t
- 'INSANE FROM SIN"
Sunday Discourse By Dr. Chapman, the
Noted Pastor-Evangelist.
The Effect ol Wronr-Dolni Cpoa the Mind
Sell Indulgence Ruin Men, ,
Sell Denial Makes Them.
New York City. The Itcv. Dr. J. Wil
btir Chapman, the most popular of our
pulpit orators, hail never preached a more
dramatic nnd powerful sermon than the
following on, entitled "Insane From Sin."
It is founded on the teTtt. "In the tombs,
crving and cutting himself with stones.
Mark S: 8.
You n.-e doubtless familiar with this
New Testament chapter in which our
Lord is represented as having power over
devils, disease and death. Over devils
when He cast out the evil spirits from the
man in the tombs, finding enough in him
to till a herd of swine, and enough swine
to fill the sea, as an old preacher used to
say; over disease when He healed the
woman who had faith enough to touch
His garment's hem, and power over death
when He stands nt the home of Jairus nnd
commnnds his little daughter to awake
nnd restores her to her weeping parents.
It is a comforting chapter in the light of
the fart that Ho is the same yesterday, to
day and forever.
In speaking of "the sinfulness of sin" I
desire to present it nt this time in its ef
fect upon the mind. Insanity has been de
scribed as a chronic disease of the brain
inducing chronic disorder of the mental
condition, yet there is a sense in which the
fevered patient in his delirium and the
drunkard in his excitement, or stupor is
insnnc. There oro two kinds of insanity,
first, congenital, or that which is inherited
where brain development is arrested. Sec
ond, acquired, or that in which the brain
?s born healthy, but has Buffered from
morbid processes nffecting it primarily,
diseased states of the general system im
plicating it secondnrily. In our treatment
of this theme I have to do with both of
these, for jn the first we see how the sins
of the fathers arc visited upon the children
unto the third and fourth generations,
while in the second we behold an exhibi
tion of that insanity of sin which is due
to individual excesses or the breaking of
God's laws. The llible is
lull 01 illustra
tions.
It is not necessary that I should go to
an institution to find men who are insane.
I turn to the pages of this old hook and
read the story of Nebuchadnezaar, the
king. Now you see him on his hands and
knees eating grass and his nails are like
birds' elawa and his hair like eagles' feath
ers. Yet as we read we find he lifted his
eves to heaven and Ood set him free.
There is not less for a man in this City ol
New York no matter what his bondage
if he will but lift his eyes up he may be
free.
Then we turn to I. Samuel, second chap
ter; and we see the man who wrote the
Twenty-third Psalm, David playing th
fool before the man of whom he was
afraid, crouching upon the sides of the
door posts nnd becoming disgusting.
In the tenth chapter of Kxodus we read
the story of the man who was the king
whose face I had the privilege of seeing as
n mummy in Kgypl the man who said,
"I will let the people go now if yon will
take away the swarm of flies if you will
take away the frogs." And tlie frogs
were taken away, and the flies, and he
did not let them go, for Ood hardened his
heart an insane man, but not more in
sane than the mnn who has promised ever
since he was a child that he would be a
Christian and give up sin, and is still its
slave.
Turn to tho New Testament, nnd here
we find the picture of the prodigal. When
he came to himself when he was not him
self he was satisfied with swine, so long
as he had forgotten his father and his
mother, whom tradition says he killed,
he was satisfied, but when he came to
himself he was not. Ah, the young man,
with the memory of a sweet mother hack
in Ohio, who has stepped into the evil ol
sin in New York and turned his face
away from Christ, he is insane. It is the
hope of the ministor and the prayer of nt
least one hundred people in this church
that during this series of meetings some
of these young men may come to them
selves, and then come to Christ.
I.
I have been going through tho institu
tions, where I have had the privilege ol
looking upon the insane people confined
there, and 1 have found out the following:
First, many people are insane because
of the sins of their parents. Kesults ol
crime on future generations.
At the recent meeting of the Congress
of Criminal Anthropology at Geneva,
Switzerland, Dr. Legrain, physician-in-chief
of the nsvlum of Ville-Evrard. cava
. the results of his investigation, which ex-.
tenoea over a nenoa ot years ana snowed
now sin, line a mease, is transmitted trom
drunken father to appetite enslaved son:
how in such soil the seeds of crime and
madness develop and ripen in the last gen
eration into sterile idiocy and the extinc
tion of the race.
First Generation."
He traced the course of four generations
of drinkers in 213 families. One hundred
and sixty-eight families showed unmistak
able symptoms of degeneracy; sixty-three
cases of mild insanity; eighty-eight wero
mentally unsound; forty-five at times dan
gerously insane; many of the children
were weaklings and died at an early age,
six out of eight in one case, ten out of six
teen in another. These six latter who re
mained were all feeble minded and had
epileptic fits and a prey to evil instincts.
Thirty-nine -families found convulsions;
epilepsy in fifty-two; hysteria in sixteen;
meningitis in five; 108 families out of the
15 counted one out of every two individ
uals victims of periodical alcoholic deli
rium; 109 families of the 215 insanity had
developed.
Second Generation.
.Ninety-eight observations gave the fol
lowing: .Fifty-four families had one or
more members who were imbeciles or
idiots; twenty-three families there were
those who wiire morally irresponsible, un
timely births, extraordinary mortality
and hereditary diseases caused the children
.u in BPPallm8 numbers. At this stage
lathers and mothers had become common
drunkards with but eight exceptions, In
forty-two families he found chronio cases
of convulsions, and epilepsy in forty. In
twenty-three families insanity exists.
Third Generation.
Seven observations, or families, gave
h'm a total of seventeen children; all
were mentally unsound and physically
stunted; two were insane, four subject to
convulsions, two epilepsy, two hysteria,
one meningitis, three scrofula.
