Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1896-06-24
REV. DR.. IaLuaGE.
The Eminent Divine's Sunday
SefmO0.
Subject. ..The bitter Attlla."

TEXT: ''There fell great star from heaven,
Turning rs 1t were a lamb, and II fell upon
the third part Of the rivers, and upon the
star Ia called Norwood. d."-Revelation Will,
10, IL.
Many comntnAnnprs, ike Patrick and
Aowth. Thomas scott, Matthew Henry and
Albert Barnes agree In saying that the stas
Wormwood, mentioned In Revelation, was
AttiIa. king Of the Huns. He was so called
because he was brilliant as q star, and, like
Wormwood, he embittered everything he
touched. We have studied the btar Of
Bethlehem. and the Morning Star OF the
Revelation, and the Star of Peace, but my
present subject calls US to gaze at the star
Wormwood. and my theme might be called
Brilliant Bitterness. !
does not furnish than this man thus referred
to. Attila, the king of the Huns. One day a
wounded heifer came limping along through
the fields, and herdsman followed its
bloody track on the grass to see where the
heifer was wounded, and went on back fur
fast in the earth, the point downward. as
though Is had dropped from the heavens and
AGAINST The edges Of this sword the heifeR
had been cut. The hsrdsman pulled up that
sword and presented 1t to Attila. Attila said
the sw"rd must have dropped from the
hooNOus ALOtu tu0 kEuSp VI tuo kOu mok0 4uu
its being given to him meant that Atilla
should conquer and govern the whole earth.
Other mighty men have been delighted at
being called liberators, or the merciful or the
good, but Attila called himself, and demand
ed that others call him the Scourge of God.
Cappadocian horses. he swept everything
from the Adriatio to the Black Sea He put
his iron heel on Macedonia and Greece and
Thrace He made Milan and Pavia and
Padua and Verona beg for mercy, which he
bestowed not. The Byzantine castles, to
massive silver tables and vases Of solid gold.
A city captured by him, the Inhabitants
We're brought out and divided into three
classes-the first class, those who could bear
arms, who must Immediately enlist under
Attia or be- butchered; the second class, the
beautiful women, who were made captives to
the Huns; the third class, the aged men and
women. who were robbed of everything and
let so back to the city to pay heavy tax.
1t WAS common saying that the grass,
never grew again where the hoof OF Attlla's
horse had trOd. His armies Redeemed the
wate r. OF the Seine, and the Moselle, and the
Rhine with carnage and fought on the Cata-
lOnfan plains the flercest battle since the
world stOOd-SGO. 900 d. ad left on the field
On and on until those who could not oppose
him with arms lay prostrate on their faces I'M
prayer, and, q cloud of dust seen in the dis-i
tducc, u UlSuOp Cfltu, II IS Inc Atu oI oOu. 1
and all the people took up the cry, 1T is the
aid Of God y As the cloud Of dust was blown!
aside the banners OF reinforcing armies
marched In to help against Attila, the
ScOurge OF God. The most unimpOrtant Oc-
currences he used as a supernatural re-
source and after three months OF failure TO
capture tho city of Aquileia. and his army:
had given up the siege the flight OF n stork,
and her young from the tower OF the city
was taken by him rs q sign that he was to
capture the city, and his army, inspired by!
the same occurrence, resumed the siege and
took the walls at point from which the
stork had emerged. So brilliant was ths
conquerer in attire that his enemies could
not look at him, but shaded their eyes or
turned their heads.
Slain on the evening Of his marriage by his
bride, Ildico. who was hired for the assas-
sinatIon, hts followers bewailrd him, not
with tenrs. but with blood, cutting them
selves with knives and lRnces. He was put
into three collins, the first OF iron, the second
OF silver and the third OF gold. He was buried
by night, and into his grave were poured the
most valuable coin and precious stones,
amounting to the wealth OF u kingdom. The
Grnvediggers and all those who assisted at
the burial were massacred, SO that 1t would
never be- known where SO much wealth was
enfombed. The Roman empire conquered
the world. but Attila conquered the Roman
empire. He was right in calling himself a
| scourge, but instead Of being tho Scourge OF
| God he was the scourge Of he'll. Because of
| his brilliance and bitterness the commenta-
| tors were right in believing him to be- the
star NORWOOD. As the regions he devas
tated were parts most Opulent with foun-
| tains and streams and rivers. you see how
| graphic Is this reference in Revelation
''There fell a great star from heaven, burn
| ing a. II were a lamp, and 1t fell upon the
third part Of the rivers and upon the foun-
tains OF waters, and the name Of the star Il
| called WormwOOd."
Have you ever thought how many imbit-
tered lives there are all about us, misanthro-
| pic, morbid, acrid, saturnine2 The Euro
pean plant from which wormwood Is ex
tracted, Artemisia absinthium, is perennial
| pl Mt, and all the year round 1t Is ready tC
exude its oil. And in many human live:
there Is a perennial distillattOn OF acrtd eX
periences. Yea, there are some whose whole
work is to shed u baleful influence on others
| There are Attiias OF the home, or Attilas o.
the social circle, or Attias of the church, oI
Attilas of the state, and one-third OF thu
waters Of all the world, II not tw.,-thirds the
| waters, are poisoned by the falling OF thu
star Wormwood. 1t Is not complimentary tC
human nature that most men, as soon a
they get greater power, become overbearing
| The more power men have the better II thei
power be used for good. The less powe
men have the better II they use 1t for evil.
Birds circle round and round and round
before they swoop upon that which they are
aiming for. AMI II my discourse SO far ha
been swinging round and round this mo
msnt it drops straight on your heart AM
asks the question, Is your life benedictior
to others or an imbitterment, blessing or q
| curse a balsam or wormwOO,i?
Some OF you know are morning stars
and you are making the dawMng life o
your children bright with gracious in
fiuences, and YOU are beaming upon oil tn
opening enterprises OF philanihropic an,
10
that day of gospelizatiOn which will yet hoo'
all the mountains and valleys OF our si
cursed earth. Hail. morning star! Keep o
shining with encouragement and Christia
hope!
Some OF you are evening stars, and yo
are cheering the last days Of old people, an
though a cloud sometimes comes over yo
through the auerulousness or unreasonable
ness of your old father and mother 1t Is Onl
for a moment, and the star soon comes ou
clear ne ain and is seen from all the balco
, nies of the neighborhood. The old peopt
will forgive your occasional shorscoming:
: for they themselves several times lost thel
patience VIII, n you were young and slappe
you when you did not deserve il. Hal
evening star! Hang on the darkening SIX
, your diamond cOronet!
But are any of you the star Norwood? d
you scold and growi from the thrones p'
ternal or maternaH Are your children eve
lastingiy pecked at2 Are you always cryin
s.Hush!" to the merry voices and swift fee
and their laughter. which OCCASIONAL
trickles through at the wrong times and
suppressed by them until they can hold
no longer, and all the barriers burst into uI
limited guffaw and cachinnation, as in his
weather the water has trickled through
slight opening in the miildam. but ATE
war.t makes wider and wider breac
until it carries all before 1t vii
irresistible ir-shei? Do not be too muc
offended ut the noise your children no
make. 1t will be still enough when one
them is dead. Tnen you would give yo'
right hand to hear one shout from their 5
lent voices or one step from the still fec
You will not any OF you have to wait We
. bong before your honso 10 stiller than "
J want II. Alas. that there are SO many hom
= not known to Society For the Prevention
Cruelty to Children, where children are p
| o., Ah.. lfunifa and yxhackad and cu1ipd Al