The Progress., 1894-08-18
TABERNACLE PULPIT.
SUICIDE THE SUBJECT OF THIS
WEEKS SERMON.
of Christianity, Self Murder Was Con-
sidered Honorable and Sign OF
Courage Moral tOwardiCc

Courage Moral Cowardice
HEOuKIYN. y. Y. Aug. t"-Eev. Or.
Talmage, who is now abroad, has
selected as the subject for to-day ,
sermon through. the press, the WORT
Suicide, the text being Acts WI -,
rs: lie drew out his sword and would
have killed himself, snppoeing that
the prisoners had fled. But Paul
cried with loud voice, saying, DO
myself no har.A'
Here is would be suicide arrested
IN his deadly attempt lie was u
sheriff and according to the Roman
law a bailitf himself must suffer the
punishment due an escaped prisoner;
and if the prisoner breaking jail was
sentenced TO be endungcOned for three
or four years, then the sheriff must be
cndungconed for three or four years;
and if the prisoner breaking jail was
to have suffered capital punishment,
then the sheriff must suffer capital
punishment.
The sheriff had received especial
charge to keep a sharp lookout for
. Paul and SilaA The government had
not had confidence in bolts and bars
10 keep safe these two clergymen,
about whom there seemed to be some
thing strange and supernatural.
Sure enough, by miraculous power.
they are free, and the sheriff, waking
out of sound sleep, and surprising
these ministers have run away, and
knowing that they were to die for
preaching Christ, and realizing that
he must therefore die, rather than 90
under the eXecutiUn,rS AK, on the
morrow and suffer public disgrace,
resolves to precipitate his own de-
cease. But before the sharp, keen,
glittering dagger of the sheriff could
strike his heart, one of the unlooscncd
prisoners arrests the blade by the
command, "Do thvsclf no harm.
In olden time, and where Christi
antv had not interfered with it,
suicide was considered honora blc and
Il sign of courage DcmOsthenes
poisoned himself when told that Alex
ander's ambassador had demanded
the surrender Of the Athenan Ora tors.
lsocratcs killed himself rather than
surrender to Phillip of Macedon.
Cato, rather than submit to julius
Caesar, took his own life, and after
three times his wounds had been
dressed tore them open and persisted.
N;tbrjdates killed himself rather than
submit to Pompey, the conqueror
Hannibal destroyed his life by poison
from his ring, considering life un-
haarable. After the disaster of Mos
oo,v Napoleon always carried with
h;m a pre paration of opium, and one
N:.1+ his servant heard the ey.em.
.arnr arise, put something in glass
ia drink it, and soon after the groan,
aroused all the attendants, and it was
on'v through utmost medical skill he
was resuscitated from the stupor of
the opiate.
Tines have changed, and yet the
American conscience needs to be toned
M on the subject of suicide. Have
YOU seen paper in the last month
that did not announce the passage out
of life by ones own behest? De.
faulters, alarmed at the idea of ex.
posture, quit life precipitately. Men
losing large fortunes go out of the
world because they can not endure
earthly existence. Frustrated affec-
ton, domestic infelicity, dyspeptic i'm.
patience, anger remorse, envy, jeal-
ousy, restitution, misanthropy are
considered sufficient causes for alb
sconding from this life by Paris green,
by laudanum, by belladonna by
Othello's dagger, by halter. by leap
from the atutment of bridge, by
firearms More cases of "felo de Sc"
in the last two years of the worlds
existence. The evil is more and more
spreading.
A pulpit not long ago expressed
some doubt as to whether there was
anything wrong about quitting this
life when it became disagreeab bic, and
there are found in respectable circles
people apologetic for the crime which
Paul in the text arrested. I shall
show you before get through that
suicide is the worst OF all crimes and
shall lift warning unmistakable.
But in the early part of this sermon
wish to admit that some of the best
Christians that have ever lived have
committed self destruction, but always
in dementia and not responsible.
have no more doubt about their
eternal felicity than I have of the
! Christian who dies in his bed in the
delirium of typhoid fever While the
shock Of the catastrophe is very great,
! charge all those who have had Chris
tan friends under cerebral alteration
step off The boundaries of this life, to
have no doubt about their happiness.
The dear Lord took them right out of
their dazed and frenzied state into
perfect safety. How Christ feels to-
/ L I