Humming up the 814 cases found in the
'5 families he found 32.J per cent, were
alcoholics, 80.9 per cent, are degenerates;
per cent, morally irresponsible, 22.7
per cent, have convulsions, nineteen per
cent, are incurably insane; 174 disap
peared from this world before or almost be
lore hiving drawn their first breath; nme
k I .c"e ' tuberculosis, which bring
tne total of those who died from heredit
ary alcoholism up to ona-tbird. . "
toe-e is no fifth generation, for the last'
? a microcephalous idiot. Thua
right, .as proven by science,
wnen he said, "God visits the iniquities
oi the parents unto the third and fourth
w uo'fifth l tbem thst haU Him" Tb
4(.8i" ' n awful thing. If I could uncover
ij uk. ,ome f yoa could see it you
shrink from a man who is a leper.
7 " V8ry mny people who are in
sane from 0ver work. It is the tendency
the times. Vtrmt. ne to read to you
an editorial given in one of our recent
Papers:
nt"N,ver was there such a craze for spec
u ation as our age presents. Young and
Old more or less feel its force. Slow gains
Jra. discpuuted. Stock gambling is pation
Ja and recognized to an slarming extent.
lihe SUBMiUti.,,. ,.. ; ..11 Ai.an.
itions aud in all ways. Those who cannot
rent an office in Wall Street patronize ths
oucket shop and curbstone brokers. The
tricks of trade are mastered, and fortune
nuntjng is pursued with avidity, ltisks
?k ""-'urred and principle sacrificed in
the haste to becoms rich. Great syndi
cates are formed day by day and then
tunng baits tempt many people. Little
saving. te insured ample profits. Trad
a iu;uiuiug lurssly . emulative. ..UU f!i:
loned busmesg-mettiorts aniT lrtcars are I
passing away, and much ia being sacrificed
to more rapid modes of enrichment. Som
succeed, but the larger number fall in
their ventures. Fortunes are lost ns well
as won. Money changes hands, and thou
sands suffer whore hundreds gain. Wrecks
of characters lie all along the pathway ol
speculition. In all ranks and grades ol
society are found the victims of wild,
reckle gambling. Gree.d of wealth is be
coming too much an American vice. Its
allurements are proving too strong for out
bright, energetic and ambitious young
men, and there is a call for a steadier,
wiser and safer spirit in business affairs."
Second, there are many people insane to
day because of self-indulgence, the lack ol
self-restraint. Self-indulgence ruins men,
self-denial makes them; self-indulgence
sells a man's birthright for a mess of pot
tage, and he tries to get it again only to
find that it is impossible; self-denial
makes one to be possessed of increasing
strength; self-indulgence led Belshazzar
on until we find him in the centre of ths
feast where the fingers of a man's hand
svrite upon the wall, "Weighted in the
balances and found wanting," and the
seme thing is true to-day, it is the lack ol
elf-restraint that has made manv a man
to lose his soul. Dr. Talmage tells of ths
man whom he saw on the shores of a lake
in Scotland creeping out from under the
hull of an old wrecked vessel and lifting
up his hands tremblingly said. "Please,
sir, will you give me a penny?" "For
what?" said the minister. The nnswel
Was, "For strong drink." Dr. Talmage
said to him, "I am a minister and I rannol
give you the money for that, but 1 will
help you. What is your name?" nnd h
said the man buried his face in his hands,
shook with emotion, and then finally said,
"My name is" and he sobbed it out.
"Why," said Dr. Talmage, "I knew a man
by that name in Edinburgh, a prominent
merchant; did you know him?" "God
pity me, sir," said lie, "I nm that man;
sin slew me, and I am here; my wife is
dead, my children are in the poor house
and I am on my way to hell. What a
warning for every man who gives way in
the least to sin.
There are many men in the insane insti
tutions to-day because of self-indulgence
and lack of self-restraint. Who was it
that said, "Better is he that ruleth hit
spirit than he that taketh a city? hy,
if a mnn could only take a city what a
hero he would bcl The word of God says
that every man may be greater than he
that taketh a city if he will rule his own
spirit. Self-indulgence ruins, self-denial
makes men. Self-indulgence sells a man's
birthright for less than a mess of pottage.
Be not deceived. God is not mocked,
whatsoever a man sows that shall he reap.
I came across one young man in the ln
anni asylum who enme from ono of the
first families in the country. There is not
a man better born than he. He had every
thing that money could buy. Not only
was he lacking in self-restraint himself,
but his people were lacking in self-re
ntraint. If the boy desired to go to
school he was nt liberty to go; if he pre
ferred not to go to school he could stay at
home. After a while there came a defect
in the brain: after a little while it was in
sanity, so that -now he is in nn insane
asylum. I heard him say, "Will yon per
mit me to go to father nnd mother?"
"Certainly, certainly," the keeper said.
"lie will never go. Ho will never be
ready to go. He rises in the morning,
then he falls bnck on his cot; he begins to
dress and then steps; he will just about
be rendy to-night: to-morrow morning he
will have the delusion ngain. He never
quite gets up to his desire. That is hia
mania. There is many a boy, possibly
in our church, whose home atmosphere is
like that, and it is a most dangerous one.
I do not know that the fathers were strict
enough. I do not think my father was too
strict. In my boyhood's home life was
the forming of my character. I should
like to hold ud to everv hov and everv
young man the highest ideals of manhood,
and I ask you to take Christ.
Third, there are very many people men
tally unbalanced to-day because of some
hallucination. A poor woman cried out as
I passed along through the wards of the
institution. "Doctor, I nm burning up; if
I could only hnvs a breath of fresh air I
would feel perfectly well again." A man
who used to be a leader of society was ac
tually burrowing in the ground like an ani
mal, all the dignity of his manhood gone,
and the woman who was once the pride of
her homo a mental wreck, and when I
said to the doctor, "What is it that causes
this?" his answer was, "It is sin in very
many cases." I know very well that there
are many who are insane because of in
herited tendency and some because of over
work, their poor overstrained nerves have
given way, nut I have seen a countlesl
number in these latter days insane be
cause of sin, and it is against this that 1
cry out.
