The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1882-10-05
ga Sermon"
BY DEACON sLASHER.

BY DEACON sLAsHER.
On this quiet Saturday night, as 1 sit
pondering upon the pages of the good
book. and rejecting upon the wickedness
of mankind-or, rather, the proneness
to wickedness- mankind, 1 feel impel-
led to make few remarks. Not that
there is scarcity of preachers, or ser
mons, or that there is remaining hidden
any great gospel light, waiting to be
famed into being by myself, but merely
to make a few passing remarks upon the
present attitude and prospects of man.
kind-or, rather, some men. This be my
text:
'.And thou, son of man, be not afraid of
them, neither be afraid of their words,
though briers and thorns be with thee,
and thou dost dwell among scorpions; be
not afraid of their words, nor be dismay-
ed at their looks, though they be rebel
lious shouse."-Ezekiel, ii-6.
Courage is highly commendable quail
ity of the human heart. That a man is
brave, is always passport to favora-
BILE opinion of him. The "ion-hearted'
man ever has claims upon his fellow
men, if for nothing else, at least for
small degree of cheap admiration. In the
great battle of life there arises, daily, oc-
casions for the display of those quail
ties which 60 to make up the brave man.
We travel from home, and we are beset
by all the dangers incident to travel-the
railway wreck, the steamer explosion,
and the hundreds of lesser dangers to be
met or guarded against. We remain at
home, and we are subjected to the dangers
of all the diseases incident to the epidem-
ic, or the change of seasons. Every
where, always, we are in danger. tits our
duty, as brave men, and Christian men,
to be ever ready to meet, and battle with,
these dangers. "Be not afraid of them y
No matter how the dangers thicken; no
matter how the clouds may lower; no
matter to what extent we are surrounded
by doubt, fear and dependency; we have
the divine command "be not afraid."A
In my meditations tonight / picture
out, in my own mind, these scorpions
with whom we dwell. 1 see, before me, a
writhing, crawling nest of scorpions
These scorpions are of all sizes-from the
large, beefy scorpion, with huge stom-
ach, and bleared eyes, to the long, lank
scorpion, with the red nose and the in
sufferable breath. These scorpions are "a
rebellious house." rebellious against law.
decency, Christianity and honor. They
rush hither and thither in their blind
rage, and threaten death to any man OF
set of men who shall dare to oppose their
rebellion"
And what is this rebellion-what con-
stitutes the aim of this nest of scorpions
Simply and solely that they claim their
right to build nest in every household
and to sting the inmates. They will not
be satisfied by simply building nest
and being permitted to occupy it in un.
disturbed security; they will be satisfied
with nothing less than that the houses OF
mankind shall be occupied by the scor-
pions alone.
My friends, we are face to face with a
nest of scorpions. These are of the low
est order of animal creation-the lowest
class even of scorpions. These be differ
ent from many reptiles of their class in
that they subsist entirely upon beer and
whisky.
Let us not be dismayed at their looks.
This nest of scorpions are about to strike
their most deadly blow at the very heart
of Christianity and Civilization. Tues
day, the 10th day of October, 1882, is the
time set for the attack. My friends, let
every Christian man be ready for the
blow. Let us not be dismayed by their
| looks let us not be afraid of their words.
Though surrounded by briers and thorns /;
though opposition rises up as mountains
against us, though friends seemingly for
sake us, though multitudes cry out against
us, let us come up in prayerful spirit; !;
let us come up in a determined spirit; and
come to strike blow at this nest of scor-
pions which shall at once and forever
place them beyond the point of being
dangerous.
There is a grave responsibility resting
upon us. Humanity asks our protection
from scorpions; innocent youth asks our
protection against demons; the sad eyes
of the widow, the pitiful cry of the Or
phan, the helpless jabber of fallen man.
hood, the wall of broken-hearted old age,
all combine to form one solemn, sad,
heart-rending appeal to us to strike the
death-blow to scorpions.
The reverberations from desolated
homes; the sad wall, borne upon the night
winds from the hovel; the signing of the
breezes among the matted briers of the
neglected "Potter's I ield )" the demoniac-
al shrieks of the victims of delirium; all
these sounds and signs unite in appealing
to us to strike down the scorpions.
The duty of every Christian is plain;
the appeal comes directly to our man.
hood; to our love of our children; to our
love of country; to our love of right; to
our love of God. The appeal for protec-
ton from the results of sin is one that
touches the minutest chords of the heart,
and should arouse US, and nerve us, to de-
termined action, on next Tuesday-action
that will rebound to the welfare of man.
kind, and the glory of God.