Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-05-26

Deat oliTttv CnarBo Ahec, Zone out
Of Him."-The Spirit stIn Abroad.
BRooKLYE, 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
do good and to advance the cause Of the
kingdom Of Christ by bold acknowlede-
ment Of their principles before men. The
text selected was Mark tx, 25, 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, paralyzed his tongue and made
h..n speechless. 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 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 tue
continents. Persons were supposed to be
possessed with some evil spirit which
made them able TO destroy others. In the
Sixteenth century, in Geneva, 1,5O0 persons
were burned to death Us witches. Under
one judge in Lorraine 900 persons were
burned to death as witches. In one neigh
horhood of France 1,000 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 rs Chief
Justice Matthew Hale and Sir Edward
Coke, and such renowned ministers of re-
ligion 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 it's
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 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 loyeliness 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 confounding 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 sucl
paucity OF equipment to live, and for cen
turies they were classed among the idiotit
and unsafe.
But in the Sixteenth century came
Pedro Ponce, the Spanish monk; and il
the Seventeenth century came Juan Pablt
Bonet, another Spanish monk, with dac
tylology or the finger alphabet; and in oul
own century we have had John BraidwooC
and Drs. Mitchell and AckerIy 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 theil
thoughts about this world and their hope.
for the next. We rejoice in the brilliant
inventions in behalf of those who were
born dumb
One Of the most impressive audiences
ever addressed was in the far west two Of
three years ago--an audience of about Coz
persons, who had never heard sound o.
spoken a 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--th,
one that they escaped hearing grea
many disagreeable things, and on the othel
fact that they escaped saying things the,
were sorry for afterward. Yet after al
the alleyiations shackled tongue is an ap
palling limitation. But we are not thi!
morning speaking of congenital mutes
We mean those who are born with all tn,
faculties Of vocalization and yet have beer
struck by the evil one mentioned in tht
text-4the dumb devil to whom Chris
called when he said, Thou dumb and dea
spirit, l charge thee, come out of him"
SILENCE MAY BE CRIME.
There has been apotheosization of silence
Some one has said silence is golden, anG
SoA1S1AAtCo ol1O Il C<AeCoo eiAuAA1ph 10 w kCCk
your mouth shut. But sometimes silenc,
is crime, and the direct result Of th,
baleful influence of the dumb devil of oul
text. There is hardly man or woman ii
this house today who has not been pres
ent on some occasion when the Christian
religion became a target for raillery. Per
haps it was over in the store some day
when there was not much going on, ant
the clerks were in group; or it was in tn,
factory at the noon spell; or it was out Oh
the farm under the trees while you wer,
resting; or it was in the clubroom; or i
was in a social circle; or it was in th,
street on the way home from business; o
it was on some occasion which you remem
Der without my describing it.
Some one got the laugh on the Bible ant
caricatured the profession of religion q
hupncrisv or made N mn Il, o,,t of Sey,atbiy,t