II-
- There is a kind of insanity in the posi
tion which men occupy with regard to
being Christians.
first, let us suppose a case of sickness
where tho patient gradually grows worse,
the temperature is high, the pulse is rapid,
the heart is entirely wrong, the skin is
dried and parched, the case is critical, a
cure must come quickly or not at all, and
you go to the afflicted one and propose a
cure because your disease was the same
and you have been cured. Suppose the
patient should remark, "I do not feel that
this remedy will cure me, after a while I
will try it." Possibly that is a specie of
insanity, but suppose he declares that he
will wait until he grows better and the
disease has practically left him; in this,
too, he is insane. But suppose he tells you
that he cannot understand how the rem
edy would cure him, and that until he can
comprehend it he will not accept it. Could
anything be more insane than such a po
sition? Or suppose he should say, "I
would take it. but I know one who' tried
it and failed." I "ask you, is not this a
species "f insanity?
Second, what would you say concerning
the position of such a sick man? I know
what you would say. You would look at
him and say, "Poor man; he is insane;
feelings have nothing to do with the mat
ter; you cannot grow better without a
remedy. The doctor understands the case
and you do not need to understand it."
This is what you would say, but I know
thousands of people who are awav from
Christ and staying away from Him for
these very reasons.
I Some years ago a young man threw him
self into the river from a steamboat, and
at once the cry of "Man overboard!"
startled all the passengers. They threw
hack the searchlight in the darkness ol
the night and could see that he was sink
ing, but suddenly some one threw him a
rope, and a cheer went up because he had
caught hold of it. He drew the rope to
ward him until at last they saw him lift
himself out of the water and then throw it
as far as he could and go down beneath
jthe waves. He was an insane man, hav
ing escaped from his keepers, but the man
who rejects Christ, it would seem to me,
is more insane, for ho has turned awai
from the only cure for sin and rejected the
only hope of heaven.
III. -
There is a beginning to all of this. Have
you heard the old fable of the ring, valu
able because of its gold, to be sure, but
that was not all? Whenever its wearer
stenped wrong the ring pressed his finger
and he would step right again. It was a
fable of something that is true. That ring
is conscience. There is many a man . in
my audience whose consciousness of sin
fivs yjsrs ago kept him from evil. Mac
beth, one of Shakespeare's characters,
having committed murder says: "Will all
great Neptune's ocean make these hands
clean?" And, lifting them up, cries:
"These hands will make the very sea red."
I speak to soma young men in this
church whose conscience is still working.
Yon can put your bauds over your eyes.
ana mere is ueiors you tne I ace oi s
sweet mother, who said to you: "My boy.
it is a vary wicked world. I am afraid
for you without a mother's presence.'
You have a memory of that mother. Your
consciince is saying, "You had better give
up that sin." Clod keep you from it.
Then sie special sins which I should
like to suggest this evening in closing. I
need not sneak of the am of drunkenness.
You have beard ol it this evening. John
B. Gough used to say, "God forgive me,
I do not speak it hoastingty. Five years
of my life were a dark blot. I know what
the burninn aimetite for stimulants is. I
have felt its woes and I have seen It in.
Uianr wen wuo bave. uaea the aruoi.ar.sij
eTeath but as Uod is my witness, i snvi
take awav from me the friends of my old
age, let the hut of poverty be my dwelling
place, let me wall; in the storm and live in
the whirlwind, when I do good let evil
como upon me, and the shouts of my ene
mies na the sound of many waters, do all
this, O merciful God, but. snare me from
the death of a drunkard." I beseech you,
if conscience appeals to you now that you
yield at once to its teachings. Charles the
Ninth nfter the massacre of St. Bartholo
mew said to the doctor, "I nm fevered in
body and mind; oh, if I had only spared
tho innocent, the preachers nnd the chil
dren." Rousseau declared in old age that
the sins committed in his youth gnve him
sleepless nights. Richard the Third hav
ing slain his two nephews in the tower
would sometimes in the night spring from
his couch and touch his sword as if to
fight the demons coming up against him.
AH this was conscience. In the name of
God do not stifle its voice and reject its
warning.
I should like to sny a special word to
the boys. I have the momory to-night of
a hoy who told me that he had left his
father's home nnd his father's employ bo
cause he had begun to take money from
him, nnd the habit had so grown upon
him that it was impossible for him to re
sist. "I began," said he, "with n pennv;
my last theft was $3 at n single time. Oh,
sir," said he, "do you think God will for
give me if I confers it to my father?" It
is a mistake to step aside the least in a
life of sin and I call upon the hoys to turn
squarely about.
I remember the mnn of whom they told
me his mania was that he could not for
get. This man could not forget, nor do I
think we can forget. There is Cain with
the mark of murder. He cannot forget.
There is Pilate, with the memory of Jesus
before him and his hands red with His
Wood. He cannot forget. Judas, with the
clinking of the thirty pieces of silver, he
cannot forget. Abraham, looking down
into the depths, says, "Son, remember."
When Richard four de Leon was a
prisoner the people could not tell where
he was. The cry went up, "Where is the
king?" An old musician said, "I will find
him." And so to every penal institution
he made his way and played the tune of
Richard Cour de Leon. After a while
there came a fluttering sign that Richard
do Leon heard. I wish I could awaken
the memories of your boyhood. I wish
every man here could remember his moth
er nnd father, the old minister nnd the
music of tho chime. "Delay not. Deluv
not O sinner draw nigh." They told mo
that sometimes in the minds ot the poor
people who are insane there will come a
streak of light, a little prophecy of hone.
I have an idea in evorv man's soul there
has been such a ray of hope from heaven.
