The Dickinson press., 1892-05-28
THE DUMB DEVIL.
DR.. Talmage Says His Influence Is
Felt ut All Times And All
Places.
This Right Hand of Satan Appears
in the Churches. and in the
World Everywhere.

BRooKl.NS, y. Y,-(Special. I'm
his sermon, Rev. Talmase illustrated,
III potent and convincing language,
the duty incumbent upon Christians
OF embracing every opportunity that
offers in this lite to do good and to
advance the cause of the kingdom OF
Christ by a bold ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF
their principles before men. The text
selected was: Mark ix, %, Thou
dumb and deaf spirit, charge thee,
come ont OF him"
Here was a case OF great domestic
anguish. The son OF the household
was possessed OF an evil spirit which,
among other things, paralyzed his
tongue and made him speechless.
When the influence was on the patient
he could not saya word-articulation
was impossible. The spirit cap
tnred this member OF the household
was a dumb spirit-so-called by
Christ-a spirit abroad today and rs
lively and potent as in New Testa-
ment times. Vet in all the realms of
sermonolosy, l cannot find a dis
course concerning this dumb devil
which Christ charged upon in in my
text, saying: Come out OF him."
There has been much destructive
superstition abroad in the world con-
cerning possession OF evil spirits. Tn
der the form OF belief in witchcraft,
this delusiou 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 us witches. Under one Judge,
in Lorraine, 800 persons were burned
to death as witches. In one neigh
borhood OF France. 1000 persons
were burned. In two centuries 2OO,-
600 persons were slain as witches. SO
mighty was the delusion that it in
cluded among it's victims 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 Math-
er, one OF whose books BENJAMIN
Franklin said shaped his life-Rich-
ard Baxter, and Archbishop Cramer,
and Martin Luther; and among the
writer's and philosophers. Lord Ba-
con. That belief, which has become the
laughing stock OF all sensible people,
counted its disciples among the wisest
and best people OF Sweden, Germany,
Eng land, France Spain and New Eng.
land. But, while we reject witch
craft, any man who believes the Bible
must believe that there are dabolical
agencies abroad in the world. While
there are ministering spirits to bless,
there are Internal spirits to hinder, to
poison, and to destroy. Christ was
speaking to a spiritual existence, when
standing before the afflicted one OF the
text, he said: "Thou dumb and deaf
spirit come out OF him."
AGAINST THIS DUMB DEVIL
OF the text put you on your guard.
DO not think that this agent OF evil
has put lis 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 a word are the most
gracious and lovely and talented souls
that were ever incarnated. The chap
lains o! 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 q deaf mute
have | seen with the ungel OF inteli-
gence seated at the window OF the eye,
who never came forth from the door
of the mouth What miracle OF
loveliness and knowledge was Laura
Bridgman, OF New Hampshire, not
only without faculty OF speech, but
without hearing and without sight, ali
these faculties removed by sickness
when two years OF age, yet, becominga
wonder at needle work, at the piano,
at the sewing machine, and an intelli-
gent student OF the Scriptures, and
confounding philosophers, who came
from all parts OF the world to study
the phenomenon. Thani:s to Christ
ianity for what it has done for the
amelioration OF the condition OF the
deaf and the dumb. Back in the ages,
they were put I o 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 10Th century came Pedro
Ponce, the Spanish monk, and in the
century came Juan Pablo Bonet,
another Spanish monk, with dacty-
ology or the finger alphabet, and in
our own century we have had John
Braidwood and Drs. Mitchell and
Ackerly and Peet and Gallaudet, who
have given to uncounted thousands of
those whose tongues were. e.forever silent
thepower to spell out on the air by q
manual alphabet their thoughts about
this world and
THEIR HOPES FOR THE NEXT.
There has been an aDotheosization
OF silence. Some ore has said silence
is golden, and sometimes the greatest
triumph is to keep your mouth shut.
But sometimes silence is crime and
the direct result of the baleful influ-
ence OF the edumb devil OF our text.
There is hardly man or woman in
thishouse today who has not been
present on some occasion when the
Christian religion became target for
raillery. The laugh started and you
joined in, and not one word or pro-
test did you utter: What kept you
silent? Modesty? No. Incapacity
to answer? No. Lack OF opportun-
ity? No. 1t was n blow on both
your lips by the wing OF the dumb
devil. If some one should malign
yourfather, ormother, or wife, or hus-
band, or child, you would flush up
quick, and either with an indignant
word, or doubled up fist, make re-
sponse. And yet here is our Christian
religion, which has done so much for
you and so much for the world that it