Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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4 REV. DR. TALMAGE. THE BROOKLYN DIVINE’S SUN DAY SERMON. ► Subject: “The Waters of Merom.’ Text: %l And when all these kinqs wen met together they came and pitched togethet at the waters of Merom to fight against Is rael."—Josh, xi., 5. We are encamped to-night in Palestine by the waters of Merom. After a long march we have found our tents pitched, our fires kindled, and, though far away from civilization, a variety of food that would not compromise a first class American hotel, for the most of our caravan starts an hour and a half earlier in the morning. We detain only two mules, carrying so much of our baggage as we might acci dentally need and a tent for the noonday luncheon. The malarias around this Lake Merom are so poisonous that at any other season of the year encampment here is peril ous, but this winter night the air is tonic and healthful. In this neighborhood Joshua fought his last great battle. The nations had banded themselves together to crush this Joshua, but along the banks of these waters Joshua left their carcasses. Indeed it is time that we more minutely examine this Joshua of whom we have in these discourses caught only a momentary glimpse, although he crossed and recrossed Palestine, and next to Jesus is the most stirring and mighty charac ter whose foot ever touched the Holy Land. Moses was dead. A beautiful tradition says the Lord kissed him, and m that act drew forth the soul of the dying lawgiver He had been buried, only one Person at the burial, the same One who kissed him. But God never takes a man away from any place of usefulness but he has some one re&dy. The Lord does dot go looking around amid a great variety of candidates to find someone especially fitted for the vacant p: sition. He makes a man for that place. Moses has passed off the stage, and Joshua, the hero, puts his foot on the platform of history so solidly that all the ages echo with its tread. He was a magnificent fighter, but he always fought on the right side, and he never fought unless God told him to fight. He got his military equipment from God, who gave him the promise at the start: “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life.” God fulfilled this promise, although Joshua’s first battle was with the spring freshet, and the next with a stone wall, and the next leading on a regiment of whipped cowards, and the next battle against darkness, wheel ing the suu and the moon into his battaliou, and the last againSks^he king of terrors, death—five great victories. » This first undertaking of Joshua was greater than the leveling of Fort Pulaski, or the thundering down of Gibraltar, or the overthrow of the Bastile. It was the cross ing of the Jordan at the time of the spring freshet. The snows of Mount Lebanon had just bdtei melting, and they poured down in to th#^iHey, and the whole valley was a raging torrent. So the Canaanites stand on one bank, and they look across and see Joshua and the Israelites, and they laugh and say, "Aha! aha! they cannot disturb us in time—until the freshets fall; it is impossi ble for them to reach us.” But after a while they look across the water and they see a movement in the army of Joshua. They say: “What’s the matter now? Why, there must be a panic among these troops, and they are going to fly, or perhaps they are going to try to march across the River Jordan. Joshua is a lunatic.” But Joshua, the chieftain, looks at his army and cries, “Forward, march!” aud they start for the bank of the Jordan. i One mile ahead go two priests carrying a glittering box four feet long and two feet wide. It is the ark of the convenant. And they come down, and no sooner do they just touch the rim of the water with their feet than by an Almighty fiat Jordan parts. The army of Joshua marches right on without getting their feet wet over the bottom of the river, a path of chalk and broken shells and pebbles, until they get to the other bank. Then they lay hold of the oleanders and tam arisks end willows and pul! themselves up tbank thirty or forty feet high, and. having igd the other dywiir-th^y dan their shields i'ymbais and sing the praJWs or the rod of Joshua. But no sooner have they ‘reached the bank than the waters begin to dash and roar, aud with a terrific rush they break loose from their strange anchorage. Out yonder they have stopped, thirty miles of distance they halted. On this side the waters roll off toward the salt sea. t But as the land of the Lord God is taken away from the thus uplifted waters— waters perhaps uplifted half a mile—as the ‘Almighty hand is taken away those waters rush down, and some of the uubelieving Israelites say: “Alas, alas, what a misfor tune! Why could not those waters have staid parted? Because perhaps we may want to go back. O Lord, we are engaged in a risky business. Those L'anaanites may eat us up. How if we want to go back? Would it not have been a more complete miracle if the Lord had parted the waters to let us come through aud kept them parted to let us go back if we are defeated?” My friends, God makes no provision for a Christian’s re treat. He clears the path all the way to Canaan. To go back is to die. The same gatekeepers that swing back the amethystine and crystalline gate 'of the Jordan to let Israel pass through now swing shut the ame thystine and crystalline gate. ‘ But this is no ttme for the host to stop. Joshua gives the command. “Forward, march!” In the distance there is a long grove of trees, and at the end of the grove is a c.ty. It is a city of arbors, a city with walls seeming to teach to the heaven, to buttress the very sky. It is the great me tropolis that commands the mountain pasa. It is Jericho. The city was afterward cap tured by Pompey, and it was afterward captured by Herod the Great, and it was afterward captured by the Mohammedans; but this campaign the Lord plans. There shall b? no swords, no shields, no battering ram. There shall be only one weapon of war, and that a ram's horn. The horn of the slain ram * was sometimes taken, and holes were punctured in it, and then the musician would put the instrument