You can be a Christian if you will. God
help you to be a free man.
Lots For God.
Pravcr becomes a necessity when we
know what God's love for us means. To
read tho story, as the llible tells it, of
thff love which made the world nnd man.
and of the lovo which sent God to live and
die on earth for us; to go over the years of
living nnd see how goodness and mercy
nave tolloweu all tne uays; to pieK out
the blessings till they grow into glowing
clouds always hovering over the human
experience these show the divine love so
mightily that one cannot keep nway from
the contemplation! And so the human
love grows until it reaches God, and bows
at His feet, nnd presses its littleness into
the very vastness of His nature, and draws
its breath from the very presence of Him
who is Himself love! Prayer why we
cannot help loving then! The very life
ia a prayer, a clinging, delighted gazing
into a lace which knows no turning, a
holding to the Hand which never loosens
its grasp, a speaking to a Father whose
one great desire is the child's happiness.
Every act of ours, every need, every
pleasure, every pain is as much God's as
ours, and we know it, and knowing it as
we go to Him as the child to its mother,
as the bird to its nest, as the withered
flower to the moisture which falls nnd
kisses its upturned hungry face. Granted
a God and all else follows. His love for
us, our love for Him, presupposes prayer
as a necessity. Floyd Tompkins.
Prayer Kept Him From Falling.
'A story illustrating the power of prayer
to keep from falling is related of a
Scotchman employed in a great steel fac
tory, who after many years of drinking
gave up the habit.
It was prophesied by those who knew
him best that be would not hold out
through the hot weather, but contrary to
all prophecies he stood firm.
They asked him how he succeeded, and
he said it was because at the beginning of
every hour he asked the Lord to keep
him through the hour. At the end of the
hour he made a dot at the day of the
month on a calendar near him, and
prayed for help for the next hour. So the
Lord carried him through the day, and so
he expected the Lord to carry him through
his life.
i1
Every Man's Duty.
"Doing as well as we know how" is
better than not doing even as well as that.
But doing as well as we know how is not
enough, unless we know just what is
right, and then do that. God's commands
are positive and exact. We are told to do
this, or not to do that. God never tells
us merely to do our best, or according to
our knowledge. It is our duty to know
what is right, and then to do it. Even
under human governments it is said that
it is every man's duty to know the law.
And divine government has as high a
standard as has the human. We have a
responsibility for knowing, as preliminary
to doing. Do we realize that? Angelas.
RAM'S HORN BLASTS
3E crucifix Is not
che Cross.
Sincerity is the
secret of success.
Singing saints are
seldom sad ones.
He who was often
weary can -always
give us rest.
To break our mlr
ors will not make
us beautiful.
The worldy-wlse
nay be eternally
foolish.
It takes more than money to make a
living.
Strength In prayer cannot be meas
ured by length. ,
It is vain hope that the chains of
habit will rust oft.
To be at our beet tomorrow we must
bo at our best today.
When a father Is too tender his sons
usually balance things.
You cannot worship the Father while
you are wounding the child.
Good intentions do not Improve with
age.
Grapes of peace do not grow on
thorns of passion.
We do not need the Cross without if
we have the Christ within.
Self-knowledge will cure self-love.
Practical piety must be personal.
Half a truth may be a whole He.
Iniquity is the first cause of Infirmity.
The love of GoJ s the light of man.
The avalanche starts with a peb
ble. The greedy man always cheat hm
Self, v
Sense and sanctity are not antonyms.
Profanity Is often a specie of Insan
ity. Humility 4s one of the gates of
heaven.
The flame of lust quenches the light
of life.
Permanency of pleasure depend on
purity of purpose.
The world's premiums are never
worth the cost of the coupons.
THE SABBATH SCHOOL.
International Lesson Comments
for
October 5.
Subject: Joshua Encouraged, Josh. L, Ml
Golden Text: Josh. L, 9 Memory
Verses, 8, 9 Commentary on
the Day's Lesson.
1. "Now." This Indicotcs a close cotv
nection with what precedes. It is quiti
probable that the book of Joshua originall
begun with the last chapter of Deuteron
omy. "After tho death." After the thirtj
days' moruning were over. " "The servant
of the Lord." This was the otlicial titll
of Moses, as invested with a special mi
sion to make known the will of God, end
conferred great honor and authority. "Tin
Lord spake." The Lord did not speak
with Joshua face to face as He did with
Moses, but probably through the high
priest. Num. 27: 18-22. "Joshua." Hit
name was originally Hoshea, Salvation, ol
Help. To this was added afterwards th
prefix "Jch," Jehovah, and his name be
came Jchoshua, shortened into Joshua
Salvation from Jehovah, This name in
the Greek is Jesus, and in Acts 7: 45 and
iicb. 4: 8 Joshua is called Jesus. Moscl
the "lawgiver" led Israel to the border,
Joshua the prototype of Jesus brought
them over. Joshua was born in the land
of Goshen, Kgypt. He was a descendant
of Joseph, through Ephriam. At this timt
he was about eighty-tour years of nge. lit
was distinguished for his courage, faith and
piety. "Son of Nun." Nothing is known
of Nun only that he was of the tribe ol
Kphriam. "Moses' minister." It wai
cimtomary for great prophets to be thui
attended by ministers or servants. Thui
hail Joshua been trained in the best pos
sible school. Moses was the servant ol
Jehovah and Joshua the minister of Moses.
A servant is less honorable than a minis
ter, but it is unspeakably greater to he
Jehovah's servant than the prime minister
of the greatest earthly potentate.
