Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-05-19

Deaf shirt, Charge Thee. Como Out
of gim."-The Spirit still Abroad.
BROOKLYN, May 15.--In 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
Ito good and to advance the cause of the
kingdom Of Christ by Il bold acknowledg-
mcnt of their principles before men. The
text selected was Mark iX, %, Thou dumb
and deaf spirit, charge thee, come out of
him."
Here was n case of great domestic an
ruish. The son of the household was pos
scsscd of an evil spirit which, among other
things, paralyZed his tongue and made
him specchlesS When the influence was
on the patient, he could not say word
articulation was impossible. The spirit
that captured this member of the house
hold was a dumb sp.rit-so called by
Christ-a spirit abroad today and as lively
and potcnt as in New Testament times.
Yet in all the realms Of scrmono!cgN, |
cannot find discourse concerning this
llumb 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
possessed with some evil spirit which
made them able TO destroy others. In the
Sixteenth century in Geneva, 800 persons
were burned to death as witches. UHder
ore Judge in Lorraine 900 persons were
burned to death as witches In one neigh
horhood of France 1000 persons were
In
were slain as witches.
So mighty was the delusion that it in
Guided among it's victims some Of tue
greatest iutcllects of all time, such as Chief
Justice Matthew Hale and Sir Edward
Coke, and such renowned minister's of re-
ligion as Cotton Mather. one of whose
books benjamin Franklin said shaped his
life. and Richard Baxter and Archbishop
CrHnmer and Martin Luther, and among
writer's 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-
boical agencies abroad in the world.
While there are ministering spirits to bless,
there are Internal spirits to hinder, to pei
son and to destroy. Christ was speaking
to a 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 WANING.
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 Il word are the most gracious and
lovely and talented souls that were ever
incarnated. The chaplans of the asyluns
for the dumb can tell you enchanting
stories of those, who never called the name
of father or mother or child and many al
the most devout and prayerful souls will
never IN this world speak the name Of Goo
or Christ. .,lany a deaf mute have | seer
with the angel OF Intelligence seated at y,
window of the eye who never came ford
from the door of the mouth.
What a miracle Of loneliness and knowl
edge was Laura Bridglnan, of New Hamp
shire Not only without faculty of spcec n
but without hearing and without sight
all these faculties removed by sickness
when two years of age, yet becoming
wonder at needlework, at the piano, at Thu
sewing machine and an intelligent SUDDEN
of the Scriptures, and confouuding phi.os
Uphers, who came from all parts of thu
world to study the phenomenon. Thanks
to Christianity for what it has done for tn,
amelioratiou of the condition of the dea
and the dumb. Back in the ages they wer,
put to death az having no right with sucl
paucity of equipment to live, and for cen
turtles they were classed among the idoti
and unsafe,
But in the Sixteenth century cam
Pedro Ponce, the Spanish monk; and il
the Seventeenth century came Juan Pabl
Bonet, another Spanish monk, with daC
tylology or the finger alphabet; and in on
own century we have had John Braidwoo
and Drs, Mitchell and Ackerly and Pee
and Galaudet, who have given to Ill
counted thousands of those whose tongue
were forever silent the power to spell on
on the air by manual alphabet thei
thoughts about this world and their hope
for the next We rejoice in the brillian
inventions in behalf of those who wer
born dumb.
One of the most impressive audiences
ever addressed was in the far west two G
three yeaTs agO-an audience of about &C
persons, who had never heard n sound {
spoken a word, an interpreter standing b,
side me while addressed them. ! COZ
graduated that audience on two advar
tages they had over the most of us-tL
one that they escaped hearing grci
many dsagrccabe things, and on the oth'
fact that they escaped saying things the
were sorry for atterward Yet after a
the alleviations Il shacked tongue is an a
palling limitation. But we are not tn
morning speaking of congenital mute
We mean those who are born with all /
faculties Of yocali2ation and yet have bee
struck By the evil one mentioned in II
text-the dumb devil to whom Chri
called when he said, Thou dumb and de-
spirit, charge thee, come out of him."
SILENCE MAY BE 4 CRIME.
There has been apotheosization of silcnc
Some one has said silence is golden, III
sometimes the greatest triumph is to k,>
youl mouth shut. Bat sometimes sien
is crime, and tie direct result Of Il
ba!eful influence Of the dumb devil Of o.
text There is hardly u man or woman
this house today who has not been pre-
ent on some CrCasiOn when the Christie