The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-05-18

nc LAOQucnt EFcaCneQ from the
Text. Mark IL. 25. 'sThou Dumb and
Deaf Spirit, Charge Thee, Come Out
of Him."-The Spirit Still Abroad.
BROOKLYN, May BIN his sermon to-
day Rev. DR.. Talmage illustrated, in po-
tent and convincing language, the duty
incumbent upon Christians of embracing
every opportunity that offers in this life to
do good and to advance the cause of the
kingdom Of Christ by a bold acknowlede-
ment of their principles before men. The
text selected was Mark tx, p, Thou dumb
and deaf spirit. charge thee, come out OF
him"
Here was a case of great domestic an
guish- The son of the household was pos
sessed of an evil spirit which, among other
things par,alyzed his tongue and made
him specifics. When the influence was
on the patient, he could not say a word
articulation was impossible. The spirit
that captured this member of the house
hold a dumb spirit-so called by
Christ-a spirit abroad today and as lively
and potent as in New Testament times.
Yet in all the realms of sermonology,
cannot find discourse concerning this
dumb devil which Christ charged upon
my text, saying Come out of him."
There has been much destructive super
stition abroad in the world concerning pos
session by evil spirits. Under the form of
belief in witchcraft this delusion swept the
continents. Persons were supposed to be
%ssessed with some evil spirit which
made them able to destroy others. In the
Sixteenth century, in Geneva, 1,50O persons
were burned TO death as witches. Under
one judge in Lorraine 900 persons were
burned to death as witches. In one neigh
horhoOd of France 1000 persons were
burned. In two centuries 100000 persons
were slain as witches.
So mighty was the delusion that it in
cluded among its victims some of the
greatest intellects of all time, such as Chief
Justice Matthew Hale and Sir Edward
Coke. and such renowned ministers of re-
hgiOn as Cotton Mather. one of whose
books Benjamin Franklin said shaped his
life, and Richard Baxter and Archbishop
Cranmer and Martin Luther, and among
writers and philosophers. Lord Bacon.
That belief. which has become the laugh
ing stock of all sensible people, counted its
disciples among the wisest and best people
of Sweden, Germany. England, France
Spain and New England. But while we
reject witchcraft, any man who believes
the Bible must believe that there are dia-
bOlical agencies abroad in the world.
While there are ministering spirits to bless
there are internal spirits to hinder TO poi
son and to destroy. Christ was speaking
TO spiritual existence, when standing be-
fore the afflicted one of the text, he said,
Thou dumb and deaf spirit. come out of
him"
A TIMELY WARNING.
Against this dumb devil of the text |
put you on your guard. Do not think that
this agent of evil has put his blight on
those who by omission of the vocal organs
have had the golden gates of speech bolted
and barred. Among those who have never
spoken word are the most gracious and
lovely and talented souls that were ever
incarnated. The chaplains of the asylums
for the dumb can tell you enchanting
stories of those, who never called the name
of father or mother or child, and many of
the most devout and prayerful souls will
never in this world speak the name of God
or Christ. Many deaf mute have I seen
with the angel Of intelligence seated at the
window of the eye who never came forth
from the door of the mouth.
What a miracle of loneliness and knowl-
edge was Laura Bridgman, of New Hamp-
shire Not only without faculty of speech.
but without hearing and without sight,
all these faculties removed by sickness
when two years of age, yet becoming a
wonder at needlewOrk, at the piano, at the
sewing machine and an intelligent student
of the Scriptures. and confoundihg philos-
ophers, who came from all parts of the
world to study the phenomenon. Thanks
TO Christianity for what it has done for the
amelioration of the condition of the deaf
and the dumb. Back in the ages they were
put to death as having no right with such
paucity of equipment to live, and for cen
turtles they were classed among the diotic
and unsafe.
But in the Sixteenth century came
Pedro Ponce, the Spanish monk; and in
the Seventeenth century came Juan Pablo
BOnet, another Spanish monk, with dac-
tylology or the finger alphabet; and in our
own century we have had John Braidwood
and Drs. Mitchell and Ackerly and Peet
and Gallaudet, who have given to un
counted thousands of those whose tongues
were forever silent the power TO spell out
on the air by manual alphabet their
thoughts about this world and their hopes
for the next. We rejoice in the brilliant
inventions il behalf of those who were
born dumb.
One of the most impressive audiences |
ever addressed was in the far west two or
three years agO-an audience of about 600
persons, who had never heard a sound or
spoken word, an interpreter standing be-
side me while ! addressed them. | con-
graduated that audience on two advan-
tages they had over the most of us-the
one that they escaped hearing a great
many disagreeable things, and on the other
fact that they escaped saying things they
were sorry for afterward. Yet after all
the alterations Il shackled tongue is an ap-
palling Limitation. But we are not this
morning speaking of congenital mutes.
We mean those who are born with all the
faculties Of vOcaliZation and yet have been
struck by the evil one mentioned in the
textile dumb devil to whom Christ
called when he said, Thou dumb and deaf
spirit, charge thee, come out Of him"
SILENCE MAY BE A CRIME
There has been apOtheOsization of silence.
Some one has said silence is golden, and
sometimes the greatest triumph is TO keep
your mouth shut. But sometimes silence
Is a crime, and the direct result Of the
baleful influence of the dumb devil Of our
text There Is hardly man woman in
this house today who has not been pres
ent on some occasion when the Christian
religion became target for raillery. Per
haps it was over in the store some day
when there was not much going on, and
the clerks were in a group; or il was in the
factory at the noon spell: or it was out on
the farm under the trees while you were
resting; or il was in the cluhroom; OF il
was in social circle. or il was in the
street on the way home from business; or