2. "This Jordan." Called the "des
cender" because oi its rapid descent of a
thousand feet between the sea of Galilee
and the Dead Sea. It is ono of the most
peculiar rivers in the world. It has many
turnings and windings so that although
the distance between the two seas ii
fiily sixty miles, yet the river traverses s
distance of at least two hundred miles,
nnd during that distance there are twenty
seven large cataracts, besides a great many
smaller ones; thus on it goes a toaming
torrent plunging down into the "Sea ol
Salt" where its waters are lost in a "briny
seething caldron." It is sometimes deep
and at other times shallow enough to be
forded. "All this people." According to
the second census (Num. 26: 51) the war
riors, men over twentv years of age, num
bered 601,730, besides 23,000 Levites. This
justifies an estimate of not less than 2,000,
000 people altogether.
3. " our foot shall tread." The entire
land was before them, and it depended
upon their courage and faith how much of
It tney posscsscu.
4. "From the wilderness." The bound'
arios of the land are here defined. "This
Lebanon. A double runge of mountains
winch tormed the northern boundary
"Euphrates." The eastern boundary. This
was the largest, the longest and the most
important ot the rivers ot western Asia
"Hittites." A tribe of C'anaanites livinz in
the southern part of the promised land.
X'liey were the most powcrtul tribe in Ca
naan nnd the especial terror of the ten
spies. Gen. 15: 1U. This was an important
promise, Ye shall possess tho lund of even
the dreaded Hittites. "Great sea." The
Mediterranean. Called "great in com-
parison with the seas of Canaan. It is
2500 miles long and 1200 miles in its
greatest width, and has an average depth
ot over halt a mile. uoing aown.
Meaning that this is the western boundary.
"Your coast." This was a lamer territory
than the Hebrews ever possessed, except
lor a short time during the reigns ot UavicJ
ind Solomon.
5. "Not nny man," etc. What a promise
is this! He was to have victory in every
conflict. Hut the divine promise implies
a condition. See vs. 7-0. "I will be with
thee." Joshua needed no other allies,
but he needed these great promises. A
:risis had arrived in the history of the
pation, and he knew that Jehovah alone
couia Dring them into their promised in
hcritance. "Not fail thee." 1. God's pres
ence gives constant victory. Any man
may conquer who tights with the Lord on
His side. 2. God's presence is given ir
respective of ability or social condition.
God walks with all who fear Him the
poor, the needy, the persecuted, the down
trodden. 3. God's presence once given
will remain with us forever, unless we dis
obey Him.
6. "lie strong," etc. Better, "be strong
tnd firm." It denotes strength of hand
and arm to lay hold of and retain anything
within one's grasp; and firmness in the
knees, and ability to maintain one's posi
tion against the attack of foes. The ex
pression occurs with increasing emphasis
tour times in this chapter, and is rather a
command than an exhortation. "Shalt
thou divide." See R. V. The Lord shows
Joshua that "he is the last link in the
chain which unites prophecy and fulfill
ment," that "all the glorious possibilities
of his nation hinge upon his own personal
valor and fidelity." Joshua was to use all
his military skill, and avail himself to the
utmost of all the means, natural and provi
dential, placed within his reach. God will
not help them who refuse to help them
selves. 7. "All the low." All the moral, cere
monial and political precepts given from
Jehovah to the hand of Moses. Joshua
is admonished that the law must be strictly
and carefully observed, if the great work
to which he has been called was to be
successfully accomplished. He was to carry
out its provisions to the letter. "Xo the
right or.. ..left." Perfect obedience is
represented by a straight line, and a course
of sin by a crooked way. "Mayest pros
per." There is no real or lasting pros
perity outside of a perfect obedience to all
ot God's commandments.
8. "Book of the law." Moses had al
ready written the law, and they were to
diligently study it and meditate upon it,
and their lives were to be governed accord
ing to its precepts.
9. "Thy God is with thee." As the sol
dier's valor ia stimulated by the eye of
hia captain, so a vivid realization of the
presence of God is a safeguard against
tearfulness and discouragement.
10. "Officers of the people." These were
the leaders of the army whose oflicea em
braced various duties. It seems to have
been a part of their work to act as heralds,
and to prepare the tribes for action.
11. "Prepare your victuals." The word
denotes food obtained in hunting. Al
though the manna did not cease until
several days after this, yet the superna
tural supply probably began to decrease
as the natural supply increased. God never
works miracles as a premium to indolence.
Odd Place for Serpent
In Alsace recently a four-year-old
child, the daug'ator of a worklngman,
became very ill one day, but speedily
recovered, and for some days after
ward dismayed her parent by eating
a good deal more than a child of that
age la wont to eat
Instead, however, of growing fatter,
the girl grew thinner, and doctors,
who were summoned to attend her,
were nnable to explain why the food
did her no good. Finally the riddle
was solved, for a serpent about
twenty inches In length Issued one
morning from the child's mouth.
The serpent was killed and sent to
the University ot Strasburg, and since
Uthen the little one ha enjoyed ex
cellent health. It la supposed that
tho child swallowed the serpent while
drinking some Impure water.
If a man I able to make a bluff at
i crying a woman will forgive him scy
thing. ' The miracle I the flash that comes
wbea God touches man. ,
CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR TOPICS.
October 8. "A Scerchlng Question." John
xl., 15-25.
Scripture Verse. What kind of
love does Ood expect? Matt. x. 37;
Eph. vi. 24; Who are they that love
him? Sol. Song i. 4; John vlli. 42;
Luke vll. 47; How can wo show our
love? John xlv. 15; 1 John r. 2;
What la eatd of those who love him?
1 Cor. xvl. 22; What Is promised to
those who lovo him? Jas. 1. 12; John
xlv. 21, 23.
Reason Thoughts.
Our Savior, who loved us even unto
doath, is Interested in nothing else so
much as our lovo to him.
Christ must always have the su
preme place In every human heart.
We ought to love Him more than
any earthly good, so that there will
be no hesitancy In choice, It there
ever comes a conflict.
How much Injury has been done
by persons being more concerned
about another's duty than their own?
Our first concern Bhould be, "Lord,
what wilt thou have mo to do?"
