The Penn's Grove record., 1889-10-12
DIR. TALMAGE.
The Brooklyn Divine's Sun.
day Sermon.
subject /: "The shorn Locks of sam
son."

subject /: "The shorn Locks of sam
son."
TEXT: "Entice him, and see tcherein his
rreat strength heth, and 6y What means noe
,av prevail against him, that zoe may
1ind him to atgict him; and zoe toiH give
thee sperv ono OF us eleusn hundred pieces Of
siivcr."|udges xvi, s.
One thousahd pounds or about five thou
sand dollars Of our money, were thus offered
for the capture Of z giant. II would TAKE a
he really was. The most faciie words are
not supple enough to describe him. He was a
giant and a child; the conquoror and the de
feated, able to snap at = lions jaw, n yet
captured by the sigh Of a maiden. He was
ruler and slaves . commingling Of virtue and
enough to make q good riddle, and yet weak
enough to be caught in the
most superficial stratagem honest
enough to settle his debt, and yet out
rageously robbing somebody else to get the
material to pay it; a miracle and . soothing;
Z crowning glory and . burning shame.
There he stands, looming up above other
with muscle that can lift the gate Of a city;
taking an attitude defiant Of armed men and
wild beasts. His hair had never been cut.
and it rolled down I'm seven great plaits over
his shoulders adding to his fierceness and
terror. The Phiisfines want to conquer
him, and therefore they must find out where
the secret Of his strength lies.
There h 4 woman living in the valley Of
Sorek BY tho name Of Dslilah. They appoint
her the agent In the case. The Philistines
are secreted IN the same building, and then
Deiilah goes to work and coaxes Samson to
tell WHAT b the secret of his strength. "Well,"
he says. 'if you should take seven green
withes, such As they fastan wild beasts with,
and put them around me, should be per-
fectly powerless.n So she binds him with the
seven green withes. Then she Iclaps her
hands and says: sThey come-tbe Philis-
tinesf' and he walks out IS though there
were no impeachment. She coaxcs him again,
and says: Nov tell me the secret Of
this great strength; and he replies; '.If you
used, and tie me with them, ! should be just
like other men," She ties him with the
ropes claps her hands and shouts: 'They
co;ne-the Philistinesr' He walks out as
easy as be did before-not . single obstruc-
ton She coaxss him again, and he says;
plaits of hair, and by this house loom weave
them into Q web. l could lot get away" So
the house LOOM d rolled up, and the shuttle
dies backward and forward, and the long
plaits Of hair are woven into . web. Then
she elaps her hands and says: 'They come!
the Ph~ilistinesI'
He walks out - easily rs he did before,
dragging . part Of the loom with him. But
utter awhile she persuades him to tell the
truth. He says: IF you should take Q razor,
or sheers and cut of this long hair, / should
BE- powerless, and In the hands Of my enc
miles, Samson sleeps, and that she may not
wake him up during the process Of shesring,
k~l~H \. <-Irl g. w. 49, 49,
81 the East have such . skillful way of man
ipulating the head, to this very day they will
put . man, wide awake, sound asleep. Ihear
the blades Of the shears grinding against each
other, and I see the long locks falling off.
The shears or rasor, a~ccomplishss what green
withes md nsw ropes and houss loom could
not do; Suddenly abe claps her hands and
sonT Herousas up with ! struggle, but his
strength 4 Al gonei He isin the hands of
his sneeniesi 1hear the groan of the giant
- they take his eyes out, n then / zee him
staskering on in his blindness, feeling his
way q he goes on toward GAIA. The prison
door = opsned ard the giant 10 thrust In. He
sits down and puts his hands on the mill
crank, which, with exhausting horizontal
motion goes day after day, week after week,
month after month-work, work, work.
The consternation OF the world Is captivity,
his locks shorn, his eyes punctured, grinding
corn in GAIA. In q previous sermon on this
character l harmed some lessons, but another
class Of lessons are before us now.
Learn first how very strong people are
sometimes coaxed into great imbecilities.
Samson had no right t. reveal tho secret Of
his strength. Delilah's first attempt to find
out Is q failure. He says: Green withes
will bind me, but 1t was . failure. Then
he says: IA new rope will hold me-" but that
also was . failure. Then he says; Weave
NV locks SukO 1 Yah srd that iii k;od r,a -
yet that also was . failure. But at last you
see how she coaxed 1t out him. U~nimportant
actions in life tina involve no moral princi-
pie may without injury be subjected to
ardent persuadons, but as soon a. you ave
come to tine line that separates right from
to make you step over It. Suppose . mar
has been brought up in . Christian house
hold and taught sacrediy to observe
the Sabbath. Sunday comes: You want
fresh air. Temptation says: Sunday
t. just like other days; now don't be
bigoted; we will ride forth among the works
pf God; the whole earth IL His temple; we,
4 have the carriage engaged and we shall be
back coon enough to 20 to church In the
evening; o yield to Puritanic notions;
you win be no worse for \ ride IN the coun-
try; the blossoms are out and they say every
thing is looking glorious" "Wen, / win go
thew go over the street, conscience drowned
Ih the clatter Of the swift hoofs and the rush
hf the ~resounding wheels. That tempted
may . v had moral character enough
70 break the green withes of ten thousand
fhDistine allurements, but he has been over
come by coaxing.
Two , young man passing down this street
lantern hung out from the door to light men
TO perdition. LET US go in" says one. 'sNo,
! won't" says the other; II never 70 to such
Nov, you don't say you are as
as that. Why, Ihavs been going there
for two years and IL hasn't hurt me. Come,
low, bea man. II you amt stand
need to see the world as It is. 1don't believe
In i~ntemperance any more than you. lean
stop drinking just when / want to. You
60. Now, come right along.n Persuasion
has conquered. Samson yields to the coaxing
and there is carnival In he'll that night
smonE the Phiiistines and they shout: "Ha!
kindest and most sympathetic natures are
most in danger. Your very disposition
to please Others viii be the yery trap they
II you were cold and harsh and severe
in your nature you would not be tempered
with. People never fondle . hedgehog. The
most sentimental Greenlander never kisses
an iceberg. The warmth and susceptibility
q your nature will encourage the siren.
Though strong as q giant, look out for
scissors. Samson, the s~tronpast
man who ever lived, was overcome by coax
ing.
Again, this narrative teaches us the power
Of an i'll disposed woman. In the portrait
Of Bible Queens we find Abigail and
Ruth and Miriam mt Vsshti and Deborah,
in the rogues' gallery of q police station
you find the pictures OF women as well as
men. DeLlah's picture belongseo the rosuss'