to his lips, and he would run his fingers over this rude musical instrument and make a great deal of sweet harmouj* for the people. That was the only kind of weapon. Seven priests were to take these rude rustic musical in struments, and they were to go around the city every day for six days—once a day for six days and then on the seventh day they were to go around blowing these rude musical instruments seven times, aud then at the close of the seventh blowing of the rams' horns on the seventh day the peroration of the whole scene was to be a shout at which those great walls should tumble from cap stone to base The seven priests with the rule musical instruments pass all around the city walls on the first day, aud a failure. Not so much as a piece of plaster broke loose from the wall; not so much as a loosene i rock, not so much as a piece of mortar lost fron its place. “There.” say the unbelieving Israelites, “didn’t I tell you so? Why, those ministers arefools. The idea of going around the city with those musical instwmTeuLvaud expect ing in that wnv to^iestrov it! Joshua has en spoiled; he tfttcw because hehasover- - and destroyed the spring freshet overthrow the stone wall, it is not philosophic. Don't see there is no relation fen the blowing of these musioal instru- |s and the knocking down of the wall? at philosophy.” And I suppose there many wiseacres who stood with their Sws knitted and with the forefinger of the ^ht hand to the forefinger of the left hand guing it all out and showing that it was lot possible that such a cause could produce ach an effect. And I suppose that uight in Fthe encampment there was plenty of philos ophy aud caricature, and if Joshua had been nominated for any high military position he would not have got many votes. Joshua's stock was down. The second day the priests blowing the musical instruments go around the city, and a failure. T hird day, and a failure; fourth day, and a failure: fifth day, and a failure; sixth day. and a failure. The seventh day comes, the climacteric day. Joshua is up early in the morning and ex amines the troops, walks all around about, looks at the city wall. The priests start to make the circuit of the city. They go all around once, all around twice, three times, four times, five times, six times, seven times, aud a failure. There is only one more thing to do, and that is to utter a great shout. I sea the Israe’ivish army straightening themselves up, filling their lungs for a vociferation such as was never heard before and never heard after. Joshua feels that the hour has come, and he cries to his host, “Shout, for the Lord hath given you the city!” All the people begin to cry, “Down, Jencho! down, Jeri cho !” And the Ions begins to quiver, am Stand from under! the walls, the tempi aces, the air blacken line of solid masonry to move, and to rock. She falls! Crash! go s, the towers, the nal- d with the dust! The huzza of the victorious Israelites and the groan of the conquered Cana. -Mtes com mingle, and Joshua standing there in the debris of the wall hears a voice saying, “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life.” Only one house spared. Who lives there? Some great king? No, Some woman dis- tisguished for great kindly deeds? No. She had been conspicuous for her crimes. It is the house of Kahab. Why was her house spared? Because she had been a great sin ner? No, but because she repented, demon strating to all the ages that there is mercy for the chief of Tn“ red cord of di vine injunction reaching trom ner window to the ground, so that when the people saw that red cord they knew it was the divine indication they should not disturb the prem ises, making us think of the divine cord of a Saviour's deliverance, the red cord of a Saviour’s kindness, the red cord of a Saviour's mercy, the red cord of our rescue. Mercy for the chief of sinners. Put your trust in that God, and no damage shall befall you. When our world shall be more terribly sur rounded than was Jericho, even by the trum pets of the judgment day, and the hills and the mountains, the metal bones and ribs of nature shall break, they who have had Ra- hub’s faith shall have Rahab's deliverance. But Joshua's troops may not halt here. The command is, “Forward, march!” There is the city of Ai; it must be taken. Hon shall it be taken? A scouting party comes back and says, “Joshua, we can do that without you; it is going to be a very easy job; you just stay here while we go and capture it.”- They march with a small regi ment in front of the city. The men of Ai look at them and give one yell, and the Is raelites run like reindter. The Northern troops at Buli Run did not make such rapid time as these Israelites with the Canaanites after them They never cut such a sorry figure as when they were on the retreat. Anybody that goes out in the battles of God with only half a force, instead of your taking the men of Ai, the men of Ai will take you. Look at the church of God on the retreat. The Bornesian cannibals ate up Munson, the missionary. “Fall back!’’ raid a great many Christian people. “Fall bark, O church of God! Borneo will never be taken. Don’t you see the Bornesian canni bals have eaten up Munson, the missionary?” Tyndall delivers hit lecture at the University of Glasgow, and a great many good people sav: “Fall hack. 0 church of God! Don't you see tnat ynnstian pmiosopny is gomu to be overcome by worldly philosophy? Fall back!” Geology plunges its crowbar into the mountains, and there are a great many people who say “Scientific investigation is going to overthrow the Mosaic account of the creation. Fail back!” Friends of the church have never had any right to lall back. Joshua falls on bis face in chagrin. It is the only time you ever see the back of his head. He falls on his face and begins to whine, and he says: “Oh, Lord God, where fore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us? Would to God we had been content and dwelt on the other side of Jordan, For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round and cut off our name from the earth.” God comes and rouses him. How does he rouse him? By complimentary apostrophe? No. He says: “Get thee up. Wherefore