The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1897-12-15
THE GIANT SAMSON.
MS STRENGTH THE SUBJECT or REV.
DR.. TALMAGs'S SERMON.

The 1reacherous Dcliiah and Her Work.
Samson'c Misguided Strength Tho Weak
That Are strong and That Are Weak.
iropyright, 1884, by American Press Ass"-
ciAtiOn.
WASHINGTON, Dec. l2.-Taking the
exciting story ct SanSon'> fall as Il Suc-
gestion. DR.. Talmugc IN this discourse
shows how giants III body and mind CT
soul ought to be c0nSs Grated to gGod
and great purposes. His text Is Judges
xiv, /. And Samson went down 10 lin
nath.
There are two sides to the character
of Samson. The one phase OF his life, II
followed into the particulars, would adj
minister to the erotc>Gue and mirth1ul,
but there is phase Of hl> character
fraught with lessons of solemn and etcr-
nal import To tnC>e Sraver Lessons we
devote cur sermon This giant no doubt
in early life gave evidences Of what he
was to Le II is almost always 50. There
were two NapulcnnS-;hc boy EHpV-
leon and the man NapolcCn-but BOD.
alike: two HOwarls-thc hoy Howard
and the man Howard-lnt both alike;
two S:mSons-tho hur Samson and ,Ee
man SamS,n-lut 10th alike This
giant was no Goutt III" hero Of the play
ground, and nothing could stand before
l. Of bI NJ ~
is years of aye Ec WAS hctr0th,d 10 the
daughter OF PhiliStine. Going down
toward Tinn&th, Il lion came upon him.
and, although this vCung giant wa
weaponlc$s. he ssiZCi TIC mGn>tvr Ey
tho long manc :;nd shCuk him rs Il nun
gIy hound shakes March hare and
made his Eoncs crack and left him hy
the waySidc bleeding under the shifting
of his fist and the grinding heft cf his
heel.
There he stands looming up above
other men, mountain Of flesh. bis arms
punched with muscle tlla: can lift the
gate of Il city. taking al attitude defiant
of everything. His hair had never been
cut, and ie relied down III seven great
plaits over his shoulders, adding to his
bulk GerccncSs and terror The Philis
tines want to conquer him, and there
forc they must find oct whtre the Sccrst
of his strength lies.
The TreachsToas Delilah.
There is 4 tli>sulute wcman living in
the valley CT Snrc!i Of the ram" Of De
lilah. They appoint her the agent III the
case The PhiiistineS are SccrCtcd in the
same building. and then Delilah goes TO
work and coaXcS Samson t" tell what is
the secret Of his strength. "Wcll, he
says, IF You should take scv'n green
withes, such as they faSten wild beasts
with, and pnt them around me should
be perfectly powcrlc>S. " So she binds
him with the seven green wlthc>. Then
she clans her hands and says, "Thcy
come-thc Philistinr>I And he walks
out as though they wrrc n" lmprdmcnt.
She cCaXcS him again %nG says, "N"w
tell NE the sccretcf thi.; great strength. "
And ho replies, 1T y"u Sh"?id take
sCmc ropes trnt have r"Vrr hC'n used
and tie I.no with thrE,. should hr just
like other snen.' She ties him with the
ropes, cla!ss her bands and shoutS,
They come - tho philistinc>.' He
walks out as easily as he did before
not a single obstruction. s,hc coaHe>
him again, and Eo says, "Now. if you
should take these seven long plaitS of
hair and by this house loom weave them
into web, could net get away" :"
the house loom is rolled up, and the
shuttle flies backward and forward. and
the long plaits CT hair are woven into i
web. Then sho clapS her hands and says,
"Thev come - the PhiliStinCS,' He
walks oct as easily as he did before,
dragging Il part Of the loom with him.
But after awhile She persuaded him
to tell the truth. lie says If you
should take razor or shears and cut off
this long hair, l should lcp"w' ;leSs and
in the hands Of NY enemies. Samson
sleeps. and that She may not wake him
mp during the process Of shcaring help
is called in. Yen know that the lrarhcrS
of the cast have such Il Skillful way of
manipulating the head TO this very day
that instead Of waking up Il sleeping
man they will put Il man wide awake
sound asleep l hear the i.l&dr> Cf the
shears grinding against each other. and
[ see the long locks falling utf. The
shears or razor a~comrliShr> what green
withes and lew rcpCS and h"use loom
could not do. Suddenly she clap> her
hands and eays, The Phii!sriucS be
upon thee, Samson He ruu>eS up with
a struggle but his strength Is al gore.
He is in the hands cf his enemies.
Outeianted by Low Passion.
hear the groan Of ;Le giant a> they
take his eyes cut. and thrn / SOC him
staggering on III bis blin,;n,>s. feeling
his way as he gees Gn toward GAIA
The prison deer is "prn, and III" giant
is thrust in. He sits down and puts his
hand on the mill crank. whl"h. with
exhausting horizontal motion. goes day
after day. week after week. month alter
month-woTI5, work. work. lh" con
sternation of tho world in captivity. IL,
locks shuln his eyes puuctured, gr'nd-
ing corn in GAIA.
First of al lrhold III this giant "f
tie text that physical low'r /, net al
ways an index Of moral Ic"cr. Il" was
huge man. The lion found II ont, aud
the 3 600 mcn whom he Slew found 1t
out, yet he WAS the subject Of petty re-