Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1898-08-19

NHl'hNl Uhh TOVe uhcK 10 MS nome, ana
That night threw himself upon his own
ltnfo, but the blade broke; and then
he hanged himself to the ceiling. but
The rope broke, No wonder that when
God mcrcifully delivered him from
that awful dcmontia he sat down and
wrote That other hymn just as memoir
able,
Goa moves In . mysterious way,
llls wonders to perform
lie plants his footsteps In tbs sea,
Aud rides upon the storm.
blind unbcIot Is sure to err,
Aud sean his work In vain;
uod TX His own interpreter,
And lie win make II plain.
While we make this mercful and
righteous allowance in regard to those
who were plunged into mental inco.
hcrence, declare that the man who,
IN The use OF his reason, by his own
act snaps the string between his body
and his soul, goes straight into per.
ditIon, Shall prove it? Revelations
XXI, 4: "Murdercrs Shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with
lire and birthstone" Revelations xii,
10; without are dogs and sorccrcrs
and whoremongers and murderers. "
You do not believe the New Testament?
Then, perhaps, you believe the ten
commandments: Thou shalt not kill. "
Do you say that all these passages
refer TO the taking of the life of
othersP Then ask you if YOU are
not rs responsible for your own life as
for the life OF others? God gave you a
special trust in life, and made you the
custodian of your life, aud He made
you the custodian of no other life lie
gave you as weapons with which to de.
fcnd it two arms TO strike back assail.
ants, two eyes to watch for invasion and
natural love Of life which ought ever
TO be on the alert. Assassination OF
others is a mild crime compared with
the assassination of yourself, because
in the latter case it is trcachery to an
especial trust; it is the surrender OF a
castle you were especially appointed to
keep; it is treason TO natural law;and
1T is treason to God added to ordinary
murder.
To show how God in the Bible looked
upon this crime, | point you to the
rogues's picture gallery in some parts
CT the Bible, the pictures of the people
who have committed this unnatural
crime. Here is the headless trunk of
Saul on the walls of BIthshan. Here
is the man who chased little Dlvid-ten
feet in statue chasing four. Here
is the man who consulted a
clairvoyant, Witch of Endor. Here
is man who, whipped in bat
tie, instead of surrendering his
sword with dignity, as many man has
done, asks his servant TO Stay him, and
when that servant declined, then the
giant plants the hilt of his sword in
the earth, the sharp point sticking up.
ward, and he throws his body on it and
expires the coward, the suicide. Here
is Abitophcl, the Machiavclli of olden
times, betraying his best friend, David,
in order that he may become prime
minister of Absalom. and ioini"sr 'h"'
fellow in his attempt at parricidc. Not
getting what he wanted by change of
politics, he takes short cut out of a
dsgraceful life into the suicides etern
ity. There heis, the migrate!
Here is Abimelech, practically sui
eide, lie is with an amy, bombardng
u tower, when woman in the tower
takes n grindstonc from its place and
drops it upon his head, and with what
life he has left in his cracked skull he
commands his armor-bearer: DRAW
thy sword and Stay inc, lest men say a
woman slew me" There is his post
mortem photograph in the book of Sam
ucl.
But the hero OF this group is Judas
Iscariot. DR.. Dome says he was a
martyr, and we have in our day apollo.
gist for him. And what wonder, IN
this day when we have book reveal.
ing Aaron Burr as pattern of virtue
and this day when we uncover statue
of George Sand as the benefactress oil
literature, and in this day when there
are betrayals of Christ on the part o.
some of His pretended apostlcs-a be.
travail so black it makes the infamy Of
Judas Iscariot white! Yet this man by
his own hand hung up for the eXecra
ton of all ages, Judas lscariot.
All the good men and women OF thu
Bible left to God the decision OF thci
earthly terminus, and they could hav,
said with Job, who had u right to com
nit suicide If any man ever had, wha
with his destroyed property and hi
body all alamo with insuiferable car
buncles and everything gone from hi
home except the chief curse of it,
pcstiferous wife and four garrulou
people pclting him with comfortles
talk while he sits on Il heap OF asle
/ scratching his scabs with Il piece o
broken pottery, yet crying out in tri
umph: "All the days of my appointe
time will wait till my change comes.
, Notwithstanding the Bible is agans
this evil, and the aversion which /
, creates by the loathsome and ghastl
! spectacle of those who have hurle
/, themselves out of life, and notwitf
a standing Christianity is against ii an
the arguments and the useful lives an
. the illustrious deaths Of its disciples
y it is fact alarningly patent tina
: suicide is on the increase. What is tn
!. cause? charge upon infidelity an
agnosticism this whole thing. If thei
q be no hereafter, or if this hereafter /
blissful without reference 20 ho'
/. we live and how we die, VIII
y not move back the folding door
y between this world and tbs next
e And when our existence here b
8 comes troublesome why not pass rigl
v over into Elysium? Put this doa
v among your most solemn reflection
q There has never been q case of suici'
e where the operator was not eth
e dem ented, and therefore irresponsibl
n or an infdel. | challenge all the age