best thou upon thy face?” Joshua rises, and I warrant you with a mortified look, but his o!d eouragecomes back. The fact was that was not his battle. If he had been in it ho would have gone on to victory. He gathers his troops around him and says, “Now, let us go up and capture the city of Ai; let us go up right away.” They march on. He puts the majority of the troops behind a ledge of rocks in the night, and then he sends comparatively small regiments up in front of the city. The men of Ai come out with a shout. The small regiments of Israelites in stratagem fall back and fall back, and when all the men oi Ai have left the city and are in pursuit ol these scattered, or seemingly scattered regiments, Joshua stands on a rock—I see his locks flying in the wind as he points hitt 3“rar towards the doomed city, and that. failed.” And then he turns to his family, as a dying parent will, and says: “Choose now whom you will serve, the God of Israel, or the God of the Amorites. As lor me and my house we wi!l serve the Lord.” A dying parent cannot be reckless o r thoughtless in regard to his children. Consent to part with them forever at, the door of the tomb we cannot. By the cradle in which their in- fancj’was rocked, by the bosom on which they first lay. by the blood of the covenant, by the God of Joshna it shall not be. We will not part, we cannot part. Jehovah Jireh. we take thee at thy prom^e “I will be a God to thee and thy teed after thee.” Dead, the old chieftain must be laid out. Hand'e him very gently; that sacred body is over a hundred and ten years of age. Lay him out. stretch out those feet that walked dry-shod the parted Jordan. Close those lips which helped blow the bla-t at which the walls of Jericho fell. Fold the arm that lifted the spear toward the doomed city of Ai. Fold it right over the heart that exulted when the five kings fell. But where shall we get the burnished granite for the headstone and the footstoue? I bethink myself new. I image that for the head it shall be the sun j that stood still upon Gibeon, aud for the foot the moon that stood still in the valley of Ajalou. SABBATH SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR JANUARY 11. Lesson Text: “Idolatry* in Israel,” I Kings, xii., 125-33—Golden Text: Exodus xx., 4— Commentary. is the signal.’ TTT men rush out from be Lind the rocks and take the city, and it is put to the torch, and then these Israelites in the city march down, and the flying regi ments of Israelites return, and between these two waves of Israelitish prowess the men of Ai are destroyed, and the Israelites gain the victory. And while I see the curling smoke of that destroyed city on the sky. and while I hear the'huzza of the Israelites, and the groan of the Canaanites, Joshua hears something louder than it all, ringing and echoing through his soul. “There shall not any* man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. ” But this is no place for the hast of Joshua to stop. “Forward* march!” cries Joshua to the troops. There is the city of Gibeon It has put itself under the protection of Joshua. They sent word. “There are five kings after us; they* are going to destroy* us; send troops quick: send us help right away.” Joshua has a three days’march at more than double quick. On the morning of the third day* he is before the enemy. There are two long lines of battle The battle opens with great slaughter, but the Canaanites soon discover something They* say “That is Joshua. That is the man who conquered the spring freshet and knocked down the stone wall and destroyed the city of Ai. There is no use fighting.” Aud they sound a retreat, and as they begin to retreat Joshua aud his host spring upoa them like a panther, pursuing them over the rocks; and as these Canaanites with sprained ankles and gashed foreheads retreat, the catapults of the sky pour a volley of hailstones into the valley, and all the artillery of the beatens with bullets of iron pound the Canaanites against the ledges of Beth-boron. “Oh!” says Joshua, “this is surely* a vic tory.” “But do you not see the sun is going down? Those Amorites are going to get away after all, and then they will come up some other time and bother us, and perhaps destroy* us.’’ See, the sun is going down. Oh, for a longer day* than has ever been seen in this climate! What is the matter with Joshua? Has he fallen in an apoplectic fit? No. He is in prayer. Look out when a good man makes the Lord his aljy. Joshua raises his face, radiant with prayer, and looks at the descending sun over Gil,eon and at the faint crescent of the moon, for you know the queen of the night sometimes will linger around the palaces of the day*. Point ing one hand at the descending sun and the other at the faint crescent of the moon, in the name of that God who shaped the worlds and moves the worlds, he cries. “Sun. stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou moou, in the valley of Ajalon.” They halted. w net tier it was oy retraction ot tne sun’s rays or by the stopping of the whole plan etary system I do not know and do not care. I leave it to the Christian scientists and the infidel scientists to settle that ques tion. while I tell you I have seen the same thing. “What!” say you, “not the sun standing still?” Yes. The same miracle is performed nowadays. The wicked do not live out half their day, and the sun sets at noon. But let a man start out in battle for God and truth and against sin, and the day of his usefulness is prolonged and prolonged and prolonged. But it is time for Joshua to go home. He is 110 years old. Washington went down the Potomac, and at Mount Vernon closed his days. Wellington d’.ed peace fully at Apsley House. Now. where shall Joshua rest? Why, he is to have his great est battle now. After a hundred and ten years he has to meet a king who has more subjects t^an all the present population of the earth, his throne a pyramid of skulls, his parterre the grave yards and the ceme teries of the world, his chariot the world’s hearse—the King of Terrors. But if this is Joshua's battle, it is going to be Joshua's greatest victory. He gathers his friends around him and gives his valedictory, and it is