The Red Cloud chief., 1893-08-11
CHILDREN'S RIGHTS.
DR.. Talmage breaches on a Timely
Subject.
The Sacrifice Of Children - Crawmina
Ut the schools Wrong systems Of
D~iscIpiino-Thc Spirit Of
W0rldiiness.

In q late sermon at Brooklyn Rev. T.
Dewitt Talmagc chose for his topic
'Childrcn's Rights" the text being:
Judges, XII, SO: "My father, II thou
hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord.
do to me according TO that which hath
proceeded out Of thy mouth" DIR. Tai
mage said:
Jephthah was n freebooter. Early
turned out from a home where he ought
20 have been cared for, he consortcd
with rough men, and went forth to
earn his living as best he could. In
those times IL was considered right for
a man to go out on independent mill
tary expeditions. Jcphthah was a
good man according TO the light Of his
dark age, but through n wandering
and predatory fife he became reckless
and precipitatc. The grace of God
changes II mans heart, but never re-
verses his natural temperament.
The lsraelites wanted the Ammonitcs
driven out of their country, so they
sent n delegation TO Jcphthah asking
him 10 become commandcr-in-chief of
all the forces. Before going out to the
war Jephtha makes a very solemn vow
that IL the Lord will give him the vic
tory then, on his return home, whatso-
ever first comes out OF his doorway he
will offer in sacrifice as "a burnt offer
Ing. In those old times opposing forces
would fight until their swords were
broken, and then each one would
throttle his man until they both fell,
teeth TO teeth, grip TO grip, dcath-starc
20 dcath-stare, until the plain was one
tumblcd mass of corpscs, from which
the last trace of manhood had been
dashed out.
Jephthah wins the day. Twenty
cities lay captured at his feet. Sound
the victory all through the mountains
of Gilcad. Let the trumpctcrs call up
the survivors. lIomcward to your
wives and children. llomcward with
your glittcring treasures. lIomcward
20 have the applause of an admiring
nation.
Huzza for Jcphthah the conqucror!
Jephthah, seated on a prancing stccd,
advances amid acclaiming multitudcs,
but his eye Is not on the excited popu-
lace. Remembering that he had made
n solemn vow that, returning from vic
torious battle, whatsoever first came
out Of the doorway Of his home, that
should be sacrificed AS burnt Offering,
he has his anxious look upon the door.
oh, horrors! Palcness OF death blanchcs
his check. Despair scizcs his heart.
His daughter, his only child, PUSHES
out the doorway to throw herself in
her fathers arms and shower upon him
more kisses than there were wounds
on his breast or dents on his shield. All
the triumphal splendor vanishcs. Hold
ing back this child from his heaving
breast and pushing the locks back from
the fair brow. and looking into the
eyes of incxtinguishablc affection. with
chokcd utterancc he says: would God
that lay stark on the bloody plain.
My daughter, my only child, JOY OF
home, life of my life, thou art the sacri
feet"
The whole matter was explained to
her. This was no whining, hollow
hearted girl into whose eyes the father
looked. All the glory of the sword
and shield vanished in the presence OF
the valor OF that girl. With a self
sacrifice that man may not reach, and
only woman's heart u compass. she
surrenders herself to fire and to death.
"My father, IL thou hast opened THY
mouth unto the Lord. do thou unto m,
whatsoever hath proceeded from thy
mouth"
OF course this offering was not pleas
ant to the Lord; but before you hur
your dcnunciations at Jcphthah's cru
city, remember that i'm oldcn times
when vows were made, men thought
they must execute them, perform them
whether they were wicked or good
There were two wrong things abou'
Jephthah's vow. First, he ought never
TO have made it. Next, having mad,
1t, IL were better broken than kept
But do not take on prctcntious airs ant
say: IL could not have done u,
-Jcphthah did" Ii to-day you wcr,
standing on the banks OF the Gangci
and you had been born in India, yo,
might have been throwing your chill
dren To the crocodilcs. IL is not be
cause we are naturally any better, bu
because we have more gospel light.
Now, | make very practical use o
this question when | tell you that tn,
sacrifice of Jephthah's daughter was ,
type of the physical, mental an,
spiritual sacrifice of ten thousand chill
dren in this day. There are parents al
unwittingly bringing to bear upon thei
children II class of influences which
will as certainly ruin them as knit,
and torch destroyed Jephthah'
daughter.
In the first place ! remark that mucl
of the system of education in our da,
is II system of sacrifice. When chill
drcn spend six or seven hours a day il
school and then must spend two o
three hours in preparation for schoo
the next day, will you tell me how
much time they will have for sunshin,
and fresh air and the obtaining of tina
cXuberance which is necessary for tn,
duties of coming life?
No one can feel more thankful tina
do for the advancement of commo
school education. But this herding G
great multitudcs of children in i'll
ventilated school rooms and poorl
CuCiuoca halls of instruction is maxim