The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-05-20
AT THE TABERNACLE.
DR., TALMAeE olscouRses ON THE
DUMB DEVIL.

tho Sausc of Shfist.
BROOKLYN, May 15,-In his sermon
today Rev. DR., Talmags illustrated, in
potent and convincing language, the
duty incumbent upon Christians of EN-.
bracing every opportunity that offers in
this life to do good and to advance the
cause OF the kingdom Of Christ by bold
acknowledgment of their principles be.
fore men. The text selected was, Mark
tx, 25, Thou dumb and deaf spirit,
charge theei come out OF him."
Here was case VI great domestic an.
guish. The son of the household was
possessed Of an evil spirit which, among
other things, paralyzed his tongue and
made him speechless, When the influ-
ence was on the patient he could not say
a word-articulatioh was impossible,
The spirit that captured this member Of
the household was a dumb spirit-so
called by Christ-a spirit abroad today
and as lively and potent as in Me-
lament times Yet in all the rr%
sermonology cannot find ii
concerning this dumb devil whics.
charged upon my text, SaJiag,
out Of him.
There has been much destructiyu
perstition abroad in the world concern
ing possession by evil spirits. Under
the form of belief in witchcraft this de-
fusion swept the continents. Persons
were supposed to be possessed with some
evil spirit which made them able to de-
stroy others. In the Sixteenth century
In Geneva 1900 persons we're burned to
death as witches. Under one judge in
Lorraine 900 persons were burned to
death as witches. In one neighborhood
of France 1000 persons were burned
In two centuries 100000 persons were
slain as witches, Sc mighty was the de-
iusioh that it included among its VIC
Tins some of the greatest intellects of
all time, such as Chief Justice Matthew
Hale and Sir Edward Coke and such
renowned ministers of religion as Cotton
Mather, one of whose books, Benjamin
Franklin said, shaped his life-and Rich
ard Baxter and Archbishop Cranmer
and Martin Luther, and among writer's
and philosophers, Lord Bacon. That be-
lief, which has become the laughing
stock of all sensible people, counted its
disciples among the wisest and best peo-
pie 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 diabolical agencies abroad IN
the world. While there are ministering
spirits to bless there are Internal spirits
to hinder, to poison and destroy. Christ
was speaking to spiritual existence
when, standing before the afflicted one
of the text, he said, Thou dumb and
deaf spirit, come out of him."
NOT A LITERAL BLIGHT.
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 d 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 loneliness and
knowledge was Laura Bridgman, of
New Hampshirel Not only without fac
ulty of speech, but without hearing and
without sight, all these faculties re-
moved by sickness when two years of
age, yet becoming wonder at needle
work, at the piano, at the sewing ma
chine. and an intelligent student of the
Scriptures, and confounding philoso-
pliers, who came from all parts of the
world to study the phenomenon. Thanks
to Christianity for what it has done for
the amelloration 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 centuries they were
classed among the idiotic and unsafe.
But in the Sixteenth century came
Pedro Ponce, the Spanish monk, and in
the Seventeenth century came Juan Pab-
10 Bonet, another Spanish monk, with
dactylology or the finger alphabet, and
in our own century we have had John
Braidwood and Drs. Mitchell and Ack-
erly and Peet and Gallaudet, who have
given uncounted thousands of those
whose tongues were forever silent the
power to spell out on the air by a man
ual alphabet their thoughts about this
world and their hopes for the next. We
rejoice in the brilliant inventions in be-
half 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 4 :,,-.1 :
Or spoken word, an Interpret. ,..,..
ing beside me while add,
congratulated that au.;:,...
advantages they had oy, :.
us-the one that they ESQ.
great many disagreeabie 1:.+
the other fact that they g..
things they were sorry =:
Yet after all the allevi..;i, :;
tongue is an appalling IH""
we are not this morliI..,
congenital mutes. We n., ,,.
are born with all the faHu.
ization and yet have been : ..
evil one mentioned in the text
devil to whom Christ called ".
said, Thou dumb and deaf sl.
charge thee, come out of him
ADMINISTRATION OF SILENCE.
There has been apotheosization OF
! lence. Some one has said that silel.,
is golden, and sometimes the create
triumph is to keep your mouth shut
/ But sometimes silence is crime and tn
! direct result Of the baleful influence o
! the dumb devil of our text. There i
hardly a man or woman in this hous
today who has not been present on som
occasion when the Christian religion be
came a target for raillery. Perhaps j
: was over in the store some day whe,