lull of reminiscence. Young men tell what they are going to do; old men tell what they* have done. And as you have heard a grandfather or great-grand'other, seated by the evening fire, tell of Monmouth or Yorktown. and then lilt the crutch or staff as though it were a musket, to tight and show bow the old battles were won, so Joshua gathers his friends around his dy ing couch, and he tells tneiu the story of what he has been through, and as he lies there, his white locks snowing down on his wrinkled forehead, I wonder if God has kept his promises all the way through. As he lies there he tells the story one, two or three times—you have heard old people tell a story two or three times over—and be answers: “1 go the way of all the earth and not one word of the promise has failed, not one word thereof baa failed; all has come to pass, not one word thereof has 25. “Then Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim and dwelt therein.” Re- hoboam having been warned by* Shemiab, the man of God, not to go against the revolt ing tribes to subdu3 them, returned home with his army and contented himself to be King of Judah only, according to the word of the Lord (vs. 22-24). Thus the twelve tribes became two nations, not to be unite! again till the coming of the son of David in power and glory (Ezek. xxxvii.. 21-28). Shechem became for a time the capital of the kingdom of the ten tribes. •‘And went out from thence and built Penuel.” Here the angel of the Lord wrestled with Jacob aud changed his name to Israel. Jacob called the name of the place Peauel (the face of God), for, said he, I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved (Gen. xxx .. 28. 30). 26. “And Jeroboam said in his heart, ‘now shall the kingdom return to the house of David.’ ” He evidently did not know in his heart anything of the meaning of either Shec hem (shoulder) or Penuel (the face of God). His heart had not received the precious prom ise of Deut. xxxiii., 12, nor did he know Him of whom it is written “the government shall be upon His shoulder” (Isa. ix., 6). Although God had promised to build him a sure house if only he would hear and obey and do right in His sight (xi., 38). It is evident that he knew not the face of God nor cared to walk be fore Him. 27. “If this people go up to sacrifice in the house of the Lora at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their Lord, unto Rehoboam, king of J udah, etc.” There is no gratitude to God in this, nor any confidence in Him, but there is a thought of direct disobedience: for Jeroboam knew that God had commanded that sacrifice should be offered only in the city and at the place which He had chosen (Deut. xiii., 5, 14). The Lord God had chosen Jerusalem and put His name there, that there, and there only, Israel should worship Him (Deut. xii., 11; I Kings ix , 3) as He manifested His glory in the Holy of Holies, above the mercy seat, between the cherubim. Had Jeroboam been obedient to God it would have been well with him, and he would have been a stranger to this fear of losing his kingdom and his life. 28. “Whereupon the king took counsel and made two calves of gold.” It was not the counsel of God, it must have been the coun sel of the ungodly. He must have known the story of the golden calf in the wilder ness and of the thousands who fell because of that siu. Re hadjjig spirit of Cam, who preferred Bis civil thouft?!?^m3*^vay^t7" those of God, and feared not to disobey. 29. ‘‘And he sec the one in Bethei, and the other put he in Dau.” What a desecrator cT holy places! Bechel (house of God),where God gave to Jacob such a glorious vision of heavenly things aud such promises for the •juture (Gen. xxviii., 11-19); where God set ipon a ladder that reached to heaven anti Jacob dedicated a pillar to God, here this -ebel sets up an idol and establishes idolatry. Hadhethoughtoftbe meaning of Dan (Gen. exx , 9—judgment.—he might perhaps have eared to set an idol there; but he seems to j lave thought of nothing except the fear of ‘osing his kingdom. 30. “And this thing became a sin.” Not July a sin against God, but a sin against him- selt aud all his house to cut it off, and to de stroy it from off the face of the earth (xiii., 44). He that sinneth against God wrongeth his own soul, aud all they that hate Him love death (Prov. viii., 36;. “The people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.” It would be such wor ship as Cain offered, the worship of disobedi ence, and therefore hateful to God. They were breaking the first and second commandments Df the law, besides all the other'commands which God had given concerning the only place of worship. There is no particular place now where we are to worship God, but as Jesus taught the woman of Samaria, God seeketh true worshipers who will worship Him iu spirit and in truth. 31. “And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of people which were not of the sons of Levi.” Not withstanding the command: “Thou shaltgiva the Levites unto Aaron, and to his sons, * * * and tne stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death’’ (Num. hi., 9, 10), this : man takes any one and sets him apart as a i priest. It is not enough to despise the only i true God, the God of Israel, and the Holy j City, and the Temple, the only appointed place oi sacrifice, but he also despises God’s chosen priesthood and sets up one of his own. We do not need to seek far,even in our own day, for a man-made priesthood, many of whom, to judge by their conduct, are among the lowest of the people, and if they do not worship calves they certainly do worship golden eagles. Nor need we step outside the Protestant church, nor even enter the Epis copal church, to find them, for they may be found in all denominations. 