Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1899-03-29
SERMONS OF THE DAY.
PssssAsA - Rsv. D.. faI.ass.

PssssAsA ~ Rev. D.. fal.ass.
Subject: brilliant Bitterness"-Attila tho
Hun Used As . Horrible Example-Ia
He . Type of tho wormwood Men
toned in Revelation?
TEXT: "There fell q great star from
heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and 1t
fell upon the third part Of the rivers, and
Of the star Is called Wormwood. ."-Revela-
tion 4, IL.
Patrick and Lowth, Thomas Scott, Mat
thew Henry, Albert Barnes and some other
commentators say that the star NORWOOD
Of my text was a type OF Attila, king OF the
Huns. He was So called because he was
brilliant as a star. and, like wormwood, he
imbittered everything he touched. We
have studied the Star OF Bethlehem. and
the Morning Star Of Revelation and the
Star of Peace, but my subject calls us to
gaze at the star Wormwoed. and my theme
might be called brilliant Bitterness
more extraordinary character history
does not furnish than this man Attila. the
king Of the Huns, The story goes that one
day a wounded heifer came limping along
through the fields, and a herdsman fol-
lowed its bloody track on the grass to see
where the heifer was wounded. and went on
back farther and farther, until he came to
sword fast in the earth, the point down
ward, as though it had dropped from the
heavens, and against the edges of this
sword the heifer had been cut. The herds
man pulled MP that sword and presented it
to Attila. Attila said that sword must
have dropped from the heavens from the
grasp of the god Mars. and its being given
to him meant that Attila should conquer
and govern the whole earth. Other mighty
hHr ALT hkaA 81 1al, oil l4l
liberators or the Merciful or the Good. but
Attila called himself and demanded that
others call him "the Scourge of God.''
At the head Of 700, troops, mounted
on Cappadocian horses, he swept every
thing, from the Adriatic to the Black Sea-
He put his iron hee, on Macedonia and
Greece and Thrace. He made Milan and
Pavia and Padua and Verona heg for
mercy, which he bestowed not. The By
zantine castles, to meet his ruiuous levy
and vases of solid gold. When a city was
captured by him. the inhabitants were
brought out and put into three classes
The first class, those who could bear arms.
must Immediately enlist under A'tila or
be butchered; the second class. the beauti-
full women, were made captives to the
Huns; the third class, the aged men and
women, were robbed of everything aud
let 60 back to the city to pay a heavy tax.
1t was q common saying that the grass
had trod. His armies Redeemed the waters
of the Seine and the Moselle and the Rhine
with carnage and fought on the Catalonian
plains the f1ercest battle since the world
stood-30O, 900 dead left on the field. On
and on until all those who could not on
pose him with arms lay PROSTATE on their
faces in prayer, then cloud or dust was
seen in the distance and a bishop cried.
''It Is the aid of God" and all the peoplt
took up the cry. ''It is the aid Of God
As the cloud OF dust was blown aside the
banners Of reinforcing armies marched in
to help against Attila. "The scourge OF
God" The most unimportant occurrences
he used as supernatural resource. After
three months of failure to capture the city
~ 1ofsstS;uileiR when his army had given up
the siege,es 6iss!t of a s.ork and her
young from the tower Oft taken y,
by him as sien that h
occurrence. resumed the Siege and took
the walls which
the stork had emerged So brilliant
his enemies could not look at him, but
shaded their eyes or turned their heads.
Slain on the evening OF his marriage by
his bride, Ildico, who was hired for the as
not with tears, but with blood, cutting
themselves with knives and lances. He
was put into three cofans. the first of iron
the second of silver and the third of gold.
He was buried by nisht, and into his
grave was poured the most valuable coins
and precious stones, amounting to the
wealth of a kingdom. The gravediggers
and all those who assisted at the burial
were massacred, 80 that 1t would never be
known where SO much wealth was en-
tombed.
The Roman empire conquered the world.
but Attila conquered the Roman empire
He was right in calling himself n scouree
but instead Of being ''the scourge of God
he was the scourge of hell.
Because Of his brilliancy and bitterness,
the commentators might we'll have sup
posed him to be the star Worm wood of the
text. As the regions he devastated were
ports most opulent with fountains and
streams and rivers, you see how graphic
my text is: There fell great star from
heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it
fell upon the third part OF the rivers, and
upon the fountains Of waters, and the name
OF the star is called Wormwood."
Have you ever thought how many embit-
tered lives there are all about us nisan-
thropic, morbid, acrid. saturnine2 The
European plant from which wormwoo1 is
extracted, Artemisia absInthium. is DER.
ennial plant, and all the year round it is
ready to exude its OIL. And i1 many hu-
man lives there is a perennial distilation
Of acrid experiences. Yea, there are some
duence over others. There are AttiIas OF
the home. Attilas Of the social circle, At
tilas Of the church, Attilas Of the State, and
one-third Of the waters of all the world are
poisoned by the falling of the star Worm
wood. 1t Is not complimentary to human
great power, become overbearing The
more power men have the better, If their
power be used for good. The less power
men have the better, il they use it for evil
But are any of you the star Norwood?
Do you scold and grow from the thrones
n m
everlastingly pecked at? Are you always
crying "Hushi'' to the merry voices aud
swift feet, and to the laughter, which
occasionally trickles through at wrong
times, and is suppressed by them until
they can hold 1t no longer. and all the
barriers burst into unlimited guifaw and
cachinnation. as in high weather the
water has trickled through slight open
ing In the milldam. but afterwari makes
wider and wider breach until it carries all
before II with irresistible freshet? Do not
be too much offended at the noise your
children now make. 1t will be still enough
when one fthem is dead. Then you would !
give your right hand to hear one shout |
from the silent voice, or one step from the
still foot. You will not any of YOU have to |
wait very long before your house is stiller |
than you want it. Alas that there are so |
many homes not known to the Society for |
the Prevention Of Cruelty to Children |
where children are whacked and cuffed and |
car puiiou, anu seuseieSSly catleu TO Oruer, |
and answered sharply and suppressed. nm
til It is a wonder that under such processes |
they do not all turn out Mana Sahios!
But will change this and suppose you !
are a star Of worldly prosperity. Then you |
have large opportunity. You can encour-
age that artist by buying his picture. You
can improve the fields, the stables, the !
highway, by introducing higher style of |
FOWL and horse and COW and sheep. You |
can bless the world with genealogical |
achievement in the orchard. You can ad- |
vance arboriculture and arrest the death |
ful destruction of the American forests, |
You can put piece OF sculpture into the |
niche OF that public academy. You can |
endow college. You can stocking 1909 |
bare feet from the winter frost. You can |