Selections.
Talent and energy and capacity to
lead others are not qualifications
enough for work of Christ. Peter
possessed all these In a marked de
gree; but did no love the savior
whoso love he was to make known?
He might speak like an angel,
might prophesy, might be able to
fathom deep mysteries, might give
all he had to the poor; but without
"cbarlty" or love love first for his
Lord, and then lovo for his wandering
Bheop he was nothing, and hia words
but as "sounding brass, or a clanging
cymbal."
I took a piece of living clay.
And gently formed it day by da)
And molded with my power and art
A young child's soft and yielding
heart.
I came again when years were gono;
It was a man I looked upon;
He Btill that early Impress wore.
And I could change him never more.
When the Pagan priests killed a
sacrifice to foretell future events, the
worst possible augury was in a heart
small and shrivelled. This was a sure
sign of calamity. It is so, too, when
the omniscient Christ finds no love la
our personal religion.
Suggested Hymns.
Come, Holy Spirit.
I belong to Jesua.
Search me, O Lord, and try this heart
of mine.
Have you sought for tho sheep that
have wandered?
O Savior, precious Savior.
More love to thee, O Christ.
EPW0RTH LEAGUE MEETING TOPICS.
October 8. Resume ot Progress ol Metho
dists Missions Psa. 115. 1-3.
Methodism was born In a revival of
apostolic zeal and spirit, and neces
sarily la missionary. Tho genius of
Christianity Is missionary work. "God
had but one Son, and he was a mis
sionary." The early disciples ot
Christ went everywhere preaching the
new faith. Paul waa a "foreign mis
sionary." The mediaeval church was
missionary. Our Anglo-Saxon race is
the result ot Christian missions. Early
Methodism In both England and Amer
ica was intensely missionary. The
Methodist church was little else for a
long time except a missionary society.
America has been largely evangelized
by Methodism because it was, and is,
a missionary force. Methodism could
not have been but for the spirit and
work of missions.
The church had been organized In
the United States for nearly forty
years before this spirit was incar
nated Into an organized effort to
evangelize the world. Our Missionary
Society was organized In 1819, almost
simultaneously with the American
Board. For eighty-three years it has
made an honorable and inspiring rec
ord. Its collections have increased
from $823.04 in 1819 to almost $1,501),
000 In 1901.
In our home field nearly one-half of
our missionary money, and more than
naif of our workers, are wltnln our
own laud. Our Home Missions, ad
ministered by the Missionary Society,
are divided Into four general divisions.
1. Missionary work In the Conferences
In the North, Including the mountain
districts and the Pacific coast. 2.
Missionary work, both white and col
ored, In the South. 3. Non-English-speaking,
Including American Indians.
4. Special work In our great cities.
About $475,000 la spent annually in
this field.
A study of the rise, growth, and fu
ture outlook ot our Missions Is full of
Inspiration. Africa, our oldest and
In some sense most difficult field. Is
taking on now life under the adminis
tration of Bishop Hartzell. China has
five Conferences, and under the lead
ership of BlHhop Moore, Is taking on
new life under new conditions. India
is honey-combed with the Gospel, and
Bishop Thoburn is successfully guid
ing its six mission fields. Japan and
Korea are hopefully growing. In the
Philippine Islands we are planting a
most hopeful Mission. - In our cities
and on the frontier our missionaries
are succeeding In converting and sav
ing the people. Eighty years have
prepared the Church for a more liberal
giving, a more systematic effort, and
a more successful method In mission
ary work. The victories past should
Inspire praise and hope. The wonder
ful opportunities before us should in
cite every Epworth Leaguer to greater
missionary enthusiasm.
Asphalt Were More Serviceable.
Notification wa recently served on
tho residents of an up town street that
they would be assessed a certain
amount each by the city for repavini
made necessary In laying new water
pipes. Several house owner rebelled
and determined to petition council
to place the cost on the city. The
most belligerent ot the "kicker" was
appointed a committee ot one to ask
all the Interested property owner to
tgn the petition. Here wa the first
paragraph of the circular letter he
stmt around:
"Certain gentlemen, house-owner
wish to file a remonstrance to the pro
posed repaying of street with
the member ot both branches of
councils. Philadelphia Times,
fEE RELIGIOUS LIFE
READING FOR THE QUIET HOUR
WHEN THE SOUL INVITES ITSELF.
Poemi Dwell Peep 'With hs Rreahlns; of
ths Sabbath Has Coin Decline In
ths Joy of Attending Divine Worship
Fasslns: of the Qnlet lord's Day.
Dwell deep, O my soul, in the love-depths
divine;
In the depths of God's love there is
peace.
Dwell deep, hour by hour, where God's
fulness is thine;
From all care, in the depths, is release.
Dwell deep, far below the wild rage of
the gale.
Far benenth the onrush of the wave.
Dwell deep, in the calm, where no blast
can assail.
From nil strife, in ths depths, He doth
save.
Dwell deep, whore no focman can ever
draw nigh.
Far removed from nil danger nnd fear;
Dwell deep in His love; to thy safe ref
uge flv,
Whcro His hand wipes away every tear.
Dwell deep, O my soul; in the depths,
deeper yet,
Where with thee ne communcth alone.
Dwell deep; all thy pain nnd thy nnguish
forget
In the love-rest He gives to "His Own.
F.rnest O. Wcllcsley-Wesley.
Delight In Clod's TTnnse.
