^sBS ? Snj of every box mnitf
tML MB- fnore Antiseptic SoUh
goes furif.ier?has mors
VWH uses la the wmliy cad
does more good than any
^J antiseptic preparation
The formula of a nctex^ Bosiorr physician,
and used with great success a5 a Vafinal
j Wash, for Leucorrhca, Pelvic Catarrh, Nagl
Cctarrh, Sore Throat- kire Eyes, Cuts*
and all soreness of mucus membrane,
In local treatment ot female ills Paxtixe is
invaluable. Used as a Vaginal Wash w?
challenge the world to produce its equal iat
thoroughness. It is a revelation in cleansing
and healing power; it kills all germs which
cause inflammation and discharges.
All leading druggists keep Paxtine; price, CO*
abox; if yours does not, send to us for it. Don"!
take a substitute?there is nothing like Paxtin*
Write for the Free Box of Paz tine to-day,
E. PAXTON CO., 7 Fcpe Bldg., Boston, Kan
(IE? Aid AlJOHN W.ITIOBIUS.
EEL Ell 91 Ull Wanhin?lon, D. C.
* Successfully Prosecutes Claims.
L?toPtTtmDttl Ex&ialiior U.S. Pension Bure&a,
3 JT8 in civil war, IS zu? aAiculinc cltims, atty eiiica
I PAY SPOT CASHFOR
Boum Y LAND WARRANTS
if-Kiied to soldiers of ar.y war. Write me at onoe.
FRANK H. KEGEK. P.arih Block. JDenrer, Cola
nOOP.QY N*W DISCOVERY; l<*?
mjf f % Snirr rr,i*? .uu vvrw
Book of testimonial! and |0 day?* trutmew
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M Beet cougti Bjrup. Taetea Good. Uoo IJJ
rTI in time. Sold by druggists. 1*1
||Ta?
KnHHBBWj
- ,;- <'j: > *