32. “And Jeroboam ordained a feast * like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the alter.” Moses did not ordain feasts; everything connected with the tabernacle and temple, and worship and feasts was appointed by God; but this man takes the place of God aud imitates God. Hu remiuds us of one described in II These, i 1 * * * * * * '., 4, “who opposethand exaiteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he. as God, sitteth in the temple or God, showing himself that he is God.” “Sacrificing unto the calves that he had made, and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.” God was the architect of tabernacle and temple, but these places of worship were made by this man. to whom God had been so kind, and who was now so vigorously setting him self and his people against God. 33. “So he offered upon the altar.” Notice this expression three times in this verse and in the last, and also the phrase “which he had made' the same number of times. It is all his doing, and Goi is excluded.^ ‘ ‘In the month which he had devised of his own he&rt.” It was all the devising of his own heart, an unbelieving, hateful heart, just like yours and mine before we were born from above. Naturally we are away from God and against God, yet He loves us and is kind to the unthankful and the evil. His love and Kis goodness should lead us to re- jentance (Rom. ii., 4), but many like Jero- oam only despise it.—Lesson Helper. RELIGIOUS READING. WEAVING* We arc weaving every day, as we pass along our way. Intent upon our busv work or just as busy play. Beneath the casual gaze of men. the angels’ steady eyes. The Robes' of Resurrection in which we shall arise. When the trumpet’s thrilling call upon our ears shall fall, And our dust shall throb andquiver, and its vanished life recall, When each hurrying atom seeks its own, though distance disallow, We shall wear the Resurrection Robes that we are weaving now. Then the thieads we sadly spun, and in darkness' one by one Wove in the fabric, wi-hing that the long, hard task was done, Shall gleam ami giimmer as a mUt of lovely rose and blue. And the blacker threads of sorrow shall be made lovely, too. The glimmering glints of gold from a patience manifold Shall make a pattern sweet and strange, and beauteous to behold; And the while of purity shall shine, the tear- spots fade away. As we don our Resurrection Robes upon that last great day. 0 King of joy and pain, let us not weave in vain ! Touch thou the fabric of our lives and make them fair amain. That, when our task is finished, within the heavenly place. Clad in our Robes of Righteousness, we may behold Thy face. — [Susan Cooiidge, in S. S. Times. FAITH NOT DEPENDENT t*PON KNOWLEDGE. Prof. C. J. Little, LL. D., in Zion’s Herald, sets forth the truth that it is not necessary to know all mysteries in order to be a Christian. He says: Heaven is not exclusively for theologians. Theology has, in my judgment, the same re lation to a simple," saving credo in Jesum Christum that a science of optics has to light and sight. Thank God! thou-auds can see who have never heard of Huyghons and Helmholtz, and to whom Meiloni is an utter stranger. Most of us would go stark blind if seeing depended upon our individual mas tery of the secrets of quivering nerve and trembling sunbeam. THE TESTING. Travelers tell us of a tree in tropical coun tries the inner parts of which are sometimes eaten out by ants, while the bark and leaves remain apparently as fresh as ever; and it is not till the tornado comes and sweeps it down that its weakness is discovered. But the storm did not make the tree weak; it only revealed how weak it was, and its feebleness was the result of the gnawing of ins cts through a long course of time. In like manner, if we let our characters be honeycombed by constant neglect ot com mon duty, or by daily indulgence in secret siu, or by habitual yielding to some tempta tion, we cannot expect anything else thau ruin when the testing hour shall come.— [W. N. Taylor. napoleon’s happiest day. When Napoleon was in the height of his prosperity, and surrounded by a brilliant company of the marshals and courtiers of the empire, he was asked what day he con sidered to have been the happiest of his life. When all expected that he would name the occasion of some glorious victory, or some great political triumph, or some great au gust celebration. or seme signal recognition of his genius and power, he answered with out a moment’s hesitation, “The happiest day of my life was the day of my First commu nion.” At a reply so unforeseen there was a general silence, when he added, as if to himself, “I was then an iunoccut_child.”— [Companion. THE FOUNTAIN HE A] live upon Go« himself.and there is no living comparable to it. You can g<k beyond all the cisterns, and come to the (river of the water of life, even as they do in heaven. To live by second causes is a very secondary life; to live on.the First Cause is the first of living. I exhort you to do this with regard to-the inspired Word. Tins is a day of man's opinions, views, judgments, criticisms. Leave them all. good, bad, and indifferent, and come to this Book, which is the pure fount of inspiration undetiled. When you study the Word of God. live upon it as his Word. 1 am not going to defend it; it needs no defence. I am not gring to argue about its inspira tion: if you know tiie Lord aright, His Word is inspired to you, if to no one else. You know not only that it was inspired when it was written," but that it is inspired still: and. moreover, its inspiration affects you in a way in which no other writings can ever touch you; it breathes upon you; it breathes life into you, and makes you to speak words for God, which prove to be words from God to other souls. Oh, it is wonderful, if you read the Word of God in a little company’ morning by morning, simply- read it, and pray over it, what an effect it may have upon all who listen! 1 speak what 1 do know.