Bismarck weekly tribune., 1888-12-21

WIZ was lulIy separated unCO Cle LORD, nav
ing nothing to do with the vine, either as to
wine or grapes, and no razor was to come
upon his head (Num. vi, 1-S; as to his
mighty acts, he had rent a lion as he would
have rent kid, he had slain thousand men
with the jawbone of an ass when shut in q
city by those who wanted to kill him he arose
in the night and took the gates and the posts
and the bar on his shoulders and carried
them away to the top Of a hill, and many
other marvellous feats of superhuman
strength had he performed. but now his
power and glory have departed from him,
and he is in the power of his enemies, poor,
blind, helpless prisoner. What is the cause
OF this terrible fall, and why this reproach
upon the Lord through His servant7 for not
only is Samson disgraced, but the name Of
the Lord is dishonored Milton in his .sSam-
son Agonistes" makes him say:
II to God have brought
Dishonor, obloquy, and oped the mouths
OF idiots and atheists, have brought scandal
To Israel, difadence Of God, and doubt
In feeble hearts, propense enough before
To waver or fall off and join with idols.
The cause was simply that Samson had de-
parted from his conservation and had given
his time and attention to things which he
should have been separated from. He saw
woman in Timnath; he saw an harlot in GAIA;
he loved woman in the valley of Sorek;
and thus, instead of making covenant with
his eyes Job xxi, ~, he let his eyes lead
him into trouble, and now he has lost them.
~ "The hair of his head began to grow
again" Not that Samson's strength Law in
ic hoip hy,f
which his locks were an outward token; and
as we see the outward evidence of his separa-
tion to God returning, have we not reason to
believe that in his heart there is true peni-
tence and sincere return to the God of
Israel, who had SO wonderfully called him.
but whom he had SO grievously slandered.
23. IA great sacrifice unto Dagon, their
god" Dagon is mentioned ten times in I
Samuel v, ~, and once in Chronicles <, TO-
1t was the great national god of the Philis-
tines. The name signifies fish," and its
form is said to have been the face and hands
of a man with the tail of fish.
"a. ssThey praised their god" If Samson
had only praised the living and true God by
a whole hearted conservation to Him, then
these Gentiles had not had this occasion to
praise their god.
SNSA AAe~oAA
our enemy" Ii this and the preceding verse
we find this statement, and they no doubt
thought it true. ACKNOWLEDGMENT probably
thought that he subdued Jehoiakim, but it is
written that :'the Lord gave Jehoiak m into
his hand" iDan. i, ~
70. "Call for Samson, that he may make
us sport" A great company of uncircum-
cised PhiJistines praising and worshiping
devils or demons, and servant OF the Great
God OF Israel iii their midst making sport
for them. 1t is true he was not there of his
own accord nor was it by any means to his
liking; but ii he had not OF his own free will
and by his own choice departed from being
consecrated to God, he had never come to
this most pitiiul and disgraceful condition.
~. ''The house was full Of men and
women" Three thousand on the roof, but
now many thousands inside we are not told:
all beholding while Samson makes sport.
How few such gatherings are found to
worship God; one in Brooklyn, one in Lon
don, few others here and there; but how
easy to gather the thousands if there is any
sport in the service Of Satan. Which way
does your own heart tend; mean, which
company do you honestly enjoy the mosts
For know that there are SUNDAY school
teachers WAC enjoy the SO called good time
better than the house and service Of God.
~ s'Samson called unto the Lord,n He
does not seem to have been raised up to lead
forth an army, like Othneil, Deborah and
Barak, Gideon or Jephthah, but rather by
acts OF personal valor to avenge Israel. We
now see him5in prayer, his last prayer, and
strange as such prayer may seem to us, God
answered it. We must SEQ Sampson here on
the side of tile Lord desiring the overthrow
Of the enemies Of the Lord. Some one has
suggested that he had better sight now thar
before he lost LIS eyes. 1t is not our natural
sight, but the degree in which we see God or
the measure of our faith which makes us to
have power in Els service.
20. t'Samson took hold Of the two middle
pillars" The people oil watching, no doubt,
to see what new forn,the sport would take,
wholly unconscious that in moment they
would be in eternity. Samson knew that be
would die with them, but he knew Him
whom he trusted; for q moment longer they
are all in the same company, for ittis
while their bodies lay in the same heap, but
what about their souls which cannot die9
80 "He slew}at his death more than lie
slew in his life" Thousands out into the uu.
seen in "a moment and their ways now separ.
ate; Samson, the only one among them all
who knew God, and ho an unfaithfui WIT
sAess; but We cannot follow.