The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-10-16
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Brooklyn Divine Discourses
on Samson's Mistake.
Tow tho Giant Was Tempted and Be.
trayed by Deiilsh, tho Philistine Wo-
man-Some of the Ways in Which
Other Strong Men Get Their
Locks Shorn.

in his great strength Geth, and by what
means we may prevail against him, that we
may bind him to afflict him; and we will
give thee every one Of US eleven hundred
pieces of silver" The sermon was as fol-
lows:
One thousand pounds, or about i've thou
sand dollars of our money, were thus onered
rOi Gle capture Of giant It would take
ssllful photographist TO picture SAnseors ss
he really was. The most facial words are
not supple enough to describe him. he was
q giant and child; the coneueror and the
defeated; able to snap the lions jaw, and
yet captured by the sight of maiden. He
was ruler and slave; commingling Of vir-
tue and vice, the sublime and the ridicu-
lous; sharp enough to make a good riddle,
and yet weak enough to be caught in the
most superficial stratagem; honest enough
to settle his debt, and yet outraseously rob-
bing somebody else TO get the material to
pay it; miracle and scofing; crown
ing glory and a burning shame. There he
stands, looming up above other men,
mountain Of flesh; his arms punched with
muscle that caR lift the gate of city; TAX
ing an attitude defiant of armed men and
wild beasts. His hair had never been cut,
and it rolled down in several great plalts
over his shoulders, adding to his hercenesS
and terror. The Philistines want to conquer
him, and therefore they musttnd cut where
the secret of his strength lies.
There is woman living in the valley OF
Sorek by the name Of Delilah They appoint
her the agent in the case. The Phihstlres
are secreted in the same building, and then
Delilah gees to work and coaxes Samson to
tell what is the secret Of his strength.
"Well," he says, 'f you should take seven
green withes, such as they fasten wild beasts
with, and put them around me, I should be
perfectly powerless" So she binds him
with the seven green withes. Then she
claps her hands and says: ''They come
the Philistines!' and he walks out as though
there was no impe6iment She coaxes him
again, and says: ''Now tell me the secret
Of this great strength and he replies: IF
you should take some ropes that have never
been used, and tie me with them, should
be just like other men" She ties him with
the ropes, claps her hands, and shouts:
''They come-the Philistines"' He walks
out as easy as he did before-not single
obstruction. She coaXes him again, and he
says: Now, if you should take those seven
long plaits Of hair, and by this house loom
weave them into web could not get
away" So the house loom is rolled up, and
the shuttle flies backward and forward, and
the long plaits Of hair are woven into @eb.
Then she ciaps her hands and says: "They
come! the Phiiistines.'
He walks out as easily as he did before,
dragging part Of the loom with him But
after while she persuades him to tell the
truth. He says: '.If you should take razor,
or shears, and cut of this long hair, should
- <l,o ar
mics" Samson sleeps, and, that she NAV
not wake him up during the process Of
shearing, help is called in. You know that
the BARRIERS Of the East have such skillful
way Of manipulating 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 l see the
long locks falling of. The shears, or razor
ropes, and house loom could not do. Sud
denly she claps her hands and says: 1.-THE
Philistines be upon thee, Samsonn He
rouses up with struggle, but his strength
is all gone! he is in the hands Of his enc
mics! hear the groan of the giant as they
take his eyes ont, and then see him stag.
gering on in his blindness, feeling his way,
as he goes on toward GAIA. The prison door
is opened, and the giant is thrust in Hesits
down and puts his hands on the mill crank,
which, with e1hausting horizontal motion,
goes day after day, week after week, month
after month-work, work, work! The con-
sternation Of the world in captivity, his
locks shorn, his eyes punctured, grinding
corn in GAIA. In previous sermon on this
character learned some lessons, but an
other class of lessons are before US now.
T G,-cth hn1
sometimes coaxed into great imbecilities
Sampson had no right to reveal the secret Of
his strength. Delilah's first attempt to find
out is failure he says: 'Green withes
will bind me- but it was failure Then
he says: "a new rope will hold me,' but
that also was = failure. Then he says:
'Weave my locks into web and that will
bind me-" yet that also was failure. But
at last you see how she coaxed it out Of him.
Unimportant actions in life that involve no
moral principle may without injury be sub
iected to ardent persuasions, but as soou as
you have come to the line that separates
right from wrong, no inducement or blan-
dishment ought to make you step over Il.
Suppose man has been brought up in a
Christian household and taught sacredly to
observe the Sabbath. Sunday comes; you
WdQU lGSSu ISIlpOdGiOu OUu9dy
is Just like other days; now don't be bigoted;
we will ride forth among the works Of God;
the whole earth IS His temple; we will not
60 into any dissipations; come, now, have
the carriage engaged and we will be back
soon enough to go to church in the evening;
don't yield to Puritanic notions; you will
be no worse for ride in the country; the
blossoms are out and they say every thing
- ~So ISTTol1 will 1yot n nix
is the response. And out they 20 over the
~---------.----- a------A - 49, -s-->%-- Of
the swift hoofs aud the rush of the
sounding wheels. That tempted man may
have had moral character enough to break
the green withes of ten thousand Phillstine
a1lurements, but he has been overcome by
coaxing.
Two young men passing down the street
come opposite a drinking saloon with a red
lantern hung out from the door to light men
to perdition. "Let US so in" says one. mo.
I won't" says the other; II never 20 to
such places" NOW, you don't say you are
as weak as that. Why, I have been going
there for two years and it hasn't hurt me-
Come, come now. be man. If you can't
stand any Iuiuy stronger, take little sner-
~. You need to see the world as it is. l
don't believe in intemperance any more than
you. can stop drinking just when want
TO- You shall CO. Now, come right along"
Persuasion has conquered. Samson yields
to the coaxing and there is carnival in hell
that night among the Philistines and they
shout, "Ha! ha! We've got him" Those
who have the kindest and most sympathetic
natures arc the most in danger. Your very
disposition to please others will be the very
trap they set. II you were cold and harsh
and severe in your nature you would not be
tampered with. People never fondle
hedgehog. The most sentimental Greer
der never kisses an iceberg Tha warmth
and susceptibility of your nature will en-
courage the siren. Though strong as giant,
look out for Delilah's scissors. Samson, the
strongest man who ever lived, was over
come by coaxing.
, Again, this narrative teaches US the power
I'll iSnoSeG woman In the OOrtralt