— [Rev. C. II. Spurgeon. Save the Boys And save the girts—from their Intense sufferings tr-m scrofula aud other foul humors In the blood by giving them Hood's Sarsaparilla. Tbousanisof parents are unspeakably happy and thousands of children enjoy good health because of what this great blood purifier has done for the n. It th>r- ough'.y eradicates all trace of scrofula, salt rheum, etc., and vitalizes and enriches the bipod. “Scrofula bunches In my neck disappeared when I took Hood’s Sarsaparilla. "—A. R. Kcllkt. Park ersburg, W. Ya. Hood’s Sarsaparilla Sold by aU druggists. $1: six for $5. Prepared only by C. I. HOOD & CO., dxjwell. Mass. t OO Doses One Dollar Simple Explanation of Gravitation. Gravitation is a subject that nearly everybody is somewhat familiar with, but there are some things about it that you may not know. For instance, sup pose you were weighed at the top of a deep coal mine, and afterward at the bottom, do you suppose that there would be any difference in the result? Yes, there would. You would be lighter at the bottom. If it were possible for you to go on downward 2000 miles in the earth, and there he weighed you would probably be surprised to find your weight only one-half of what it was at the sur face; and if you could go to the center of the earth you wouldn’t weigh an ounce. This is because the center of the earth is the center of its attractive power, which is exerted equally in all directions. If you ascend from the surface of the earth, your weight will also decrease, but not in the same ratio as when you descend. In going upward the decrease will be in proportion to the square of the distance. Thus, while you would weigh nothing if you should go downward 4000 miles from the surface, you would still weigh one-fourth your actual weight if you could weigh yourself 4000 miles up in the air. The law of gravitation is at once the strangest and the most sublime in all nature. Light travels at the amazing rate of 186,000 miles in a second. There are visible stars so far away that if one were blotted out at this instant it would be seen on the earth thousands of years hence, because rays of light, starting now, would take so long to reach us, ever, at the wonderful velocity at which they travel. But if a new star were now placed out there in the depths of space, where the blotted out one was, its at tractive force would reach us instantly. That strange force which dominates the universe would at once be felt, though, of course, inappreciably, between the new star and our earth. Gravitation differs from all other forces in another respect. The intervention of bodies in the line of attraction makes no difference in the attractive force exerted. For example, when the moon comes into direct line between the earth and the sun, there is not the slightest difference in the reciprocal attraction between the two former. The enormous power of this attractive force is utterly inconceivable. AVe are constantly reminded of the power the earth exerts in pulling us downward, but think of the attractive power of a body like the sun, more than a million times larger thau the earth. And this power controls every speck of light that we see in the heavens.—Philadel phia Times. Arab Wrestlers. Th£re was a fine exhibition of strength of th^Arabs at a wrestling ncatch in a valley around which the momfl^fe^^Dse gradually, 'forming a natural ampi ter, says a recent writer. Here a Itil audience sal -on the rocks overlooking the space below. The rival tribes-were seated at each efid of the valley, while their chiefs walked'proudly up and down in front of them. ^Then one of the chiefs would call oufs^kampion and challenge a rival. The two siwuld throw off their cloaks and rush at each other, and wrestle until one would get his head under the body of the other, aud with great force, throw his adversary in the ; air over his back. Sometimes after a ; despciate struggle the chiefs would have I to separate them; they being equal, I neither one being able to throw the | other. ! Guaranteed five year ei'jlit per cent. First | Mortgages on Kansas City property, interest payable every* six montlis; principal and inter- ! eet collected when due and rennued without expense to lender. For sale by J. H. Bauerloin A: Co., Kansas City, Mo. Write tor particular a Money invested in choice one nundred dol lar building lots in suburbs of Kansas City* will pay from live hundred to one thousand ver cent, the next few years under our plan. $£3 cash and S3 per month without interest coa- trolsa desirable tot. Particulars on application. J. H. Pauerlom 'c Co.. Kansas Citv. Mo. FITS stopped free by Da. Klins’s Gnuvr Nerve Restoker. No fits after first day’suso. Marvelouscures. Treatise and SJ trial oettle free. Dr. Kline, 931 Arch St.. Phila., Pa. Lee Wa’s Chinese Headache Cure. Harm- less in effect, quick and positive in action. Sent prepaid on receipt of SI per bottle. Adeler Co.,522 Wyandotte st.. Kansas City, Mo Do You Ever Speculate.* Any person sending us tbsir nans an l at- dress will receive information that will lei l to a fortune. Benj. Lewis & Co, Sscurii;/ Building, Kansas City, Mo. Timber, Mineral, Farm Ban Is and RancHsi in Missouri, Kansas, Texas and Arkansas, boughtandsold. Tyler & Co.. Kansas City, Mo. Oklahoma Guide Book and Map sent any whsr > cn receipt of ohcts.Tyler & Co.. Kansas City, Mo. If afflicted with sore eyes use Dr. Isaac Thomp- ton’s Eye-water.Druggists sell at 25c. per bottle SOMETHING EOF. ALL. The Bible i* a book for the race. It is a book for all times, for all nations, ami for all clas-es. It is alike for Jews and Gen tiles, for the rich ami the poor, for the learned and the unlearned. Whoever may read it with a teachable disposition, will read it with the conviction that its Author is by means of it. speaking to himself. • And the Bible is not only a book for all, but for all in all circumstances. Our circum stances change. They are not two days precisely the same. Iii the course of a year they may widely difier. 