The Bossier banner., 1892-05-19

shadow when he comes to lie down.
What is true of individuals is true oi
cities and nations. Show me the free
libraries and schools Of a city, and
will tell you the intelligence of its peo
pie. Show me it's gallery of painting
and sculpture, and | will tell you the
artistic advancement of its citizens
Show me its churches, and | will tel
you the moral and religious status OF
the place. From the fact that Og's
bedstead was thirteen and one-halt
feet long, l conclude the giant himself
was about eleven feet hight. But let nc
one by this, though, be induced to SUR
render to unfavorable environments. A
man can make his own bcdstead.
Chantfey and Hugh Miller were born
! stonemasons, but the one became an
immortal sculptor, and the other a
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 a barber who advertised "a
penny shave" Dr. PrideauX, one Of
the greatest scholars of all time, earn
ing his way through college by scour-
ing 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 so
stride across all fatigue and omit slum-
Der. No. He required an iron bed
stead. Giants must rest. Not appre-
ciating that fact, how many of the
giants yearly break down. Giants in
business, giants in art, giants in elo-
quence, giants in usefulness They
live not out more than half their days
They try to escape the consequences of
overwork by voyage across the sea
or sail in summer yacht, or call
on physicians for relief from in
somhia, 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 bed
stead. Let no one think, because he
has great strength of body or mind,
that he can afford to trifie with his un-
usual gifts. The commercial world,
the literary world, the artistic world.
the political world, the religious world,
are all the time aQuake with the crash
of falling giants. King Og, no doubt,
had throne. King Og, no doubt, had
crown, but the Bible never mentions
his crown. King Og, no doubt.
had scepter, but the Bible
does not mention his scepter. Yet
one of the largest verses of the
Bible Is taken up in describing his bed
stead. SO God, all up and down the
Bible, honors asleep. Adam, with his
head on pillow of Edenie roses, has
his slumber blest by Divine gift of
beautiful conpanionship Jacob, with
his head on a pillow of rock, has his
sleep glorified with ladder filled with
descending and ascending angels.
Christ, with pillow made out of the
folded-up coat of a fisherman, honors
slumber in the back part of the storm
tossed boat
The only case of accident to sleep
mentioned in the Bible was when
Eutychus fell from a window during a
sermon of Paul, who had preached un-
til midnight but that was not so much
a condemnation of sleep as q censure
of long sermons. More sleep is what
the world wants. Economize in every
thing but sleep. William H. Seward,
the renowned secretrry of state, in the
midst of his overmastering tolls lonred
for the capacity to rest, writing in his
memorandum book: 81 have never
found but one invaluable recipe for
having good nights rest, and that is
to have been restless anG sleepless the
night before" When President John
Quincy Adams and the distinguished
Josiah Quincy went to hear Judge
Story lecture on law to his students,
and, when invited to sit beside the
Judge and both fell asleep, the Judge
appropriately pointed to them, and
said to his students: Behold the evil
effects of early rising" In Bible times.
when people arose at the voice of the
bird, they retired at the time the bird
puts his head under his wing. One of
our national sins is robbery of sleen.
Walter Scott was so urgent about this
duty of slumber, that when arriving at
a hotel where there was no room to
sleep in except that in which there was
a corpse, inquired if the deceased had
died of contagious disease, and when
assured he had not, took the other bed
in the room and fell asleep in the pro-
foundest slumber. Those of small en-
durance must certainly require rest if
even the giant needs an iron bedstead
Notice, furthermore, that Gods peo-
pie on the way to Canaan need not be
if they confront some sort of
a giant. Had not the Israelitish host
had trouble enough already? No! Red
sea not enough. Water famine not |
enough. Long marches not enough.
Opposition by enemies of ordinary
stature not enough. They must meet |
Og, the giant of the iron bedstead,
Nine cubits was the length thereof |
md four cubits the breadth of it"
Why not let these Israelites 90
into Canaan without this
gigantic opposition. Oh, they needed
% have their courage and faith