Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-07-16
FOR ANOTHER'S SAKE
NOVEL PRESENTATION OF THE THEo-
RIEs OF RUIN AND RESTORATION.
A Dramatic Bible scene-The Disabled
Human Soul HumbIed and Restored.
The Important Part of Every Prayer.
Glories of a Magnificent Gospel.

ration. 4 ne BlDle scene ueSCrlbCu Is IRA
matte. His text was II Samuel l., and
IS: lis there yet any that is left of the
house Of Saul, that may show him kind
ness for Jonathan's sake? go So Mephib-
osheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he did eat
continually at the kings table and was
lame on both his feet
Was there ever anything more romantic
and chivalrous than the love of David and
Jonathan? AT one time Jonathan was up
and David was down. Now David is up
and Jonathan's family is down. As you
have often heard of two soldiers before GO
ing into battle making a covenant that if
one is shot the survivor will take charge
of the body, the watch, the mementos and
perhaps Of the bereft family of the one that
dies, so David and Jonathan have made a
covenant, and now that Jonathan is dead
David is inquiring about his family, that
he may show kindness unto them for their
father Jonathan's sake
Careful search is made, and son Of
Jonathan of the dreadfully homcly name
of Mephibosheth is found. His nurse, in
his infancy, had let him fall, and the fall
had put both his ankles out of place, and
they had never been set. This decrepit
poor man is brought into the palace Of
King David David looks upon him with
melting tenderness, no doubt seeing in his
face q resemblance to his old friend, the
deceased Jonathan. The whole bearing of
King David toward him seems to say:
How glad am to see you, MephibOsheth!
How you remind me of your father, my old
friend and benefaCtor l made bargain
with your father a good many years ago,
and am going to keep it with you, What
can I do for you, Mephibosheth? / am re-
solved what to dol will make you rich
man. l will restore to you the conliscated
property of your grandfather Saul, and
you shall be a guest of mine as long as you
live, and you shall be seated at my table
among the princes" 1t was too much for
Mephibosheth, and he cried out against it,
calling himself dead dog. 'Be still, " says
David. II don't do this on your own ac-
count. l do this for your father Jonathan s
sake. can never forget his kindness.
remembe when l was bounded from place
to place how he befriended me. Can ever
forget how he stripped himself of his cour-
tier apparel and gave it to me instead of
my shepherd coat and how he took off
his own sword and belt and gave them to
me instead of my sling? Oh, l can never
forget him! I feel as if 1 couldn't dc
enough for you, his son. 1 don't do it for
your sake; 1 do it for your father Jona-
than's sake. - so Mephibosheth dwclt in
Jerusalem, for he did eat continually at
the kings table and was lame on both his
feet"
a Disabled Soul.
There is so much gospel in this quaint
incident that l am embarrassed to know
where to begin. Whom do Mephibosheth
and David ami Jonathan make you think
of?
Mephibosheth. in the first place, stands
for the disabled human soul. Lord Byron
| describes sin as a charming recklessness,
as a gallantry, as a Don Juan. George
Sand describes sin as triumphant in many
intricate plots. Gavarni, with his engrav.
er's knife, always shows sin as a great
jocularity. But the Bible presents it as d
Mcphibosheth, lame on both feet Sin
| like the nurse in the context attempted tC
carry us and let US fall, and we have beer
| disabled, and in our whole moral nature
we are decrepit. Sometimes theOlogianE
haggle about a technicality. They use the
| WINS OOptll bS EJA'bN Ivy ALLN- SblIAN p'OplN
believe in the doctrine, and some reject it
What do you mean by total depravity? Do
you mean that every man is as bad as hl
| can be? Then 1 do not believe it either
But do you mean that sin has let us fall
that it has scarifed and disabled and Grip
| pied our entire moral nature until we can
not walk straight and are lame in botf
| feet? Then I admit your proposition
| There is not so much difference in an Afri
can jungle, with barking, bowling, hiss
| ing, fighting quadruped and reptile, anC
paradise, with its animals coming before
| Adam, when he patted them and stroket
| them and gave them names, so that thC
| panther was as tame as the COW, and the
condor as tame as the dove, as there is be
tween the human soul disabled and thai
soul as God originally constructed it. l dc
not care what the sentimentalists or tht
poets say in regard to sin In the name O.
God, declare to you today that sin is dis
organization, disintegration, CHASTITY dis
| fguration, hobbling defornity.
Your modern theologian tells you thai
man is q little out of sorts He sometime!
thinks wrong. He sometimes does wrons
indeed his nature needs little mora
surgery, an outside splint, slight com
press, little rectifcation. Religion is
good thing to have; it might some day
come into use. Man is partially wrong
not all wrong He is lame in one foot
Bring the salve of divine grace, and tn,
ointment and the pain extractor, and WI
will have his one foot cured. Man is onl,
half wrong, not altogether wrong In wha
is mans nature right? In his will, his af
fections, his Judgment? No. There is al
old book that says, "The whole head il
sick and the whole heart faint" Mephib
osheth lame in both feet! Our belief of th'
fact that sin has scarifed and deformet
our souls increases as we go on in years
When you started life, you thought tina
man was q little marred by sin, and HI
was about one-tenth wrong. By the TIM
you had gone through the early experience
of your trade or occupation or profession
you believed that man was about hal
wrong. By the time you came to midlif
you believed that man was three-fourth
wrong. But within these past few years
since you have been so lied about ant
swindled and cheated, you have come tt
the conclusion that man is altogethc
wrong, and now you can say with th
prayer book and with the Bible, "There i
no health in US. Now you believe will
the prophet, 1.-The heart is deceitful abov
all things and desperately wicked" What
ever you may have believed before, nov
you believe that Mephibosheth Is lame OF
| both feet.
Humbled, but Restored.
Again, Mephibosheth in the text stand
| for the disabled human soul humbled anC
restored. When this invalid of my text go
a command to come to King David's pal
ace, he trembled. The fact was that tn,
grandfather Of Mephibosheth had treatet
David most shockingly and now Mephib
osheth says to himself: "What does th'
king want of me? Isn't it enough that
am lame2 Is be going to DESTROY my life