Tt has cone ont of fashion to take de
ight in God's house. The good old days
if the quiet, sacred Pabbath. whereon nil
to to worship the Lord in the beauty of
iolinss. nre gone. We hear talcs of our
rrandmothers, whoso pure eyes nre lit
vith a bolv pence, sitting through long
lervices, where sermon nnd prayer were
ieep nnd hard to be understood: we lis
ten to the story of how our grandfathers,
Tor love of Ood, went nrmed to church
ind took turns pacing un nnd down in
Vont of the primitive huilding that their
worship might not be interrupted by vis
its from savages, nnd we ndmire them as
I simple folk with no higher social priv
ileges than to gather in a log house every
;ittle while nnd have n dull sermon read
io them. They were brave, certainly,
ind the tenacity with which thev held to
'.heir religious views and left all else in
life for the privilege of serving God in
what seemed to them the right way, was
beautiful. But we of this more enlight
ened nge why, we could not take the
time for such long services! There is too
much a-doing now. The world has waked
up. We must have our sermons nil frills
una turnoiows, or we care notning inr
ihem. What would thev have thouaht. in
kthe days of the Puritans, of the efforts of
tho present day to attract nn audience
People went to church then from pure
love of it. because it was God's house, the
place where they were always sure ot
meeting Him, their Father's home, their
home. Just ns the birds of the nir seek
their little nests for comfort and rest and
refreshment, even so they sought the al
tars of God their Father, and felt it their
home.
And the Pahhath was their free day In
which thev could nil meet as one great
family. With the breaking of the Sab
bath has come the decline in "the delight
In God's house. For how can one delight
in a thing for which one has no time or
Ihoueht?
Still stands this solemn, impassioned
psalm, like a bit of ancient curio, striking
a strange note, scarce heard amid the
work-a-dar world's rushing on. In these
times of buying nnd selling and getting
rain, of pleasuring nnd feasting, of study
ind research, of huilding up new theories
'or everything under heaven, even the
dear old Bible, what time have we for
lentiment, nnd townrd a house, a particu
lar building? Ia not Ood everywhere?
Worship in His house is but a form. The
lid dispensation is done away with.
Ah! But Ood established those forms,
ind for tho purpose of teaching Hia own
Ihe wnv to Him. Alexander MacLaren
says: "So long as spirit is tied to body
the, most spiritual worship will be tied to
form."
And it is no more unlikely that we
hall wander from our God than it was
that the thoughtless children of the wil
derness should.
True, we hav made God's house more
ind more beautiful as time has passed on.
It is ns lovely now as our own homes, and
finite ns comfortable, but is not this done
largely from selfishness? Do we beautify
it because we love it, nnd love our Ood, or
because it gives us pain to be environed
iven tor the short time each week that
we are detained in a church by anything
gglv or out of harmonv?
But is it then possible for a busy man
r woman, filled with life and happiness
ind laden with the joyous cares of this
sarth. to love the church where the ser
mon is ill prepared, or poorly delivered,
ir monotonously commonplace?
Truly, yes. Because it is God's honse.
God is never ill prepared to meet you,
nor monotonously romonplace. Ho loves
rou. He is Ood! Is it not enough? Oo
there to look into His face. "It is Ho
that hath made you and not yourself."
lie knoweth what you need. The way to
love Ood's house is given in tills hun
dredth psalm. "F.nter into His courts
s-ith thanksgiving," not with criticism in
your heart. Count your blessings while
you sing His prnise. Acknowledge Hi
part in your life. His over-all-ness).
'Bless His name." Then will His house
truly become to you the house of praver,
ihe gate of heaven, your home. T)""
fou can sing with all your heart:
I love Thy church, O Ood!
Beyond mv highest joy
I prize her heavenly ways.
Her sweet communion, solemn VOwBf
Her hymns of love and praise.
Without Equal.
Be certain of this, that no misery can be
equal to that which a man feels who is
conscious that he has proved unequal to
his part, who has deserted the post his
captain set him, and who, when men said,
"burn and such a one is there on guard,
there is no need to take further heed,
has left his v-atch or quailed before the
foeman, to the loss, perhaps the total
ruin, of the cause he had made his choice.
J. II. Shorthouse.
Onr Raal Possessions.
Time, study, sacrifice these are the
coin with which we buy our real posses
sions. They are exchangeable nowhere.
Ood gives away nothing except on tha
most positive conditions. The disposition
to receive can never be absent. An arbi
trary salvation ia imposible. There must
always be an onen door, a dustless win
dow something through which the light '
may come. i resDyterian.
Just and Fair.
You will nut be sorry for hearing before
judging, for thinking before sneakina. for
holding an angry tongue, for stopping the
ear to a talebearer, for disbelieving most
of the ill reports, for being kind to the
distressed, for being kind toward every
body, for doing good to all men, for ask
ing pardon for all wrongs, for speaking
evil of no one, for being courteous to all.
All Coandsnosk
When faith in the authority of Scrip
ture is destroyed it takes with it all con
fidence in Methodism. The liev, W. X.
Euster, Eranston, 111.
Qoalat Aastloaswrlag Method.
The lnhablUuts of a village In Sur
rey, England, recently witnessed a
quaint mediaeval survival In tne
ale by auction of a local meadow.
Long ago, when the world was not so
busy as it la to-day, the landlord ot
the "white brown meadow" at Bourne
bequeathed the meadow subject to an
auction sale which every now and
again adds to the gayety of this rural
population. At eacb bid a boy sets
out to run to a given point and the
"white brown ninadow" is let to the
bidder whose offer Is unchallenged
wujq tha last bo returns.
THE (IRE AT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE.
fotnat To the Waaoii- A BnTmMy
Trenchant Kitltorlftl Warnlnn to Tmbsi
Men Drink, and he Devil Will !.
and Leer and Mock.
Hear the stamping and the rattle
As of cavalry in battle
Hither hie.
Hear the rolling down the ridges
And the thunder o'er the bridges
Coming nigh.
T)o you, trembling, ask "What it fall
'Tis the devil makes his visit
With his deils.
See the fierce and foaming horses
And his car that hither courses S
Woe on wheels. . Km
Ho employs a human driver;
Thus the wicked sin-contriver
Men deceives
Demons shut within a buttle)
Able each a soul to throttle
Here he leaves.
