Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1892-05-27
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S sun
DAY SERMON.
SUBJECT: THE DUNE SPIRIT

IENT: "IHou dumo ana dedT spIrtr. =.
charge thee, come out Of him.'-MArk IL,
IS.
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 psralyzed his tongue aud made him
speechless. When the influence was on the
patient he could not saw word-articula-
tion was impossible. The spirit that cap
tured this member OF the household was a
dumb Spirit-so called by ChriSt-a spirit
abroad to-day and as lively and potent as in
New Testament times. Yet in all Of the
realms OF sermonology cannot find a dis.
course concerning this dumb devil which
Christ charged upon my text, saying,
"Come out OF him"
There has ben much destructive supersti-
tion abroad in the world concerning posses
sion by evil spirits Under the form Of belief
in w!tclcraft this delusion swept tue
continents. Persons were supposed to be
possessed with some evil spirit which made
them able TO destroy others. In the six
teenth century in Geneva 1900 persons were
burned to death as witches. Under one
Judge in Lorraine 800 persons were burned
TO death as witches In one neiEhborhoot Of
France ltOO persons were burned. In two
centuries 200 coo persons were slain as
witches. So mighty was the delusion that
it included among its victims some OF the
greatest inteects Of all time, such Us Chief
Justice Mathew 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 Richard
Baxter and Archbishop Cranmer and Mar
tin Luther, and among writers and philoso-
pliers, Lord Bacon. That belief, which has
become the laughing stock of all sensible
people counted Its disciples among the wiSest
AMI best people OF Sweden, Germany, Eng
land, France Spain and New England. But
while we reject witchcraft any mRu who be
heyes the Babe must believe that there are
diabolical agencies abroad in the world
While there are mnisteriug spirits to bless
there are internal spirits to hinder, to poison
Hnl destroy. Christ was speaking to a spir.
itual existence when. standing before tine
afflicted one of the text He said, Thou
dumb ana deaf spirit, come out Of him"
Against this'dumb devil OF the text, pu.
you on your guard, Do no. think that this
gE nj OF evil has put his blight On those who.
Ly commission OF the vocal organs, have had
the golden gates OF speech bolted and barrel.
Among thO.e wGo have never spoken word
are the most gracious ami lovely aud tai.
ented souls that were ever lnClrnated. The
chaplains of the asylums for the dumb can
tell you enchanting stories Of those, who
never callel the name of father or mother
or child, and many OF the most devout ard
pray eriul souls will never in this world
speak The name OF God or Christ. Many a
deaf mute nave seen with the angel of in
telhgence seated at tn, window OF the eve,
who never came lorta from the door OF the
mouth.
What miracle Of l0veliness and knowl-
edge was Laura BTidgman, OF New Hamp-
hi NF.F tfb
but without bearing and without sight all
these faculties removed by sickness when
two years Of age, yet becoming wonder at
pesiltwork, at tae piano, at the sewing ma
chine, and an intelligent student OF the
Scriptures, AMI cOnioun1lng philosophers,
who came from all parts Of the world 10
study the phenomenon. Thanks TO Christi
anity for what it has done for the anchor
alton OF the condition OF the deaf aai the
dumb. Back in tSe ages they were put u
death as having TO right with such paucity
OF equipment, 10 live, and for centuries they
wtre cIaSSei among the idlotic and unsafe.
But IN the Sixteenth century came Peir o
Ponce, the spanish moak, aud in the Seven :
teenth century Cama Juan Pablo Bonct
another Span sh monk, with dactylo logy or
the finger alphabet, and in our own century
We have had John BraIdwool aud Drs.
Mitchell ami Ackerly and Peet and Gallau.
det, who have given uncounted thousl lnds OF
those whose tongues were forever silent tbs
power to Spsil out on the air by manual
alphabet their thoughts about this world and
their hopes for the next. We rejoice in the
brilliant inventions in b ehalf 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 COO
persons who had never heard a sound or
spoken word, an interpreter staining beside
me while addressed them. ! congratulated
that audience on two advantages they had
and over the most of us-tne one that they
escaped hearing great many disagree cable
things, aud on the other fact that they es-
capped saying things they were sorry for af-
terward. Vet after all the alterations a
shacklcd tongue is an appalling limitation.
But we are not this morning speaking Of
conGenital mutes. We mean those who are
born with all the faculties Of vocalization
and yet have been struck by the evil one
| mentioned in the text-the dumb devil To
whom Christ called when He said, Thou
dumb and deaf spirit, | charge thee, come
out Of him.
There he's been apotheosization Of silence.
Some one has said that silence is golden, AMI
sometimes the greatest triumph is to kee
your mouth shut But sometimes silence is
crime and the direct result Of the bsieful
influence of the dumb devil of our text.
| There Is hardly a man or woman in this
house to-day who has not been present on
! some occasion when the Christian religion
became a target for railiery. Perhaps it was
| over in the store some dav when there was
not much going on and the clerks were in @
group, or it was in the factory at the nooL
| spell or it was out on the farm under the.tree.
while you were resting or it was in ths
c!ubroom, or it was in a social circle or it
was in the street on the way home from
business, or it was on some occasion which
you remember without me describing it,
Some one got the laugh on the Biblt
and caricatured the profession of re-
ligion as hypocrisy, or made pun ou
OF something that Christ said. The lau "a
of protest did you utter. What kept yor
silent? Modesty? No. Incapacity tc
answer No. Lack Of opportunity No
1t was blow on both your lips by the wing
of the dumb devil. Ii some one should ma
lign your father or mother or wife or hus-
band or child you would flush up quick, anC
either with an indignant word or doubled
up fist make response. Aud yet here is ou
Christian religion which has done so muct
for you and so much for the world that !
will take all eternity to celebrate it, aud ye
|
as say: II differ, object am sorry Il
hear you say that. There is another side t
this.n
You Christian people ought in such time
as these to 60 armed, not with earthl,
weapons, but with the sword Of the Spirit
You ought 10 have four or five question
with which you could contoun1 any ma
who attacks Christianity. A man ninet
years old was telling me few days as
how he put to flight scoffer. My age
friend said to the skeptic, "Did You eve
rend tho history of Joseph in the Biblei
ayes" said the man; 1T is fine story. an
as interesting story as | ever read
well, now,' said my old friend, SUI
pose that account Of Joseph stoppa
half wayF" "Oh," said the man, the
it would not be ntertaining." "Wel
now" said my frien !. 1--WE have in this worl
only half of everything, and do you nt
think that when we hear the last halt thing