'Ibe providences of God bring to pass great changes regarding us, prosperous or adverse. But whatever these changes may be. there is something in the Bible that is suited to our condition. We there read of those who have been in like circumstances, ami of their experiences in them: or, we meet with promises adopted to our case, they are as well suited to our condition, a- though their Author had foreseen it. and had caused them to be written for our spe cial benefit. Ami who can say that it was not indeed so? There is another interesting fact in regard to the Scriptures, and that is. that it is a common experience with those that are ac customed to read them, that oftentimes when they have been in special need some special portion of the Word of God just suit ed to their condition has been brought to their notice. Sometimes it has come in theit way in their regu ar course of reading. The Scripture for the day* has proved just the Scripture that they most needed. < >r. it has come to pass in a seemingly casual manner. They have opened the Bible with no definite passage in view, but the chapter that they were led to read proved to them a word in season—the very w- rd most suited to their condition. The writer well remembers such instances in his own experience, and doubt less a!so does the reader. Now, in view of the>e two facts, viz: that the Bible is suited to the condition of all in all their needs, and that in times of need special portions of it are so often brought to Mrr. John D. Rockefeller, wife of the richest man in America, enjoys being her own housekeeper. She keeps a set of books accounting for all her house hold expenses. Did you ever go within a mile of a soap fac tory? If so you know what material they make soap of. Dobbins’s Electric Soap fac tory is as free from odor as a chair factory. Try it once. Ask your grocer for it. Take ho imitation. The people of the United State* consume 200,000,000 bottles of pickles annually. There is more Catarrh in this section of the country than all other diseases y*ut together, and until the last few years was supposed to be incurable. For a great many years doctors pronounced it a locaT disease, and prescribed local remedies, and by constantly failing to cure with local treatment, pronounced it in curable. Science has proven Catarrh to be a constitutional disease, and therefore requires constitutional treatment. Hall’s Catarrh Cure, manufactured by F. J. Cheney <fc Co., Toledo, Ohio, is the only constitutional cure on the market. It is taken internally* in doses fro ii 10 drops to a teavpoonful. It acts direct ly* upon the blood and mucous surfaces of the system. They offer cne hundred dollars for any ca«e it fails it cure. Send for circulars and test menials. Address , F. J. Cheney & Co., Toledo, O. Sit? Sold by Druggists, 75c. A company is being formed at Chicago to build air ships to annihilate distance. It Is In a climate such as ours a pain reliever . possessing real merit is truly indispensable. | ibe changes are s(i sudden that even those of i ro ust constitution are liable lobe seized with pains either in ih.* chest, back or limbs at any moment—neglected, serious consequences are sure to follow. A lew applications of Dr. To bias’s Venetian Liniment act like magic for pains and aches of any* sorf. Try it and be convinced. Price 25 and 50 cent-. Sold by- all druggists. De;ot, 4U Murray* street, Ni\v Y'ork. A Copyright, 1890. Help yourself if you’re a suffering woman, with the medicine that’s been prepared especially to help you—Dr, Pierce*! Favorite Prescription. It will do it where others fail. For all the dis eases peculiar to the sex—dragging- down pains, displacements, and other weaknesses, it’s a positive remedy. It means a new life, and a longer one, for every delicate woman. Ib every case for which it’s recom mended, it gives satisfaction. It’s guaranteed to do so, or the money is refunded. It improves digestion, invigorates the system, enriches the blood, dis pels aches and pains, produces re freshing sleep, dispels melancholy and nervousness, and builds up both flesh and strength. It is a legiti mate medicine — not a beverage. Contains no alcohol to inebriate; no syrup or sugar to sour or ferment in the stomach and cause distress. As peculiar in its mar velous, remedial results as in its composition. Therefore, don’t be put off with gome worthless com pound easily, but dishonestly, rec ommended to be “ just as good.” N Y N U—,VA i Both the method and results when 8yrup ofFigsistaken;itis pleasant and refreshing to the taste, and acts gently yet promptly on the Kidneys, Liver and Bowels, cleanses the sys tem effectually, dispels colds, head aches and fevers and cures habitual constipation. Syrup of Figs is v rJhe only remedy of its Kind ever pro duced, pleasing to the taste ana ac= cep table to the stomach, prompt in its action and truly beneficial in its effects, prepared only from the most healthy and agreeable substances; its many excellent qualities com mend it to all and have made it ^b^nostpopularremed^^nowg^^ Syrup of Figs is for sale in 50o and &1 bottles by all leading drug gists. Any reliable druggist who may not have it on hand will pro cure it promptly for any one who wishes to try it. Do not accept any substitute. CALIFORNIA FIG SYRUP CO. SAN FRANCISCO. CAL. IWISVIILE. KV NEW fORK. N t. FORA ONE-DO L.LAK Oil.L. sent iu by mal*. we will deliver, free oi alt chitrges, to any per so a l* the United States, all of me folio win; articles, cxra- fully packed: VGLL< CONDITION POWDER Richly concentrated. Dose pmall. In quantity coets ss than one-tenth cent a dav per hen. Drevents and ores all diseases. If you can’t pet it, we send by mail ost-pald. One pack. 23c. Five $1. 2 1-Hb. can SI.20; cans 85. Express paid. Testimonials free. Send stamps or a«h. Farmers’ Poultry Ouide (price 25c.) free with 810# rdeir or more. I. S. JOHNSON & CO., Boston, Mass. less . I' 1 LSI 11 One two-ounce bottle of Vaseline Fumade^ • 15 “ One jar of Vaseline Cold Cream, 13 ** One Cake of Vaseline Camphor Ice, - • - • I J ** C.nc Cake of Vaseline Soap, unscented, ..!!)•» Cue Cake of Vaseline Soap, exquisitely S3ented,23 *• Cue two-ounce bottle or White Vaseline, • -23 »• 8U> Orfor pottm? Htanr* any .Hay!* art Cali at the pria* named. On no account be pereua lei to acoep t from yvurdrugyist any Vaseline or preparation there fr m un/sss labelled with our name, because you will cor- tainly receive an imitation which has little or novaltto Cliesebronirh .Ulg. Co., *81 State -*4t., N. Y. ~ I EWIS’ 98 cV«. LYE Powdered and Perfumyi. PATENTED.) The strongest ani purest Lyra i made. Will make the 6es! p»r- ’fumed Hard Soap in 20 tnit> utes without boiling. Itistti® best for disinfecting sinka^ closets, drains, washing boctldJ, larrels, paints, etc. PENNA. SALT IMTFG C7 <>en. Agts.. Phila.. Pa. OJ i|| lj| 13^^ I RELIEVES INSTANTLY. I ELY BROTHERS, 66 Warren St.. New York. Trice 50 cts.I P TSO’S REMEDY FOR CATAEF.H.