And the wealthy tnvern-keeper.T
Sinking village morals deeper,
Takes them in.
Little docs it seem to matter
How much sorrow he may scatter, ;
H oe and em.
Men long sunk by drunken revels, 4
Serve ns gods thee bottled devils,
And they cheer
As they sec the car advancing, .
And the fiery horses prancing,
Coming near. '
Daughters, sons and wives they offer,'
All life's precious gifts they proffer, -
All are brought
To be crushed nn act made lnwful
'Neath the wheels of that most awful
Juggernaut.
F Temperate, Tonng UTam
The World (Independent, Kansas CHTs
Mo.) under the head "Young Man, Don'i
Drink," has the following remarkabW
trenchant editorial message to young men
The young man who drinks strong liquor
is like the commander of a fortified aty
who deliberately admits a known enemy;
within its walls.
Drink is more hostile and more deadly
than anv army. It hns sent more men to)
destruction and death than have all the
armies of the world.
There is nothing in it. l ou can t gait
by it; you may lose everything health,
position, reputation, self-respect, nun
hood, soul. '
The first drink admits a demon that
every successive drink strengthens, nnt.l
some day it may be strong enough to
dominate nnd glut its ravenous appetite
with your brain and blood.
Don't deceive yourself about yoat
strength. You know nothing about thatl
until the test comes, and then it often ia
too late. 'ou may never be sure you have)
the strength to resist until you ahev as
serted that strength by resistance.
To resiist once, or twice, or a dozen)
times, does not prove strength to resist;
always. It can bo proved only by con
stant nnd unfailing resistance. Any matt
can resist sometimes. The only man who
can have absolute confidence in his power
to resist is he who never drinks nt all. If
you have the strength, use it. Assert it
how. One drink more is too much. Be
strong right now. It is your best chance.
And do not fall into the dangerous de
lusion that only weak men overdrink.
Weak men do not. sb a rule, overdo any
thing. It is the strong, self-confident mant
who drink ns he does nil else, with gusto
nnd without fear, proud of his strength,
who some day succumbs to the subtle, in
eidious poison that rots his body and pal
sies his brain.
Strong young man! If you can to-day
mock at tho assertion that one drink is)
too much some day you may think thai
same of ten drinks, and later of twenty.
And when that day comes the strength!
that could not resist one drink, before)
appetite was formed, will be but as a,
straw in n whirlwind.
If you have not the strength and sense)
to stop drinking right now, when will you
have it? Will continued yielding give jrous
added strength or better sense?
When the raveled nerves of a disordered
stomach and the flaccid tissues of a soften
ing brain demand whisky, will you, who
could not resist when strength and sens
were whole and craving was unknown
will yon be better able to resist then?
It is not an abstruse question of piety,
or ethics, or morality; it is a simple ques
tion ot common sense ana neaitD.
One does not need to become a drunkard
in the gutter to be injured by whisky. It
Is poison even in small quantities.
Few physicians prescribe it any longer
for any purpose except in hopeless cases)
to dull the senses at the approach ot
death. No physician of learning and honor
administers it to the young in any case.
When impure, as most of the commer
cial whisky is, it is full of unknown dan
gers. When pure it is more dangerous!
still.
It is sometimes given to pups to stunt
their growth and turn them into "freaks."
The young man hoping for the highest
possible mental and physical development
should think seriously of this when tempt
ed to put himself in the place of the pup.
Young man, don't drink!
There's is no good in it. The only pos
sible result is harm to yourself and sor
row to those that love you best.
Refuse the first drink, or, if yon hava
taken that and more, assert your strength,
now and refuse to take another, and thai
spirits of all dearest to you on earth or
in heaven will lean and listen and smile.
Take it, and devils will laugh and leer
and mock.
Bamum and Bailey's Circus
European papers commenting upon the
triumphal march of this circus throngh
Belgium, alter describing tho prowess and
skill of the artists, express surpriso at the
extreme rapidity with which the work ia
accomplished and the extraordinary order
that teigns throughout, from the moment
of arrival to that of departure. The secret
of all this may be found in the following
There is not served at meals either beer,
or wine, or liquors. They drink tea, cof
fee, milk and water. That is to say, all the
employes are total abstainers. Mr. Bailey,
the director, is also an abstainer, Mr.
Barnum, the founder, was also an ab
stainer, and often declared, "If you wish
to succeed, no matter in what, flee dr "
complotcly, be abstinent."
A Great Vlotory.
The temperance people have gained a
great victory. The Supreme Court and the
Appellate Court have both decided that tha
right to sign any and all remonstrances
against the granting of liquor licenses can
be delegated by power of attorney.
The Crusade Io Brief.
Get thee behind me (Satan) intoxicating
drink.
The very throat to disease and death
the saloon.
The vestibule to monstrous evil tha
liquor vaults.
Be sure strong drink will find you out
your weak spots.
"When the saloon d.'es tb devil will put
on deep mourning."
Never intercept sunshine, but block tha
wsy to strong drink.
Compromise with strong drink is da
gcrous; indulgeuce is fatal.
From nearness to a precipice and ths in
toxicating cup stand thou afar oil.
As poisonous fly -p per to Hies, so sa
loons to hosts of men and women.
Crime needs to be under lock and key,
so does its stimulator, strong drink.
"It is much easier to 'rectify' whisky
than it is to rectify the evil it causes."
As a wreckor'a falsa light to a ship'
crew, so struug dhnk to men aud women.
Do what you can to arnmott tho Hal
opioeui oi a race Ire trom alcoholic
son, its crimes, excesses, miseries and ;
ures.
In one Pennsylvania county iu a aic-'n
year $l?,l)Ui,!X)U was up?nt for li.inur. a t
It was estimated ttu.t U,(j I'.,i j if t
amount cams froia wurk ii -u.