The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1896-08-06

TEXT "Whose son art thou, thou young
! man?"-I Samuel xviii, SO.
Never was there a more unequal fight than
! that between David and Goliath; David five
feet high, Goliath ten; David shepherd boy
| brought up amid rural scenes, Goliath a
warrior by profession; Goliath mountain of
| braggadocio, David a marvel OF humility;
| Goliath armed with an iron spear. David
| armed with sling, with smooth stones from
the brock. But you are not to despise these
latter weapons. There was a regiment of
singers in the Assyrian army and a regiment
| of singers in the Egyptian army, and they
made terrible execution, and they could cast
! stone with as much accuracy aud force as
now can be sent shot or she'll. The Greeks
| in their army had singers who would throw
| leaden plummets inscribed with the irritat-
| ing words, take this!''
SO it was mighty weapon David en-
| ployed in that famous combat. A Jewish
rabbi says that the probability is that Goliath
| was in such contempt for David that in a
paroxysm of laughter he threw his head
back and his helmet fell off, and David saw
| the uncovered forehead. and his opportunity
had come, and taking this sling and swing
| ing it around his head two or three times
and aiming it at that uncovered forehead
crashed it in like an eggshell. The battle over,
| x,
David standing. his fingers cutched into the
| hair of decapitated Goliath. As Saul sees
David standing there holding in his hand the
| CHASTITY, rocking, staring trophy, evidence of
the complete victory over Gods enemies. the
king wonders what parentage was honored
| by such heroism, and in my text he asks
David his pedigree, "Whose son art thou,
thou young MANI The king saw what you
and see. that this question of heredity is
mighty one.
The longer I live the more believe in
| hlood-good blood, bad blood, proud blood.
humble blood, honest blood, thieving
blood, heroic blood, cowardly blood. The
tendency may skip a generation or two, but
1t Is sure to come out, as in little child
you sometimes see similarity to a great
grandfather whose picture hangs on the
wall. That the physical and mental and
moral qualities are Unbeatable is patent to
any one who keeps his eyes open. The sim
ilarity is so striking sometimes as to be
amusing. Great families, regal or literary,
are apt to have the characteristics all down
through the generations, and what is more
perceP'iole in such families may be seen on
a smaller scale in all families. thousand
years have no power to obliterate the diff
ference.
The large lip of the house Of Austria is
seen in all the generations and is called the
Hapsburg lip. The house of Stuart al
ways means in all generations cruelty and
bigotry and sensuality. Witness Queen of
Scots. Witness Charles and Charles II.
witness James | and James II aud all the
other scoundrels Of that line. Scottish blood
means persistence, English blood means
reverence for the ancient, Welsh blood
means religiosity, Danish blood means fond
ness for the sea. Indian blood means roam
ing disposition, Celtic blood means fervid-
ity, Roman blood means conquest. The
| Inyyi oh foo; 60.
trace clear back to Abraham. OF whom the
Bible says, she was rich in silver and gold
and CATTLE and to Isaac and Jaco.,, who
mad the same characteristics. Some families
are characterized by longevity, and they have
atenacity of life positively Methuselish. 9th
ers are characterized by Goliathian stature,
and you can see it for enc generation, two
generations. five generations, in all the gen.
eratlons. Vigorous theology runs down in
the line of the Aexanders Tragedy runs
on in the family of the Kembles. Literature
runs on in the line of the TroIopes. Phil
anthropy runs on in the lines Of the Wilber-
forces Craftsmanship runs on in the line of
tbs Adamses. You see these pecuIiarities in
all generations. Henry aud Catherine OF
Navarro religious, all their families religious.
The celebrated family of Casini, all matte-
maticians. The celebrated family of the
Medici, grandfather, son and Catherine, all
remarkable for keen intellect. The celebrat-
ed family of Gustavus Adolphus, all war
rlOrs.
This law of heredisy asserts itself without
reference to social or political condition, for
you sometimes find the ignoble in high place
and the honorable In obscure place. A de-
scendant of Edward 1 a toll gatherer. A
descendent Of Edward Ill doorkeeper. A
descendant of the Duke of Northumberland
trunk maker. Some of the mightiest fam
lies OF England IRE extinct, while some of
those most honored in the peerage go back
to an ancestry of hard knuckes and rough
exterior. This law Of heredity is entirely
independent of social or political conditions
Ifen you lind avarce and jealousy and SEN
suality and fraud having full swing in some
families. The violent temper Of Frederick
william is the Inheritance of Frederick the
Great. 1t is not a theory founded by world
~ philosophy. but by divine authority. Do
you not remember how the Bible speaks of Il
chosen generation, of the generation of tho
righteous, of the generation of vipers, of an
untoward generation, of a stubborn genera
ton, of the iniquity of the fathers visited
upon the children unto the third and fourth
generations? SO that the text comes today
with the force of projectile hurled from
mlghtiest catapult. Whose son art thou
thou young manS''
"Wcll, says some one, "that theory dis
charges me from all responsibility. Born of
u.
and we cannot help ourselves. Born OF I'M
righteous parentage, we are bound TO be
evil and we cannot help ourselves" Two
inaccuracies. As much as if you should say:
"Ihe centripstal force in nature has a ten
dencyto bring everything to the center, and
therefore all come to the center. The cen
trltugai force in nature has tendency to
throw everything to the periphery. and
therefore everything will go out to the peri
phery. You know as we'll as know that
you can make the centripetal force overcome
the centrifugal. and you can mako the cen.
trifugal overcome the centripetal, as when
there is a mighty tide of good in family
that may be overcome by determination tc
evil; as in the case of Aaron Burr, the liber.
tine, who had for father President Burr, the
consecrated; as in the case of Pierrepont Ed
wards, the scourge of Now York societ,
eighty years ago, who had a Christian ances
try, While. on the other hand, some of the
best men and women of this day are those
VINO have come of an ancestry of which il
would not be courteous to speak in thei
presence. The practical and useful obiec
OF this sermon is to show you that if yor
have come OF a Christian ancestry then yo,
are solemnly bound to preserve and develo,
the glorious inheritance, or If you have com,
OF dspraved ancestry then it is your dut,
10 brace yourself against the evil tendency
by all prayer and Christian determination