News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1893-08-03
News and Citizen.
MORRISVILLE and HYDE PARK,
Thursday, August 3, 1898.
DUTIES OF PARENTS.
OR. TALMAGE SETS FORTH THE DAN
GERS THREATENING THE YOUNG.

The Sacrifice of Jephthah's Daughter Was
by Unwise Training Cruel Neglect by
Parents.
BROOKLYN, July SO.-Rev. DR.. Tai
mage, who is now on his vacation tour
in the west, has chosen for topic for
this morning, "Children's Rights" the
text being Judges xi, SO, my father,
if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the
Lord. do to me according to that which
hath proceeded out of thy mouth"
Jephthah was freebooter. Early
turned out from home where he ought
to have been cared for, he consorted
with rough men and went forth to earn
his living as best he could. In those
times it was considered right for man
to go out on independent military expe-
ditions. Jephthah was a good man ac-
cording to the light of his dark age, but
through a wandering and a predatory
life he became reckless and precipitate.
The grace of God changes mans heart,
but never reverses his natural tempera-
ment.
THE WILD COMMANDER.
The Israelites wanted the Ammonites
driven out of their country, so they sent
a delegation to Jephthah, asking him to
become commander in chief of all the
forces. He might have said, 'You drove
me out when you had no use for me, and
now you are in trouble you want me
back" but he did not say that. He takes
command of the army, sends messengers
to the Ammonites to tell them to vacate
the country, and getting no favorable
response marshals his troops for battle.
Before going out to the war Jephthah
makes a very solemn vow that if the
Lord will give him the victory then on
his return home whatsoever first comes
out of his doorway he will offer in sacri-
fee as burnt Offering The battle
opens. 1t was no skirmishing on the
edges of danger, no Numbering of bat
teries two miles away, but the hurting
of men on the point of swords and
spears until the ground could no more
drink the blood and the horses reared to
leap over the pile of bodies of the slain.
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, death stare to death stare, until
the plain was one tumbled mass of
corpses from which the last trace of
manhood had been dashed out
Jephthah wins the day. Twelve cities
lay captured at his feet. Sound the vic
tory all through the mountains of
Gilead. Let the trumpeters call up the
survivors. Homeward to your wives and
children. Homeward with your gilt
tering treasures. Homeward to have
the applause of an admiring nation.
Build triumphal arches. Swing out flags
all over Mizpeh. Open all your doors to
receive the captured treasures. Through
every hall spread the banquet. Pile up
the viands. Fill high the tankards
The nation IS redeemed, the invaders
are routed, and the national honor is
indicated.
THE RETURN IN TRIUMPH.
Huzza for Jephthah, the conqueror!
Jephthah, seated ON a prancing steed,
advances amid acclaiming multitudes,
but his eye is not on the excited popu-
lace. Remembering that he had made
solemn VOW that, returning from vic
torious battle, whatsoever first came out
of the doorway of his home, that should
he sacrifice as burnt offering, he has
his anxious look upon the door. I won
der what spotless lamb, what brace of
doves, will be thrown upon the fires of
the burnt offering. Oh, horrors! Pale
"a Oh
spair seizes his heart. His daughter, his
only child, rushes 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
vanishes. Holding back his child from
his heaving breast and pushing the locks
back from the fair brow and looking in
to the eyes of inextinguishable affection,
with choked utterance he says; ''Would
God lay stark ON the bloody plain. My
daughter, my only child, joy of my
home, life of my life, thou art the sacri-
fice!'
The whole matter was explained to
her. This was no whining, hollow heart
cd girl into whose eyes the father looked
All the glory of sword and shield van
ished in the presence of the valor of that
girl. There may have been tremor of
the lip as a rose leaf trembles in the sough
of the south wind, there may have been
the starting of a tear like raindrop
shook from the anther of water lily,
but with self sacrifice that man may
not reach and only woman's heart can
compass she surrenders herself to fire
and to death. She cries out in the words
of my text, my father, if thou hast
opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do
unto me whatsoever hath proceeded from
thy mouth"
THE MAIDEN'S HEROIsM.
She bows to the knife, and the blood
which so often at the fathers voice had
rushed to the crimson cheek smokes in
the fires of the burnt Offering. No one
can tell us her name. There is no need
that we know her name. The garlands
that Mispeh twisted for Jephthah, the
warrior, had gone into the dust, but all
Eges are twisting this girls chaplet. 1t
Is well that her name came not to us, for
no one can wear it. They may take the
name of Deborah or Abigail or Miriam,
but no one in all the ages can have the
title of this daughter of sacrifice.
OF course this offering was not pleas
ing to the Lord; but before you hurl
your denunciations at Jephthah's cruelty,
remember that in olden times, when
vows were made, men thought they must
execute them, perform them, whether
they were wicked or good. There were
two wrong things about Jephthah's vow.
First, he ought never to have made it.
Next, having made it, it were better
broken than kept. But do not take on
pTetentious airs and say, ''I could not
nave done as Jephthah did," If today
you were standing on the banks of the
Ganges and you had been born in India,
you might have been throwing your
children to the crocodiles. 1t is not be-
cause we are naturally any better, but
because we have more gospel light.
SACRIFICES OF TODAY.
Now, l make very practical use of this
question when tell you that the sacri-
fee of Jephthah's daughter was a type
of the physical, mental and spiritual
sacrifice of 10000 children in this day.
There are parents all unwittingly bring
ing to bear upon their children class of
influences which will as certainly ruin
them as knife and torch destroyed Jeph-
thah's daughter. While l speak, the
whole nation without emotion and with
out shame looks upon the stupendous
sacrifice.
In the first place, remark that much
of the system of education in our day is
a system of sacrifice. When children
spend six or seven hours day in school,
and then must spend two or three hours
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