The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-03-30
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN.
; DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Og, King of Bashan."

bedstead lcus a bedstead of iron; is itnot1n
iRa6bath of the children Of AmmonT Nine
cubits apas the length thereof and four
cubits the breadth Of it."-Deuteronomy
ILL.,, IL.
The story Of giants is mixed with myth.
William the Conaueror was said to have
been of overtowering altitude, but when In
aftertime his tomb was opened his bones in
dicated that no had been physically OF only
ordinary size. Roland the Hero was said to
have been Of astounding stature but when
his sepulchre was examined his armor was
found only large enough to fit an ordinary
man. Alexander the Great had helmets
and shields Of enormous size made and Ielt
among the people whom he had conquered,
so as to give the impression that he was
giant, although he was rather under than
over tbs usual height Of q man. But that
in other days and lands there were real
giants is authentic. One Of the guards OF
the Duke Of Brunswick was eight ana
half feet high. In museum In LONDON Is
the skeleton Of Charles Brine, eight feet
four inches in stature. The Emperor MAXI
min was over eight feet
Pliny tells of q giant nine feet high and
two other giants nine and half feet. so l
am not incredulous when I come to my text
and find King Og q giant, and the size OF
his bedstead, turning the cubits OF the text
into feet, the bedstead Of Og, the king, must
have been about thirteen and half feet
long. Judging from that the giant who oc-
cupied it was probably about eleven feet IN
stature, or nearly twice the average human
size, There was no need Of Rabbinlcal
writers irving to account for the presence Of
this giant, King Og, as they did, by saying
that be came down from the other side OF
the food, being tall enough to wade the wa
ters beside Noah's ark, or that he rode on the
top of the ark, the passengers inside the ARK
daily providing him with fool. There was
nothing supernatural about him. DE was
simply q monster in size.
Cyrus and Solomon slept on beds OF gold,
and Sardanapalus had $50 bedsteads OF gold
burned up with him, but this hedstead OF
my text was Of iron-everything sacrihcea
for strength to hold this excessive avoirdu-
pois. this Alp OF bone and flesh. No wonder
this couch was kept as a curiosity at Rao-
bath, and the people went from far and near
to see it, lust as now people 60 to museums
to behold the armor Of the ancients. You
say what fighter this giant King Og,
must have been. No doubt OF 1t. suppose
the size Of his sword and breastplate corre-
sponded to the size of his beadsread, and his
stride across the battlefield and the fuu
stroke of his arm must have been appalling.
With an armed host he comes down to drive
back the Israelites, who are marching ON
from Egypt to Canaan.
We have no particulars Of the battle, but
7 think the Israelites trembled when they
saw this monster of q man moving down TO
crush them. Alas for the Israelites! VIII
their troubles never ceasef What can men
Ave and half feet high do against this war.
rior Of eleven feet and what can short
must have been like flash of lightning?
The battle Of Edrei opened. Moses and his
army met the giant and his army. The Lord
of Hosts descended into the fight, and the
gigantic strides that Og had made when ad.
vancing into the battle were more than
ieaualed by the gigantic strides with which
lhe retreated. Huzza for triumphant Israel!
Sixty fortified cities surrendered to them.
"a land Of indescribabie opulence comes into
their possession, and all that Is LETT OF tha
giant king is the iron bedstead. mime cubits
was the length thereof and four cubits the
breadth of It."
! Why did not the Bible give rs the
size Of the giant instead OF the size OF the
Ibedsteads Why did it not indicate that the
giant was eleven feet high instead OF telling
us that his couch was thirteen and q half
feet long? No doubt among other things 1t
was to teach US that you can judge OF man
by his surroundings. Show me mans
associates, show me mans BOOKS snow me
q mans home, and I will tell you what he Is
without your telling me one word about
ing to the old adage, 'By the company he
Keeps" but by the books he reads, by the
ipictures he admires, by the church he at.
tends by the places he visits. Moral
giants and moral pyguies. intellectual
giants and intellectual pygmies like physical
giants or physical pygmies may be judged
by their surroundings.
/ When q man departs this life you can tell
what has been his influence in q community
for good by those who mourn for him and
lby how sincere and long continued are the
regrets Of his taking of. There may be no
pomp or obsequies and no pretenss at cpl
tapheology, but you can tell how high he
was in conservation, and how high in USE
fuIness by how long is his shadow when he
comes to lie down. What Is true Of lndi-
lyiduals is true Of cities and nations. Show
me the free libraries and schools OF city,
and will tell you the intelligence Of its
people. Show me its gallary Of painting and
scuipture and will tell you the artistic ad-
yancement of its citizens. Show me its
churches and will tell you the moral and
religious status Of the place.
From the fact that Og's bedstead was
thirteen and q half feet long, conclude tbs
giant himself was about eleven feet high.
But let no one by this thought be induced to
surrender to unfavorable environments A
man can make his own bedstead. Chantrey
and Hugh Miller were born stonemasons,
but the one became an immortal sculptor
and the other q Christian scientist whose
name will never die. Turner, the painter,
in whose praise John Ruskin expended the
greatest genius of his life. was the son of q
barber who advertised "a penny shave"
DR.. Prideaux, one of the greatest scholars Of
Ill 81 u hz
securing pots and pans The late Judge
Bradley worked his own way up from a
charcoal burner to the bench Of the supreme
court of the United States. Yes, man can
decide the size of his own bedstead.
Notice furthermore that even giants must
rest. Such enormous physical endowment
on the part Of King Og might suggest the
capacity to stride across all fatigue and
Aom1it slumber. No. He required an iron
bedstead. Giants must rest. Not apprecia-
ting that fact how many Of the giants
yearly break down. Giants in business,
giants in art, giants in eloquence, giants in
usefulness. They live not out more than
half their days. They try to escape the
consequence Of overwork by a voyage
across the sea or sail in summer yacht,
or call on physicians for relief from insom-
mia or restoration OF unstrung nerves or the
arrest of apoplexies, when all they need is
what this giant Of my text resorted to-an
iron bedstead.
Let no one think because he has great
strength Of body or mind that he can afford
to trife with his unusual gifts. The COM
mercial world. the literary world, the artis-
tic world, the political world, the religious
world, are all the time aquake with the crash
Of falling giants. King Og no doubt had
throne, but the Bible never mentions his
throne. King Og no doubt had crown, but
the Bible never mentions his crown.
King Og no doubt had a scepter, but
the Bible does not mention his scepter.
Yet one Of the largest verses OF the Bible is