-~Best. Easiest to use. Cheapest. Relief is immediate. A cure is certain, Lor Cold in the Head it has no equal. It is an Ointment, of which a small particle is applied to the nostrils. Trice, 50c. Sold by drumasts or sent by mail. Address, E. T. Hazeltink, Warren, Pa. PARC THE BEST HOME GAME. For 30 years on the market nud excels all other;. 1 rice f 1.10 each, mailed postpaid. Selchow A; Kizhter, 41 John St.. New Yo-k F AIRY It HEATH FLAVOR sent free for 35 eents(stamps . Agents wanted, lady or gen tleman. everywhere. 4AIRY BREATH MANUFAC TURING COMPANY, 1C€ Duane Street, New York. $1,000 REWARD! The above reward will be paid for proof of the existence of a belter LINIMENT than MERCHANT’S GARGLIN'j OIL or a better Worm Remedy thau MERCHANT’S WORM TABLETS. Sold everywhere. JOHN MOaUE, Sec’y, Merchant’# Garblin' Oil J>., I-ockport, N. Y.. U. S. A. .!•<' s ; rs» lFor Coughs^Golds There is no Medicine like !5f|l DR. SCHENCK’S !©» their notice—we infer two thing's First, r b tb it a Bcinij who is acquainted witn ail our needs must have been the author of this book, and second, that the Hoiy* Spirit often brings special portions of it to qyr atten tion. Unbelievers may* doubt and cavil, but it is not in tin ir power to shake the faith of the humble child of God in the in-pira ion of His hole Word.— !N. Y. Observer. 0EEjCHAM'S P*^PAINLESS. §** | JUJLa jSlEFFECTUAL^ < WORTH A GUINEA A BGX/WS ^ For BiLiOUS & NERVOUS DISORDERS \ Such as Wind and Pain in the Stomach, Fullness end Swelling after Meals ( Dizziness, and Drowsiness, Cold Chi.'/s, Flushings of Heat, Loss of Appetite, Shortness of Breath Costiveness, Scurvy, Blotches on the Skin, Disturbed ( Sleep. Frightful Dreams, and all Hc-r cus and Trembling Sensations &c ( THE FIRST DOSE WILL GIVE RZLIEr IN TWENTY MINUTES. BEECH AM 6 FILLS TAKEN AS DIRECTED RESTORE FEMALES TO COMPLETE HEALTH For Sick Headache, Weak Stomach, Impaired Digestion, Constipation. Disordered Liver, etc., they ACT LIKE MAGIC, Strengthening Wie, u. ^c.-Aar System, restoring lone-lost Com plexion, bringing b ick the Keen edge c; r.;.,y t:te, and arousing with ibe ROSEBUD OF HEALTH the whole physical energy of the human frame. One of the best guarantees to the Nervous and Debilitated Is that BEECIiAH S PILLS HAVE THE LARGEST SALE Of ANY PROPRIETARY MEDICINE IN THE WCT:’ U. Prepared only by TIIOS. BEECH AM. St. Helena, I.nncu*hlre. England. Sold by Itr.ujgiatttgenerally. B. F. ALLEN CO . 365 and 367 Canal St.. Ne* York, Sole Agents for the L*luted Suites, i to Of • • imggust does not keep them) W ILL MAIL BEECH AM’S PILLS cn RF.i.’F.II’T ■ );, a UOX. SltjrnoN Tins Pajer.) §2 SYRUP, It is pleasant to th teste aca igarg §jjj does not contain a particle ot ■**’ alJ3 opiumorauything injurious It lathe Best Cough Medicine in the World. F -ale by ail Druggist*. Price, ft.00 per oottle. ' . Schench’s !!■>.,k oa Consumption and its Cur , mailed tree. AcMrea* Dr. J. H. Bch&nck * Hon Philadelphia. $60 L Beam Box Tare Beam, ZX 61229 for"^ JONES OF (B’NGHAWTONi N, Y, PATENTS! luAtru’ti fra»- to luvcators. \V*rito *: . ->.• hand-b-joi lorriiauou. J. B. CRA i,!.E At CO.. \\ axhiiigtoii. It. f. The Stage ami the Church. Mrs. Lvne-Stephens has jast defrayed the entire expense, no less than SoOO,- 000, of buildinc; a matrnificent Roman Catholic Church in Cambridge, Eng land. Forty years ago Mrs. Lyne- Stephens was one of the most celebrated dancers in Europe. She was then known as Yolands Marie Louise Duver- nay. In 1845 she married the late Mr. Lyne-Stephens, of Lyn- ford Hall. The new church stands in grounds given principally by the Duke of Norfolk, and is called “The Church of Our Land and the English Martyrs. • lENSION J ‘ >H ' w ’ ,,,RK,S ’ TYasIilneton, I>. < "Successfully °'csecutes Claims- I_&re Principal Examiner U S Pension Bureau o YTs m aLir*? war. 15a4Jndiciitiiigclaim* mtty tince fill4QAkT££n * per ft. MORTGAGE-. UUAnA!* I CCU Full particulars furnished by E. II. STEELE. 6:t Broadway. Nrw York. 1?. A. LEHMANN, VVaabington, I>. C. SIND FOB C IRC CIA A. PATENTS T Annas i *> : ><I r •r.iniij I fin - I Aullffl A ANMAl.LV from TWKNfV to I UU i Hl^_ I T-.t TaIOHa IMfcsTkt.NT to.. TAIOXA. Wash. fit ng£C fsTU t> Y, Book-keeping. Bmlnees Form*. K UrRC Penmanship. Arithmetic, Short-hand, etc., B" thoroughly trugnt by MAIL. Circular* free. Bryant’- t ot lege, 4->7 Main bt., Buffalo, N*. Y. It K-WREN fOl’GII BALSAM AND TROCHES POSiTIVtiL,Y Cure* Coughs, Colds and a.l Throat and Lung Diseases. Fre t. H. Pape, of Hoboken, N. J., says: “The wo derful K-'vREV remedies cured my boy of acr_.upy cold within 30 hours.” Trcches, 10c. and 25c. Balsam, 50_. ALLDRCGOISTS, oraddres* M. t. KEEP at CO..W K. 13th St., N.Y.. i ll It WA'.S.) 'lAilt TA'iG asst ci eenutifu. Silk * Satin Inl!‘DSM *81 111enough to ouve. JOG so 2Uc.: bent. 2.*>C. LEMABlK'aMLK MILL, Little berry N..I. DflPPY l/UCCC POSITIVELT KLMKIUKD. DnUUI ftllLLO Greely Pant Stretcher. Adopt* d by student- at Harvard. Amherst, aud other Colleges, also, he professional and business men e.eijr- where. If not n.r sale III y >ur town .end it.Te to B. J. (.Ki.El.Y, 7Ii Washington Street. Boston. A XIV!AS HEALTH GIFT (Exerciser Complete $5) Is Best of All. Circular Free. Books: For “An Ideal Complexion D Complete Physical Development,” V) Ills 50 cts. “Health & Strength in Physical Culture,” ao Ills 50 cts. Chart of’ 3^ Ills for Dumb Bells & Pulleys. 25 cts. Ad. .'NO. E. DOWD S Vocal & Physical Culture school, 116 Monroe St. CltiCSQO - - - p 8 * * ’ Ides to city with prices* terms for our property ' haanber of Commerce, Chicago A guides to city with ni V, SI. Williams, iOcLi Cli ASTHMA mtwfmBA »**. TAkl-S ASTBKAI.KY3 |B£0h—«f rajUt |ea4 WiJ BILL FRAZER oa a a a Posters, Agents. Women, Boys, ererp- ./• </.. 10,UU Anna waat 1UU,000 per sons permanently to hand out pa per* at 81 a 10IO. Pariculars for a J cent stamp. Autyrs' Hekald, Box 250)1. Phila . Pa. AXLE _ Cans la r l TO » DATB.^ Hr deal/ by the lOttriMiOi. BlUST IN TOE WORLD IT Gtr*. the Genuine daiaJErerrwl VnA. 1 prescribe and fatly «afc- dorse Big tl as the only specific for the certain ctisu of this disease. O. H. INGRAHAM, M. Ii* Amsterdam, N. Y. We have sold Big G lor many years, aud it baa S ven the best ot sal ta ction. ». B. DYCHE A CO., Chicago 111. 131.60. Bold sy Drazxin*