The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-02-07

blasphemy, No. not Jehovah-wisdom.
wisdom This is the picture of life as the
man has actually seen il. as you have seen
ii, as have seen il. The young man who
had counsels put round about him, who was
told If he would go on in his present career
he would certainly bring evil on himself
He would go, he was headstrong he was
wiser than his father. he would take his
own course. He has taken it, he has ruined
himself; he has dragged himself down in
the dust; he is dishonored and disgraced in
his own eyes and i'm the eyes of all men
And now all those counsels come hocking
about him like ghosts: all that old wisdom
comes and taunts him: that past says TO
him. Il told you So His father may not
say so; his mother may not say so; If they
are wise they will not. but life says SO. And
then, while all these ghosts OF the wisdom
OF the past are haunting him, while they
are fiinging his folly in his face while they
are scourging him with whips like scor-
pions. whose every blow falls on his bleed
ing back and makes him vince and cry
with horror. then comes the voice of Je-
hovah. and here il is interpreted by the
idealist: Seek We the Lord while He may
be found, call We upon Him while He is
near; let the wicked forsake his way, and
the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let
him return unto the Lord, and He will
have mercy upon him; and to our God, for
He will abundantly pardon For my
are your ways my ways. saith the Lord
For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways, and my thoughts than your
PROVERBS ARE TRUE.
Abundantly pardon. Why? Because the
writer of Proverbs shows forth but the
thoughts of man, while the prophet shows
forth the thoughts of God. and Gods
thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are
His ways our ways. Young man! who came
in here tonight attra ted by curiosity and
newspaper reports, / put those two mes
sages before you. You are going out into
life. wise cOunselors have counseled you;
but you will taste the cup of pleasure, you
Will try the course of greed. you will walk
in the way of ambition, you think yourself
wiser than the wise men who were before
you. you are determined to try the expert
ment OF life L warn you here tonight.
Proverbs is true. and when you have drunk
the cup Of pleasure, when you have trodden
the path of greed. when you have walked
the way of ambition all these counsels will
come back to haunt you and jeer at you
and mock you. And you others who have
known this experience and look back with
bitterness upon wasted years, to you l
bring the message of the great prophet of
idealism, Let the wicked forsake his way,
and let the unrighteous man forsake his
thoughts, and let him return unto Jehovah;
for he will have mercy upon him: and to
God, for He will abundantly pardon"
In such a collection of the wise sayings
of keen observers We shall find much that
says w. j. Beecher. of Auburn Theological
Seminary, ARE remarkably rich in humor,
though this is fact which most readers
fail TO appreciate by reason OF our accuS-
toned solemn way at looking at everything
in che Bible" A sentence from ortho-
dox professor in a Presbyterian seminary
which / commend to those who think it
irreverent TO find mirth in a book which
distinctly commends mirth. Let us turn to
satire upon life, gathering a few out of
many. Some will appeal to some of us and
others to others; for the most part they
will appeal TO us as they are interpreted
to us by our own experiences.
Confidence in an unfaithful in time of
Is like a broken tooth. and a foot out of joint.
You relied on your tooth to feed you; it
is broken. You relied on your foot to
carry you. and at every step you take you
cringe with pain. Like the broken tooth,
like the foot out of joint is the friend you
relied upon to stand by you in the time of
trouble, who fled away and left you.
1t is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop
Than with a contentious woman In wide house
/ hope there are none of us who have had
any experience that interprets that text
He that passeth by and vexeth himself with
strife belonging not to him,
Is like one that taketh a dog by the ears
Why? Because when one has gotten a
cross dog by the ears he cannot let go
When you once get into controversy that
does not belong to you, it is not easy TO
get out of it. L think that would be a great
proverb for q sermon TO the United States
Senate.
\ continual dropping in very rainy day
AMI - contentious woman are alike:
lie that would restrain her restraineth the wind.
And his right hand cncountereth oil
He cannot stop her, and If he tries to do
it, she slips out from under him and begins
again in another strain. Contrast with
these satires on woman the beautiful pic
| ture of q true housewife contained IN the
| last chapter of the Book of Proverbs.
THE SLUG GARD.
The sluggard saith. There is a lion in the way:
\ lion in the streets
| AS the door turneth upon its hinges,
SO doth the sluggard upon his bed.
! 1t wearieth him to bring it again to his mouth.
| The suggard is wiser in his own conceit
| Than seven that render reason.
THINGS NOT TO BE BORNE.
For three things the earth doth tremble.
R A6 Tor re 1SST w Wien he ehIa KING
! And a fool when he is filled with meat:
| For odious woman when she is married;
| Proverbs are necessarily fragments Of
truth. They are often. therefore, untrue, if
| they are measured by scientific standards.
| and they are sometimes self-contradictory.
| The true writer of proverbs does not hesi-
| tate TO put down the contradictions OF per-
| sonal experience and leave the scientist to
deal with them as best he can, as in this
familiar proverb:
| Answer not fool according to his folly,
Lest thou also be like unto him
| Lest he be wise in his own conceit
| Both of those experiences are common in
| controversies. The net law resulting from
the contrast is this: Do not answer him
| lures of life. They are Meissonnier pic
| tures-little, brief, compact brilliant in
| color.
| THE TIPPLER.
| Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath con-
tentions2
Who hath complaining? who hath wounds with
out cause?
| Who hath TedneSs of eyes?
| They that tarry long at the wine;
| They that go seek out mixed wine.
Look thou not upon the wine when it is red,
When it giveth its color in the cup.
| At tine last il biteth like serpent,
| And stingeth like adder.
Sometimes these pictures from different
| parts of the book are put in strong con-
| traSt:
| A PROSPEROUS FARMER.
Be thou diligent to know the state Of thy focks
And look well to thy herds:
For riches not forever:
And doth the crown endure unto all generations!
The hay is carried
| And the tender grass showeth itself,
And the herbs OF the mountains are gathered in
The lambs ere for thy clothing.
| And the goats the price of the field:
And there will be goats milk enough fox thy
food,
For the food Of thy household
| And maintenance for thy maidens
This is pretty. simple. idyllic picture OF
ar industrious. prosperous farmer. Read In
contrast to this picture of a different kind
of farmer:
THE FIELD OF THE SLOTHFUL
went by the field of the sIothful,
And by the vineyard of the main void OF under
standing:
And. To- il was all grown over with thorns.
And the face thereof was covered with nettles
And the stone wall thereof was broken down.
Then l heheld. and considered well:
saw, and received instruction.