Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1896-12-17
MASK OF DECEIT.
II Covered the Features of the Queen
While Pleading for Her Son.
Hut the Prophet Saw Through Her Dis
guise Prayers and rI.adinGs Were All
In Vain Taimago Sees the Hand Of
God in Every Happening.

lr. lalmagC draws som Startllur les
sons and tears oil the mask of deceit
sunday. The text is ]. Kings xiv, ;:
"Why fcigncst thou myself to be an
othcr?'
In the palace of wicked Jcroboam
there is a sick child. Medicines have
failed; skill is exhausted. Young
Abijah, the prince, has lived long
enough to become very popular, and
yet hc must die unless some supernat-
ural aid be afforded. Death comes up
the broad stairs of the palace
and swings back the door of the
sick room of royalty, and stands look
ing at the dying prince with the dart
upliGtcd. Wicked .Irroboam knows
that he has no right to ask anything
of the Lord in the way of kindness.
lie knows that his prayers would not
be answered. and 50 hc sends his wife
on the delicate and tender mission to
the prophet of the Lord in Shiloh.
Putting aside her royal attire, she puts
ON the garb of a peasant woman, and
starts on the road. Instead of carry
ing gold and gems, rs she might have
carried from the palace, she carries
only those gifts which seem to Indicate
that she belongs to the pcassntry-a
few loavcs of bread and n few
cracknclS and n cruise of honey.
Wonder she goes, hooded and vcilcd,
the greatest lady in all the kingdom,
vet passing unobServed. No one that
meets her on the highway has any idea
that she is the first lady in all the land.
She is IA queen in disguise. The fact is
that Peter the Great, working in the
dry docks of Saardam, the sailors hat
and the shipwright's aX gave him no
more thorough disguise than the gar b
of the peasant woman gave to the
Queen of lirzah. But the prophet of
the Lord saw the deceit. Although his
physical cyesight had failed he was
divincly illumincd, and at one glance
looked through the imposition, and
he cried out: Come in, though wife
of Jeroboam. Why fcignest thou
myself to he another? have
evil tidingS for thee Get thee back
TO thy house, and when thy feet
touch the gate of the city, the child
shall die" She had a right to ask for
the recovery of her son; she had no
right TO practice imposition. Broken
hearted now, she started on the way.
the tears falling ON the dust of the
road all the way from Shiloh To Tirzah.
Broken hearted now, she is not careful
any more to hide her qucenly gait
and manner. True to the prophecy,
the moment her feet touch the gate of
the city the child dies. AS she goes
in the soul of the child goes out. The
cry in the palace is joined by the Ia
mentation of nation, and as they
carry good Abijah to his grave the air
is filled with the voice of eulogy for
the departed youth, and the groan OF
an afflicted kingdom.
1t is for no insignificant purpose that
present you the thrilling story of the
text. In the first place | learn that
wickedI ess involves others, trying to
make them its dupcs, its allies and it,
scapegoats. Jeroboam proposed &c
I hoodwink the Lords prophet How
did he do it? Did he go and do the
work himself? No lie sent his wife
to do it. Hers the pcrit-~ef exposure,
hers the. fatigue of the way, hers the
execution of the plot. His, nothing.
Iniquity is a brag, but is great
cowarT 1t lays the plan, gets some
one sc to execute it-puts down
~ nnpo'vder train, gets some
else to touch it 2tf-con
. mischief, gets some q to
't-snsr 7--lje, get g opG