The Monitor-register., 1897-12-17


That Are Strong and That Are Weak.
copyright, 1897, by American Press Asso-s
~ciation.J M
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12.-Taking the
exciting story of Samson's fall as a sug-
g~estion, DR.. Talmage in this discourse
shows how giants in body and mind
Dul ought to be consecrated to good
and great purposes. His text is Judges
xiv, l, "And Samson went down to Tims
nath."
There are two sides to the character
of Samson. The one phase Of his life, if
followed into the particulars, would adj
minister to the grotesque and mirthful,
but there is a phase of his character
fraught with lessons of solemn and eter-
nal import. To these graver lessons we
devote our ermon This giant no doubt
in early life gave evidences of what he
was to be. 1t is almost always so. There
were two Napoleons-the boy Napo-
leon and the man Napoleon-but both
alike; two Howards-the boy Howard
and the man Howard-but both alike;
two Samsons-the boy Samson and the
man Samson-but both alike. This
giant was no doubt the hero of the play
ground, and nothing could stand before
his exhibitions of youthful proves. At
IS years of age he was betrothed to the
daughter of a Philistine. Going down
toward Timnath, a lion came upon him,
and, although this young giant was
weaponless, he seized the monster by
the long name and shook him as a hun
cry hound shakes a March hare and
made his bones crack and left him by
the wayside bleeding under the shifting
of his fist and the grinding heft of his
heel.
There he stands, looming up above
other men, q mountain of flesh, his arms
punched with muscle that can lift the
gate of a city, taking an attitude defiant.
of everything. His hair had never been
cut, and it rolled down in seven great
plaits over his shoulders, adding to his
bulk fierceness and terror. The Philis-
tines want to conquer him, and there
fore they must find out where the secret
of his strength lies.
The Treacherous DeIilah.
There is a dissolute woman living in
the valley of Sorek of the name Of De
lilah. They appoint her the agent in tbs
= case. The Philistines are secreted III the
same building, and then Delilah goes to
work and coaxes Samson to tell what is
the secret of his strength. "Well," he
says, "if you should take seven green
withes, such as they fasten wild beasts
with, and put them around me I should
be perfectly powerless." So she binds
him with the seven green withes. Then
she claps her hands and says, "They
come-the Philistinesl'' And he walks
out as though they were no impediment.
She coaxes him again and says, "Now
tell me the secret of this great strength"
And he replies, eff you should take
some ropes that have never been used
and tie me with them, l should be just
like other men," She ties him with the
ropes, claps her hands and shouts,
"'They come - the Philistinesp' He
walks out as easily as he did before
not a single obstruction. She coaxes
him again, and he says, CHOW, if you
should take these seven long plaits of
hair and by this house loom weave them
into a web, I could not get away" So
the house loom is rolled up, and the
shuttle flies backward and forward, and
the long plaits of hair are woven into a
web. Then she claps her hands and says,
s'They come the Philistinesp' He
walks out as easily as he did before,
dragging a part of the loom with him.
But after awhile she persuaded him
to tell the truth. He says, eff you
should take a razor or shears and cut off
this long hair, should be powerless and
s in the hands of my enemies" Samson
sleeps, and that she may not wake him
up during the process of shearing help
is called i'll. You know that the BARRIERS
OF the east have such a skillfu1 way of
manipulating the head to this very day
that instead of waking up a sleeping
man they will put a man wide awake
sound asleep. 1 hear the blades Of the
shears grinding against each other, and
l see the long locks falling off. The
shears or razor accomplishes what green
withes and new ropes and house loom
could not do. Suddenly she claps her
hands and says, 1.-THE Philistines be
upon thee, Samsonl" He rouses up with
a struggle, but his strength is all gone.
He is i'll the hands of his enemies.
Outgianted by Low Passion.
l hear the groan Of the giant as they
take his eyes out, and then l see him
staggering Oh in his blindness, feeling
his way as he goes on toward GAIA.
The prison door is open, and the giant
is thrust in. He sits down and puts his
hand on the mill crank, which, with
exhausting horizontal motion, goes day
after day, week after week, month after
month-work, work, work. The con-
sternation of the world in captivity, his
locks shorn, his eyes punctured, grind
ing corn i'll GAIA.
First of all behold il this giant of
the text that physical power is not al
ways an index Of moral power. He was
a huge man. The lion found it out, and
the 3, 600 men whom he slew found it
out, yet he was the subject of petty re-
venges and outSianted by low passion.
Il am far from throwing any discredit
upon physical stamina. There are those
who seem to have great admiration for
delicacy and sickness of constitution.
INnever could see any glory in weak
nerves or sick headache. Whatever eff
fort in our day is made to make the
men and women more robust should
have the favor of every good citizen as
well as of every Christian. Gymnastics
may be positively religious.
Good people sometimes ascribe to a
wicked heart what they ought to as
cribe to a slow liver. The body and the
soul are such near neighbors that they
often catch each others diseases. Those
who never saw a sick day, and who,
like Hercules, show the giant in the
cradle, have more TO answer for than
those who are the subjects Of lifelong
infirmities. He who can lift twice as
much as you can and walk twice as far
and work twice as long will have a
double account TO rect in the Judgment.
How often is 1T that you do not find
physical energy indicative of spiritual
power! If a clear head is worth more
than one dizzy with perpetual vertigo,
if muscles with the play of health i'll
them are worth more than those drawn
up in chronic "rheumatics," if an eye
quick to catch passing objects is better
than one with vision dim and uncertain,
then God will require of us efficiency
just in proportion to what he has given
us. Physical energy ought to have as
good digestion of truth as we have ca
pacity to assimilate food. Our spiritual
hearing ought to be as good as our phys
ical hearing. Our spiritual taste ought
to be as clear as onr tongue. Samsons
in body, we ought to be giants in moral