Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1893-06-24
DANGER IN THE CUPS.
REV. Or. COURT ON THE SUNDAY
SCHOOL LESSON FOR MAY 2t.

Ruin-The Old Form Of Modern Vice.
A Dark Picture-The Serpent at tile lot
tom Of the Giass.
Golden Text: Wine Is q mocker, strong
arink is raging, and whosoever Is deceived
thereby is not wise prov. xx, y.
Lesson: Prov. xiii, .29-85.
OF old, as now, the wise warned the un-
wary against the temptations, dangers and
consequences of strong drink. The warn
ing is addressed especially to the young
Itsarguments are founded on the expert
ences of life. A wise man penned this
warning, but the wise God inspired the
wise man; hence Gods authority is given
TO the practice of temperance. Wisdom in
culcates sobriety. Things are better known
when contrssted with their opposites
Here the wise man indirectly magnifles
temperance by showing us the repulsive
features and results Of intemperarce. The
consequences OF indulgence in drink are
stated.
l. INTEaPERANCE CAUSES SORROW.
Ver>ss 90, 30)
|. Many sorrows. ta) There are six ques-
tions asked in regard to as many evils ac-
ccmpanying drunkenness The words are
very expressive. We hear the awakened
drunkard bemoaning himself. 1. "Woe"-
the word 40 translated Is an interjection in
Hebrew expressing a groan. "Ah!" rs a
cry of pain is very similar. 2. Sorrow
this, too, is an interjection, sounded nearly
like ''abhoi," and meaning R''alasp'-another
and a bitterer groan, expressive of grief.
g. "Contentions" or ''strifes' are drunken
quarrelings, results of intoxcation, as in
all ages and climes, and perhaps ALSO law
suits 4. "Babbling"-the Revised Version
renders this complaining" 1t means anx-
ious care, trouble s. "Wounds without
cause are the strokes and blows received
in drunken quarrels inflicted for no reason.
q. "Redness OF eyes" is characteristic ign
of drunkenness. The drink causes infam-
nation. A bacchanalian song expresses
this in defiant way:
Some fools say that drink hurts the sight;
Such dullards know nothing about it,
For it's better with drink to extinguish the
light
Than live always in darkness without II.
One would think that sensible man
would not seek to get ont Of darkness by
putting out his eyes-the organs Of light.
But what reason can there be in a drinking
song, The redness CT the eyes is mark of
intemperance, like the shaking of the hands
and the fetid breath-"the revolving effect
Of excessive use Of wine as it shows itself
In the face" (Xockler).
Q. The cause Of the many sorrows (a)
Two classes of drinkers are described
those that tarry at the wine and those that
go to seek mixed wine. The tendency of
drinking habits Is to continue to drink.
Not only does habit enchain its victim, but
the appetite grows with what 1t feeds on.
The habitual drinker has to drink the more
the longer he persists In frequent bouts of
drinking; hence arises the tendency to
tarry long at the wine. A great danger
arises from social drinking. The compan-
ionship, the conversation, the jest, the toast,
the song, give zest to the drinking and lead
toprolonged tarrying at the wine. (b) Then
there are the drinkers who seek fancy
drinks to excite their appetite and regale
their taste. They are not seekers after wis
dom, but seekers after spiced wine, here
called mixed wine" AS Plumptre says,
There is q touch Of sarcasm in the words,
go to SEEK" 1t is the same word used for
the persistent search after knowledge. See
Job xi, Z; Prov. XIV, Q. 1t would seem
that the ancients were accustomed to mix
aromatic spices with their wines Cheyne
says of the ''strong drink" mingled by the
high livers in Judah that it is not wine di-
luted with water, but artificial wine which
was apparently stronger than the natural
wine" 1t probably was "shekar"--the
strong drink of lisa. v. 22-"artifciai
wine. made Of dates, apples pomegranates,
honey. barley and sometimes spiced or of
mixed ingredients; hence to mix strong
drink" Compare lisa. v, II.
H-INTEMpERANCEC CAUSES PAIN. Verses
81. 82.)
/. A good advice. (a) Practically abstain
is the advice of the wise man. Not to look
at the tempting object means just keep
away from it. Go not where men tarry at
the wine. Don't seek the mixed drinks.
Keep aloof from drinkers and their haunts.
(b) Our Lord taught us to pray Lead us
not into temptation" Those that pray thus
cannot go where temptation Is and where
no duty calls them. There Is dispute as
to whether fermented wine is allowed or
not as an article of food, but there can be
no doubt as to the meaning of this prohibi-
tion, for certainly all haunts and every COM
pany that will tempt one to drink for the
sake of being intoxicated are forbidden.
c)"Red" means long kept, clear, intoxi-
eating. strong wine. New wine Is much
like new cider-comparatively harmless.
1t is the fine old wine with the rich color
that il heady. That ceases to be a food and
becomes dram, a stimulating and intoxi-
eating beverage-an enemy to steal away
ones reason Plumptre says: 1.-THE wine of
Lebanon is said to be Of rich golden color,
like the darker sherries. Sometimes the
color is heightened by saffron" In short,
the advice is, keep away from strong, in
toxicating drink, the heady wines included
q The sign. (a) "Giveth his color in the
cup" is literally in the Hebrew, "Giveth his
eve In the cup" What Is the meaning of
thisi Benisch renders the passage thus:
"If any set his eye on the cup, he will wan
der about in the straightest path" This
gives a meaning indeed, but a farfetched
one. A little practical experience will give
a better. Liquor dealers before hygrom-
eters were invented judged OF the alcoholic
strength Of liquors by the beads that hoated
on the top after the liquor was shaken. The
bead remains longest on the liquor that has
most strength "The eye In the cup" is the
bead of the liquor sparkling on the sur
face-'the beaded brightness on which the
wine drinker looks with complacency"
(Plumptre) Why with ''complacency"
Because the beads show that the wine is old
and strong. (b) ''Ajoveth itself Alright
the Hebrew rather<means ''goeth sweetly,
smoothly, agreeably." 1t refers to the
gusto Of the drinkers. The wine that is