Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-10-10

From a passage of Scripture that
probably no other clergyman ever
preached from, Rev. DR.. Talmage In
this discourse sets forth truth very
appropriate for those who have I'M
healthy ambition for great wealth or
fame The text is l Chronicles Xxx,
8, z:
"a man of great stature, whose fin
gers and toes were four and twenty,
ak on each hand and six on each foot,
and he also was the son of a giant.
But, when he defed Israel, Jonathan,
the son of Shimea, David's brother,
slew him."
Malforma ton photographed, and for
what reason? Did not this passage
Slip by mistake into the sacred Scrip
lures, as sometimes a paragraph ut
terly obnoxious to the editor gets
into his newspaper during his alb
sence? Is not this Scriptural errata?
No. no; there is nothing haphazard
about the Bible. This passage OF
Scripture was as certainly intended
to be put into the Bible as the verse,
"In the beginning God created the
heavens and the EARTH" or God so
loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son."
And I select it for my text to-day
because it is charged with practical
and tremendous meaning. By the peo-
pie of God the Philistines had been
onquered, with the exception of
few giants. The race of giants is
mostly extinct, am glad to say. There
is no use for giants now except TO
Enlarge the income Of museums. But
there were many of them in olden
times. Goliath was, according to the
Bible, II feet 41a inches high, or, II
you doubt this, the famous Pliny de-
elares that at Crete by an earthquake
a monument was broken open, dlscov-
ering the remains of giant 40 cuolts
long, or SO feet high
David had smashed the skull OF one
If these giants, but there were other
Fiants that the Davidean wars had
not vet subdued, and one of them
stands in my text. He was not only of
Alpine stature, but had a surplus OF
digits. To the ordinary fingers was
annexed an additional finger, and the
foot had also a superfuous addendum.
He had "a examinations to hands and
feet. where others have 20. 1t was
not the only instance of the kind. Ia
vernier, the learned writer, says that
the emperor of Java had a son endowed
with the same number of extremities.
Volcatius, the poet, had six fingers
on each hand. Maupertius, in his
celebrated letters, speaks of two fam
lilies near Berlin similarly equipped OF
hand and foot. All of which can be-
Heve, for I have seen two cases of the
same physical superb bundance. But
this giant of the text is in battle, and
as David. the STRIPPING warrior, had
dispatched one giant the nephew OF
David Stays this monster of my text,
and there he lies after the battle in
Gath, a dead giant. His stature did
not save him, and his superhuous ap-
pendices of hand and foot did not save
him. The probability was that in bat
file his sixth finger on his hand made
him clumsy in the use of his weapon,
and his sixth toe crippled his gait.
Behold the PROSTATE and uniformed
giant of the text: ga man Of great
stature, whose fingers and toes were
four and twenty, six on each hand and
six on each foot, and he also was the
son of a giant. But when he defied
Israel, Jonathan, the son of Shimea,
David's brother. slew him"
Behold how superfuities are a him
drance rather than a help! In all the
battle at Gath that day there was not
one man with the ordinary hand and
ordinary foot and ordinary stature
that was not better off than this physi-
cal curiosity of my text. A dwarf on
the right side is stronger than a giant
on the wrong side, and all the body
and mind and estate and opportunity
that YOU cannot use for God and the
betterment of the world are sixth
finger and a sixth toe and terrible
hindrance. The most of the good done
III the world and the most of those who
win the battles for the right are or
binary people. Count the fingers Of
their right hand, and they have just
f1ve-no more and no less. One DR.. Duff
among missionaries, but 5000 mis-
sionaries that would tell you they have
only common endowment. One Flor
ence Nightingale to nurse the sick in
conspicuous places, but 10000 women
who are just as good nurses, though
never heard of. The Swamp Angel"
was big gun that during the civil war
made a big noise, but muskets of or
binary caliber and shells of ordinary
heft did the execution. President Ty-
Ter and his cabinet go down the Poto-
mac one day to experiment with the
"Peacemaker," great iron gun that
was to alright with its thunder for
eign navies. The gunner touches it
off and it explodes and leaves cabinet
ministers dead on the deck, while at
that time, all up and down our coasts,
were cannon of ordinary bore, able to
be the defense of the nation and ready
al the first touch to waken to duty.
The curse of the world is big guns.
L l.