The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-06-06
REV. DIR. TALMAGE
Takes This Incident to illustrate a Useful Les;
scn-Wrongs We Would Do Others Re.
turn Upon Ourselves Wealth
and Happiness.

|
constantly narrowed because they pass
their lives not in searching out thost
things which arc attractive and deserving
but In spying out with all their powers o.
vision to see whether they cannot find 6
Mordecai.
An Emblem Of Worldliness.
Again, learn from tho life of tho mar
under our notice that worldly vanity and
sin arc very anxious to have piety bow be-
fore them. Hannah was a fair emblem Of
entire worldlincss and Mordecai the repre-
sentative Of unalnching godliness Such
! were The usages Of society in ancient times
that had this Israellte bowed to the prime
minister 1t would have been an acknowl.
edgment of respect for his character and
nation. Mordecai would therefore have
sinned against his religion had he made
any obeisance or dropped his chin half an
inch before Hannah. When therefore
proud Hannah attempted to compel a
homage which was not felt, he only did
what the world ever since has tried to do
when it would force our holy religion in
any way to yield to its dictates Daniel,
II he had been o man of religious COM
into the den of lions. He might have
made some arrangements with King Dari-
lis whereby he could have retained part of
his form of religion without making him
self SO completely obnoxious to the idol
aters. Paul might have retained the favor
of his rulers and escaped martyrdom If he
had only been willing to mix up his Chris
tian faith with few errors. His unbend-
ing Christian character was taken as all
insult
Fagot and rack and halter in all ages
have been only the different ways in which
the world has demanded obeisance. 1t
was once, away up on the top of the tenn
pie, that satan commanded the holy ono
of Nazareth to kneel before him, but 1t Is
not now so much on the top of churches
as down in the aisle and the pew and tho
pulpit that satan tcmpts tho espousers of
the Christian faith to knecl before him
Why was 1t that the Platonic philosophers
Of early times as well as Ioland, Spinoza
and Bolingbroke Of later days were so mad
ly opposed to Christianity Certainly not
because it favored immoralities or arrested
civilization OF dwarfed the intellect Tho
genuine reason, whether admitted or not,
was because the religion Of Christ paid no
respect to their intellectual vanitics.
Blount and Boyle and the host of intldcls
Matched out by the vile reign Of Charles
II, as reptiles crawl out of a marsh of
slime, could not keep their patience be-
cause, as they passed along, there wcro
sitting in the gate Of the church such men
as Matthew and Mark and Luke and
John, who would not bend an inch in re-
spcct to their PHILOSOPHERS.
satan's Wiles.
Satan told our first parents that they
would become as gods if they would only
reach up and take taste of the fruit.
They tried it and failed, but their de.
sccndants are not yet satisfied with the ex
pertinent. We have now many desiring to
be as gods, reaching up after yet another
apple Reason, scornful Of Gods Word,
may foam and strut with the proud wrath
of a Haman and attempt to compel the
homage Of the good, but in the presence
of men and angels it shall DO confounded.
God shall smitc thee, thou whited wallp'
When science began to make its brilliant
discoveries, there were great facts brought
to light that seemed to overthrow the truth
of the Bible. The archGologist with his
crowbar and the geologist with his ham
mer and the chemist with his batteries
charged upon tho Bible. Moses account
of tho creation seemed denied by the very
structure Of the earth. The astronomer
wheeled around his telescope until the
heavenly bodies seemed to marshal them
selves against the Bible as the stars in
their courses fought against Sisera OBJ
servatories and universities rcjoiced ct
what they considered tho extinction Of
Christianity. They gathered new courage
at what they considered past victory and
pressed on their conquest into the king
dom Of nature until alas for them, they
discovered too muchl Gods Word had
only been lying in ambush that, in some
unguardcd moment, with sudden bound,
it might tear infdelity to pieces.
1t was as when Joshua attacked the city
of Al. He selected 80, 900 men and con-
ccaled most of them; then, with few
men, hcassailod the city, which poured out
its numbers and strength upon Joshua's
little band According to previous plan,
they fell back in seeming defeat, but after
all the proud inhabitants Of the city had
been brought out of their homes and had
joined in the pursuit of Joshua suddenly
that brave man halted In his flight, and,
with his spear pointing toward tho city,
80, 900 men bounded from tho thickcts as
panthers spring to their prey, and tho pur-
suers were dashed to pieces, while tho
hosts Of Joshua pressed up to the city and,
with their lighted torches, tossed 1t into
fame. Thus it was that the discoveries
of science seemed to give temporary VIC
tory against God and the Bible, and for
awhile the church acted as If she were on
retreat, but when oil the opposers Of God
and truth had joined In the pursuit and
were sure OF tho field Christ gave the Sig
nal to his church, and, turning, they drove
back their foes In shame There was
found to be no antagonism between ma
turo and revelation. Tho universe and
tho Bible were found to BIO the work Of the
same hand, two strokes of the same pen,
their authorship tho same God. 4.
-,,.,4' Pride Before a Fall.
Again, learn the lesson that pride goeth
before fall. Was any man ever SO far up
as Hannah, who tumbled so far DOWN
Yes, on a smaller scale every day the
world secs the same thing Against their
very advantages men trip into destruction,
Wien God hunblcs proud men, it Is usu-
ally at the moment Of their greatest arro-
gancy. II there be man in your COM
munity greatly pulled up with worldly
success you have but to stand little
while and you will see him come down.
You soy, II wonder that God allows that
man to go on riding over others heads
and making great assumptions of power"
There Is no wonder about It, Hannah has
not yet got to the top. Pride Is COM
mander, well plumed and caparisoned, but
it leads forth dark and frownlng host.
We have tho best Of authority for saying
that "pridc goeth before destruction and
naughty spirit before fall" The ar
rows from the Almighty's culver are opt
to strike a man when on the wing. Goliath
shakes his great speaF in defiance, but the
small stones from tho brook Elah make
him staGasr and eall like su OF unfaR thu