Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-08-17


His wonders TO perform.
Elephants his footsteps In the sea
And rides up0a the storm.
Ilind unbcllef is sure to err
And scan his work IN vain.
God "a his own interpreter,
And he will make IL plain.
Treason to God.
While we make this merciful and
righteous allowance in regard to those
who were plunged into mental incoher-
ence, I declare that the man who in the
use of his reason by his own act, snaps
the bond between his body and his soul
goes straight into perdition. Shall
prove it? Revelation xxi, s, Murder
ers shall have their part in the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone;"
Revelation xxi, IS, without are dogs
and sorcerers and whoremongers and
murderers. " You do not believe the
New Testament? Then perhaps you be-
liege the Ten Commandments, Thou
shalt not kill.
Do you say all these passages refer to
the taking Of the life of others? Then ]
ask you if you are not as responsible for
your own life as for the life Of othersi
God gave you a special trust in your
life. He made you the custodian OF
your life as he made you the custodian
of no other life He gave you as weap-
ons with which to defend it two arms
to strike back assailants, two eyes tC
watch for invasion and a natural love
of life which ought ever to be on the
alert Assassination Of others is mild
crime compared with the assassination
of yourself, because in the latter case il
is treachery to an especial trust, it is tn
surrender of q castle you were especially
appointed to keep, it is treason to a nat
ural law, and it is treason to God add I
ed to ordinary murder.
To show how God in the Bible looked
upon this crime point you to the rogues'
picture gallery in some parts Of the BIZ
BILE, the pictures Of the people who have
committed this unnatural crime. Here
is the headless trunk Of Saul on the
walls Of Bathshan. Here is the man
who chased little David-10 feet in
stature chasing 4. Here is the man
who consulted a clairyoyant, witch OF
Endor. Here is man who, whipped in
battle, instead Of surrendering his
sword with dignity, az many a man has
done, asks his servant to Stay him, and
when the servant declines then the giant
plants the hilt Of the sword in the earth,
the sharp point sticking upward, and he
throws his body on it and expires the
coward, the suicide Here is Ahitho
phel the Machiavelli Of olden times,
betraying his best friend, David, in or
der that he may become prime minister
Of Absalom and joining that fellow in
his attempt at parricide. Not getting
what he wanted by change Of politics,
he takes a short cut out of a disgraced
life into the suicides eternity. There he
is, the migrate!
Two Cases In Point.
Here is Abimelech practically a sui
eide. He is with an army bomiarding
o tower, when a woman in the tower
takes a grindstone from its place and
drops it upon his head, and with what
life he has left in a cracked skull he
commands his armor bearer, Draw thy
sword and slay me, lest men say wom-
an slew me. There is his post mortem
photograph in the book Of Samuel But
the hero Of this group Is Judas lscariot
DR.. Dome says he was martyr, and
we have in our day apologists for him.
And what wonder in this day when we
have a book revealing Aaron Burr as o !
pattern of virtue, and in this day when
we uncover a statue to George Sand a,
the benefactress Of literature, and in
this day when there are betrayals Of
Christ on the part Of some Of his pre- !
tended apostles-a betrayal so black II |
makes the infamy Of Judas Iscariot !
whitel Yet this man by his own hand
hung up for the execratiOn Of all the
ages Judas Iscariot.
All the good men and women Of the |
Bible left to God the decision Of theil |
earthly terminus, and they could haV
said with Job, who had a right to COM I
nit suicide if any man ever had-what |
with his destroyed property, and his |
bodyall ahamewith insufferable carbun
cles, and everything gone from his HON
except the chief curse Of it-a pestifer-
Gus wife-and four garrulous people |
pelting him with comfortless talk while |
he sits on a heap Of ashes scratching his |
scabs with a piece Of broken pottery,
yet crying out in triumph, "All the |
days of my appointed time will l wait
till my change come.
Notwithstanding the Bible is against |
this evil and the aversion which it cre' |
ates by the loathsome and CHASTITY spec. /
tacle of those who have hurled them
selves out of life, and Notwithstanding |
christianity is against 1t and the argu-
ments and the useful lives and the illus
trious deaths Of its disciples, it Is fact
alarmingly patent that suicide is on the |
increase. What is the cansei l charge |
upon infidelity and agnosticism this |
whole thing. II there be no hereafter
or if that hereafter be blissful without |
reference to how we live and how we |
die, why not move back the folding
doors between this world and the nextl
And when our existence here becomes /
troublesome why not pass right over /
into Elysium? Put this down among /
your most solemn reflections and con-
slider it after you 90 to your homes
there has never been a case OF suicide /
where the operator was not either de-
mented, and therefore irresponsible, or
an infdel. | challenge all the ages and
challenge the whole universe. There
never has been a case Of self destruction
while in full appreciation of his immor-
tally ana OF the fact that that immor-
tally would be glorious or wretched &C
cording as no accepted Jesus Christ or
rejected him.
Tom Paine's Responsibility.
You say it is business trouble, or you
say it is electrical currents, or it is this,
or it is that, or it is the other thing.
Why not 60 clear back, my friend, and
acknowledge that in every case it is the
abdication Of reason or the teaching OF
infidelity which practically says, IF
you don't like this life, get out Of it,
and you will land either in annihila-
ton, where there are no notes to pay,